KPERS tells committee trust fund grew to about $30.8 billion, reports strong returns and 74% funded ratio

KPERS staff told the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance that the public pension trust fund has experienced strong recent investment performance and that the system’s funded ratio remains steady.

Alan Conroy, presenting a KPERS overview, said the trust fund balance is about $30.8 billion ("perhaps, we're over dollars 31,000,000,000" in his words) and the system's funded ratio is 74%. "We've had a remarkable run of investments," Conroy said, noting recent actuarial valuation results and steady contributions from employers at actuarially required rates.

Chief Investment Officer Bruce Fink told the committee that the investment program returned 10.3% for fiscal year 2025 and about 13.4% on a calendar-year basis. He described the Investment Policy Statement that governs asset allocation and noted fees of roughly 0.43% of assets in FY2025. "We are seeking to achieve the assumed… rate of return on the total fund which is currently 7% while managing risk," Fink said.

Conroy summarized membership and plan design: KPERS covers three main membership tiers plus separate judges and police/fire systems; member contributions are about 6% under the tiers described and judges/police-fire contributions are higher (about 7.15% for those special plans). He said KPERS 3 is a hybrid cash-balance plan and highlighted the optional KPERS 457 deferred-comp program as an avenue for additional savings that about 500 employers participate in.

On questions from senators, Conroy said the treasurer’s office does not invest the trust fund in gold, silver, or cryptocurrencies, citing volatility. He also answered questions about pension obligation bonds: the state sold bonds and is paying debt service while KPERS invested the proceeds with the expectation that long-term returns would help reduce unfunded liabilities.

The KPERS board has requested introduction of a technical cleanup bill that would remove obsolete statutory language and allow trustees to vote on electing a vice chair rather than having the chair appoint the vice chair. The committee thanked KPERS staff and adjourned.