Investment officers from the San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System (SDCERS) have announced that as of July 2, 2014, assets have surpassed $7 billion for the first time in system history. SDCERS has also received its fiscal year 2015 annual pension payments in full and on time from each of its three plan sponsors – the City of San Diego, the San Diego Unified Port District (Port) and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (Airport).
The investment milestone and timely payments demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility and funding discipline on behalf of the pension system and its plan sponsors, and signals that the system is well-positioned to administer benefits for decades.
For the year ending June 30, 2014, assets under management have grown by approximately $900 million, with preliminary investment returns that exceed the June 30, 2013 return of 13.6 percent.
The annual payment, formally known as the Actuarially Determined Contribution (ADC), is typically made at the beginning of each fiscal year. The City’s ADC for fiscal year 2015 was $263.6 million. The Port’s ADC payment for fiscal year 2015 was $14.3 million and the Airport’s ADC payment was $3.8 million. While the Port and Airport have a long history of making full and timely payments, the FY 2015 payment marks the City’s 10th consecutive year.
SDCERS administers defined benefit plans for the City of San Diego, the San Diego Unified Port District, and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and provides service retirement, disability retirement, death and survivor benefits to more than 20,000 members.