New Jersey PERS Basics
- Established 1955
- Currently open to new hires
- Plan covers state and local employees
- Plan members covered by Social Security
- Multiple employer, cost sharing plan
Assets, Participants, and Benefits
State and local government pension benefits are paid from trust funds to which public employees and their employers contributed while they were working, not from general operating revenues. Trust fund assets are invested and grow over time. The combined value of defined benefit plan assets he...Read more »
Assets at Year-End, New Jersey PERS, 2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Net Assets (billions) |
| 2001 |
24.38 |
| 2002 |
21.49 |
| 2003 |
20.96 |
| 2004 |
23.03 |
| 2005 |
23.91 |
| 2006 |
25.31 |
| 2007 |
28.38 |
| 2008 |
27.24 |
| 2009 |
22.54 |
| 2010 |
24.33 |
| 2011 |
26.99 |
| 2012 |
26.38 |
| 2013 |
27.92 |
| 2014 |
29.00 |
| 2015 |
28.55 |
| 2016 |
26.76 |
| 2017 |
28.46 |
| 2018 |
29.47 |
| 2019 |
29.85 |
| 2020 |
29.05 |
| 2021 |
35.71 |
| 2022 |
32.57 |
| 2023 |
34.83 |
State and local employees make up around 10-15 percent of the US workforce. About a quarter of public sector workers are covered by a public pension in lieu of Social Security, including nearly half of all teachers and over two-thirds of firefighters and public safety officers. Public employees live in...Read more »
Number of Actives per Annuitant, 2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
New Jersey PERS |
US State and Local Pensions |
| 2001 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
| 2002 |
2.7 |
2.3 |
| 2003 |
2.6 |
2.2 |
| 2004 |
2.6 |
2.1 |
| 2005 |
2.6 |
2.1 |
| 2006 |
2.5 |
2.0 |
| 2007 |
2.5 |
2.0 |
| 2008 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
| 2009 |
2.3 |
1.9 |
| 2010 |
2.2 |
1.8 |
| 2011 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
| 2012 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
| 2013 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
| 2014 |
1.7 |
1.4 |
| 2015 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
| 2016 |
1.5 |
1.4 |
| 2017 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
| 2018 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
| 2019 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
| 2020 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
| 2021 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
| 2022 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
| 2023 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
2023 Membership for New Jersey PERS
| Actives |
Beneficiaries |
Total Membership |
| 244,324 |
193,988 |
438,885 |
Costs
The Annual Required Contribution (ARC) is the amount needed to finance benefits accrued each year, plus the cost to amortize unfunded liabilities from past years, minus required employee contributions. It is a projection that matches a yearly payment amount to a particular amortization period, tak...Read more »
Employer's Annual Required Contribution as a Percentage of Payroll and Portion Paid for New Jersey PERS, 2006-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Portion of Employer ARC paid |
Portion of Employer ARC left unpaid |
US Avg Employer ARC |
ARC as a Percent of Payroll |
| 2006 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
9.9 |
2.3 |
| 2007 |
4.0 |
2.7 |
10.6 |
6.7 |
| 2008 |
5.0 |
4.1 |
11.0 |
9.1 |
| 2009 |
5.2 |
5.5 |
11.0 |
10.7 |
| 2010 |
5.3 |
6.5 |
11.6 |
11.9 |
| 2011 |
7.2 |
8.5 |
13.4 |
15.7 |
| 2012 |
8.5 |
8.0 |
14.1 |
16.6 |
| 2013 |
9.5 |
7.2 |
15.1 |
16.7 |
| 2014 |
8.2 |
7.5 |
15.8 |
15.7 |
| 2015 |
9.3 |
7.6 |
15.8 |
16.9 |
| 2016 |
11.2 |
7.4 |
15.7 |
18.5 |
| 2017 |
12.8 |
6.7 |
15.6 |
19.5 |
| 2018 |
14.4 |
5.9 |
16.3 |
20.3 |
| 2019 |
16.7 |
4.8 |
16.6 |
21.5 |
| 2020 |
17.1 |
3.8 |
17.0 |
20.9 |
| 2021 |
20.3 |
3.6 |
17.6 |
23.9 |
| 2022 |
25.8 |
0.0 |
17.7 |
25.0 |
| 2023 |
26.1 |
0.0 |
17.0 |
25.1 |
Actuarial Funding
While funded ratios among pension plans vary substantially, in the aggregate, public pension funding levels rose steadily during the 1990s, due largely to strong returns in global equity markets. Since then, sharp market downturns in 2000-02 and 2008-09 negatively affected asset values and incr...Read more »
Actuarial Funded Ratio for New Jersey PERS, 2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
New Jersey PERS |
National Data |
| 2001 |
117.1 |
101.7 |
| 2002 |
107.3 |
94.5 |
| 2003 |
97.9 |
88.8 |
| 2004 |
91.3 |
87.0 |
| 2005 |
85.3 |
85.4 |
| 2006 |
78.0 |
85.2 |
| 2007 |
76.0 |
86.3 |
| 2008 |
73.1 |
84.4 |
| 2009 |
64.9 |
78.4 |
| 2010 |
69.5 |
75.7 |
| 2011 |
66.8 |
74.3 |
| 2012 |
63.6 |
72.3 |
| 2013 |
62.1 |
71.8 |
| 2014 |
60.9 |
73.2 |
| 2015 |
59.5 |
73.2 |
| 2016 |
57.2 |
71.6 |
| 2017 |
60.1 |
72.0 |
| 2018 |
55.1 |
72.4 |
| 2019 |
52.2 |
72.5 |
| 2020 |
51.8 |
72.6 |
| 2021 |
52.9 |
75.8 |
| 2022 |
53.4 |
76.2 |
| 2023 |
54.3 |
75.9 |
Investments
The major asset allocation classes presented in the PPD are generated from the specific asset classes that plans report. For consistent reporting in the PPD, the individual asset classes reported by plans are categorized as one of eight major asset classes: equity, fixed income, real estate, private equ...Read more »
Asset Allocation for New Jersey PERS, 2023
| Category |
Percent |
| Equities |
45.5 |
| Fixed Income |
16.0 |
| Private Equity |
11.9 |
| Real Estate |
5.7 |
| Cash |
8.4 |
| Other |
0.1 |
| Commodities |
2.4 |
| Hedge Fund |
9.9 |
| Misc. Alternatives |
0.0 |
Asset Allocation for State and Local Pensions, 2023
| Category |
Percent |
| Equities |
42.5 |
| Fixed Income |
20.4 |
| Private Equity |
14.0 |
| Real Estate |
10.3 |
| Cash |
1.9 |
| Other |
0.0 |
| Commodities |
2.7 |
| Hedge Fund |
6.4 |
| Misc. Alternatives |
1.9 |
Asset allocation for New Jersey PERS, 2006-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Equities |
Fixed Income |
Private Equity |
Real Estate |
Cash |
Other |
Commodities |
Hedge Fund |
Misc. Alternatives |
| 2006 |
67.1 |
24.5 |
0.0 |
1.7 |
5.9 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
| 2007 |
59.2 |
25.1 |
0.0 |
1.4 |
8.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
6.1 |
0.0 |
| 2008 |
49.3 |
29.7 |
0.0 |
1.6 |
7.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
12.1 |
0.0 |
| 2009 |
44.8 |
35.0 |
4.7 |
2.5 |
7.6 |
0.0 |
1.0 |
4.3 |
0.0 |
| 2010 |
45.3 |
37.7 |
6.8 |
3.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.6 |
5.5 |
0.0 |
| 2011 |
45.6 |
29.2 |
7.3 |
3.7 |
5.7 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
5.3 |
0.0 |
| 2012 |
45.2 |
28.0 |
7.8 |
4.7 |
1.7 |
1.9 |
2.8 |
7.8 |
0.0 |
| 2013 |
46.9 |
21.3 |
8.1 |
5.1 |
4.6 |
1.7 |
2.5 |
9.8 |
0.0 |
| 2014 |
45.1 |
19.4 |
9.1 |
4.6 |
6.7 |
1.9 |
2.6 |
10.7 |
0.0 |
| 2015 |
45.3 |
18.0 |
9.7 |
4.7 |
5.8 |
1.9 |
2.3 |
12.2 |
0.0 |
| 2016 |
42.8 |
18.1 |
10.6 |
5.9 |
6.2 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
11.5 |
0.0 |
| 2017 |
46.3 |
19.0 |
10.3 |
6.0 |
5.3 |
2.5 |
2.7 |
8.0 |
0.0 |
| 2018 |
47.9 |
18.0 |
11.1 |
6.2 |
4.9 |
2.4 |
3.1 |
6.4 |
0.0 |
| 2019 |
47.5 |
19.1 |
10.9 |
6.2 |
7.7 |
0.0 |
2.8 |
5.9 |
0.0 |
| 2020 |
45.6 |
14.9 |
11.7 |
6.3 |
6.7 |
1.9 |
2.2 |
10.7 |
0.0 |
| 2021 |
46.3 |
17.5 |
12.6 |
5.6 |
6.2 |
0.2 |
2.2 |
9.3 |
0.0 |
| 2022 |
42.3 |
14.7 |
12.6 |
6.4 |
9.1 |
1.8 |
2.6 |
10.5 |
0.0 |
| 2023 |
45.5 |
16.0 |
11.9 |
5.7 |
8.4 |
0.1 |
2.4 |
9.9 |
0.0 |
Annual Return as of June 30 for New Jersey PERS, 2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
New Jersey PERS |
Assumed return |
| 2001 |
-10.40 |
8.75 |
| 2002 |
-9.00 |
8.75 |
| 2003 |
3.30 |
8.75 |
| 2004 |
14.10 |
8.25 |
| 2005 |
8.70 |
8.25 |
| 2006 |
9.80 |
8.25 |
| 2007 |
17.10 |
8.25 |
| 2008 |
-2.66 |
8.25 |
| 2009 |
-14.27 |
8.25 |
| 2010 |
13.36 |
8.25 |
| 2011 |
18.03 |
7.95 |
| 2012 |
2.52 |
7.90 |
| 2013 |
11.78 |
7.90 |
| 2014 |
16.87 |
7.90 |
| 2015 |
4.16 |
7.90 |
| 2016 |
-0.93 |
7.65 |
| 2017 |
13.07 |
7.50 |
| 2018 |
9.06 |
7.50 |
| 2019 |
6.27 |
7.50 |
| 2020 |
1.21 |
7.50 |
| 2021 |
28.63 |
7.00 |
| 2022 |
-7.90 |
7.00 |
| 2023 |
9.06 |
7.00 |
Annualized 5-Year Return
| New Jersey PERS |
PPD Sample |
| 6.8 |
7.4 |
Annualized 10-Year Return
| New Jersey PERS |
PPD Sample |
| 7.5 |
8.0 |
Cash Flows
Cash Flow vs. Total Assets (Millions)
New Jersey PERS
2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Cash Flow |
Assets |
| 2001 |
-893.7 |
24,381.5 |
| 2002 |
-1,021.1 |
21,485.7 |
| 2003 |
-1,242.2 |
20,960.5 |
| 2004 |
-706.8 |
23,032.2 |
| 2005 |
-1,046.4 |
23,914.5 |
| 2006 |
-944.1 |
25,308.8 |
| 2007 |
-744.8 |
28,375.0 |
| 2008 |
-746.4 |
27,237.0 |
| 2009 |
-906.8 |
22,542.8 |
| 2010 |
-906.4 |
24,332.7 |
| 2011 |
-1,151.9 |
26,994.4 |
| 2012 |
-1,239.6 |
26,383.4 |
| 2013 |
-1,151.2 |
27,920.0 |
| 2014 |
-1,566.0 |
28,999.6 |
| 2015 |
-1,563.8 |
28,553.6 |
| 2016 |
-1,554.3 |
26,762.1 |
| 2017 |
-1,500.2 |
28,464.2 |
| 2018 |
-1,434.8 |
29,472.4 |
| 2019 |
-1,374.3 |
29,848.0 |
| 2020 |
-1,264.9 |
29,045.4 |
| 2021 |
-1,055.4 |
35,707.8 |
| 2022 |
-555.7 |
32,568.1 |
| 2023 |
-606.1 |
34,831.7 |
2023 Cash Flows for New Jersey PERS (millions)
| Inflows |
Outflows |
Investment Gains (losses) |
Change in Net Assets |
| 4,232.1 |
4,838.2 |
2,869.6 |
2,263.5 |
Note: The PPD average is for plans with a similar fiscal year end (FYE) date to the plan presented on this page.
Cash Flow as a Percentage of Assets
New Jersey PERS
2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
New Jersey PERS |
National Average |
| 2001 |
-3.7 |
-2.0 |
| 2002 |
-4.8 |
-2.4 |
| 2003 |
-5.9 |
-2.5 |
| 2004 |
-3.1 |
-1.8 |
| 2005 |
-4.4 |
-2.2 |
| 2006 |
-3.7 |
-2.2 |
| 2007 |
-2.6 |
-2.0 |
| 2008 |
-2.7 |
-2.1 |
| 2009 |
-4.0 |
-3.1 |
| 2010 |
-3.7 |
-3.2 |
| 2011 |
-4.3 |
-3.0 |
| 2012 |
-4.7 |
-3.2 |
| 2013 |
-4.1 |
-3.1 |
| 2014 |
-5.4 |
-2.9 |
| 2015 |
-5.5 |
-2.7 |
| 2016 |
-5.8 |
-2.9 |
| 2017 |
-5.3 |
-2.8 |
| 2018 |
-4.9 |
-2.4 |
| 2019 |
-4.6 |
-2.4 |
| 2020 |
-4.4 |
-2.3 |
| 2021 |
-3.0 |
-2.0 |
| 2022 |
-1.7 |
-1.9 |
| 2023 |
-1.7 |
-1.9 |
2022 Financial Reports
Benefits
Website for New Jersey PERS benefit descriptions.
