VRS administers pension, disability, survivors, and other benefits for most public employees in the Commonwealth, including state employees, public school teachers, and employees of political subdivisions that have elected to participate. The system administers four pension plans, including the VRS, which covers all participants who are not public safety personnel, correctional officers, or judges; the SPORS plan for state police; the VALORS plan for other law enforcement personnel and correctional officers; and the JRS plan for judges. More than 96 percent of active participants belong to the VRS plan. In addition, the VRS administers a life insurance, retiree health insurance, and a disability plan.
Virginia Retirement System Basics, by Plan
| Plan |
Assets (millions) |
Total Members |
| Virginia RS |
98,127.3 |
687,694 |
| Other Plans |
3,688.8 |
115,330 |
| Total |
101,816.0 |
803,024 |
Source: Public Plans Database (as of 2023)
Note: Virginia Retirement System has 3 other plans.
Assets
Assets at Year-End
Virginia Retirement System
2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Net Assets (billions) |
| 2001 |
36.7 |
| 2002 |
33.5 |
| 2003 |
33.8 |
| 2004 |
39.0 |
| 2005 |
43.1 |
| 2006 |
47.6 |
| 2007 |
56.9 |
| 2008 |
53.6 |
| 2009 |
41.3 |
| 2010 |
46.3 |
| 2011 |
53.2 |
| 2012 |
52.1 |
| 2013 |
57.0 |
| 2014 |
64.5 |
| 2015 |
66.4 |
| 2016 |
66.4 |
| 2017 |
73.0 |
| 2018 |
76.9 |
| 2019 |
80.3 |
| 2020 |
79.4 |
| 2021 |
98.9 |
| 2022 |
97.4 |
| 2023 |
101.8 |
Membership
Ratio of Actives to Beneficiaries, 2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Virginia Retirement System |
US State and Local Pensions |
| 2001 |
3.1 |
2.4 |
| 2002 |
3.0 |
2.3 |
| 2003 |
2.9 |
2.2 |
| 2004 |
2.8 |
2.1 |
| 2005 |
2.7 |
2.1 |
| 2006 |
2.7 |
2.0 |
| 2007 |
2.6 |
2.0 |
| 2008 |
2.5 |
1.9 |
| 2009 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
| 2010 |
2.3 |
1.8 |
| 2011 |
2.2 |
1.7 |
| 2012 |
2.1 |
1.6 |
| 2013 |
2.0 |
1.5 |
| 2014 |
1.9 |
1.4 |
| 2015 |
1.8 |
1.4 |
| 2016 |
1.8 |
1.4 |
| 2017 |
1.7 |
1.4 |
| 2018 |
1.7 |
1.3 |
| 2019 |
1.6 |
1.3 |
| 2020 |
1.6 |
1.3 |
| 2021 |
1.5 |
1.2 |
| 2022 |
1.5 |
1.2 |
| 2023 |
1.5 |
1.2 |
2023 Membership for Virginia Retirement System
| Actives |
Beneficiaries |
Inactive Vested |
Total Membership |
# of Participating Employers |
| 356,515 |
236,208 |
210,301 |
803,024 |
824 |
Cash Flows
Cash Flow vs. Total Assets (Millions)
Virginia Retirement System
2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Cash Flow |
Assets |
| 2001 |
-123.9 |
36,693.3 |
| 2002 |
-484.6 |
33,455.8 |
| 2003 |
-644.7 |
33,780.7 |
| 2004 |
-679.4 |
39,039.1 |
| 2005 |
-580.6 |
43,059.9 |
| 2006 |
-646.9 |
47,626.7 |
| 2007 |
-490.2 |
56,890.2 |
| 2008 |
-516.9 |
53,599.6 |
| 2009 |
-759.5 |
41,348.4 |
| 2010 |
-1,295.7 |
46,287.0 |
| 2011 |
-1,848.9 |
53,151.1 |
| 2012 |
-1,700.9 |
52,091.4 |
| 2013 |
-1,192.1 |
56,979.2 |
| 2014 |
-1,332.4 |
64,522.3 |
| 2015 |
-1,013.5 |
66,431.1 |
| 2016 |
-1,130.4 |
66,439.3 |
| 2017 |
-1,455.7 |
73,000.3 |
| 2018 |
-1,465.4 |
76,889.0 |
| 2019 |
-1,656.4 |
80,317.6 |
| 2020 |
-1,944.9 |
79,358.1 |
| 2021 |
-1,982.4 |
98,880.9 |
| 2022 |
-1,400.0 |
97,365.5 |
| 2023 |
-1,807.8 |
101,816.0 |
2023 Cash Flows for Virginia Retirement System (millions)
| Inflows |
Outflows |
Investment Gains (losses) |
Change in Net Assets |
| 4,424.2 |
6,232.0 |
6,258.4 |
4,450.6 |
Cash Flow as a Percentage of Assets
Virginia Retirement System
2001-2023
| Fiscal Year |
Virginia Retirement System |
National Average |
| 2001 |
-0.3 |
-2.1 |
| 2002 |
-1.4 |
-2.0 |
| 2003 |
-1.9 |
-2.5 |
| 2004 |
-1.7 |
-2.0 |
| 2005 |
-1.3 |
-2.2 |
| 2006 |
-1.4 |
-2.2 |
| 2007 |
-0.9 |
-2.1 |
| 2008 |
-1.0 |
-2.3 |
| 2009 |
-1.8 |
-3.1 |
| 2010 |
-2.8 |
-3.2 |
| 2011 |
-3.5 |
-3.1 |
| 2012 |
-3.3 |
-3.3 |
| 2013 |
-2.1 |
-3.1 |
| 2014 |
-2.1 |
-2.9 |
| 2015 |
-1.5 |
-2.8 |
| 2016 |
-1.7 |
-3.0 |
| 2017 |
-2.0 |
-2.9 |
| 2018 |
-1.9 |
-2.6 |
| 2019 |
-2.1 |
-2.6 |
| 2020 |
-2.5 |
-2.4 |
| 2021 |
-2.0 |
-2.1 |
| 2022 |
-1.4 |
-2.1 |
| 2023 |
-1.8 |
-2.1 |
