Total participants of the Wisconsin Retirement System reached 703,515 in 2024, according to the latest Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) published by ETF.
The total comprises 269,249 active employees; 193,141 inactive participants; and 241,125 retirees and annuitants.
The ACFR as of and for the year ending December 31, 2024, provides information about the WRS and other benefit programs administered by ETF, including related financial statements.
It received an unmodified, or “clean,” audit opinion from the Legislative Audit Bureau.
According to the report, the WRS continues to be one of the best-funded public employee retirement systems in the country. It attributes its financial strength to the system’s unique plan design, funding discipline, strong governance, and the effective investment strategies of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
By end of 2024, the WRS net position rose by 5% to $134.5 billion from the previous year, and the WRS paid a total of $7.6 billion in benefit expenses.
There are two common funding measurements for public pension plans: fair value and funding value.
The fair value-based ratio, calculated according to standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), puts the WRS’s funding level at 99% as of December 31, 2024. Because the GASB requires plan assets at fair value, this ratio fluctuates yearly depending on investment performance.
The WRS’s funding level remains at 100% using the funding value-based ratio, which smooths investment gains and losses over a five-year period.