New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) delivered a strong estimated investment return of 11.94% for the state fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, closing at a record-high estimated value of $295.4 billion — the highest fiscal year-end value in the Fund’s history.
“The New York State Common Retirement Fund delivered another year of strong results despite economic uncertainty, persistent inflation, and turbulence out of Washington,” DiNapoli said. “Under my watch, our diversified, disciplined investment strategy continues to protect the retirement security of nearly 1.3 million public workers, retirees and their families. We have built one of the nation’s strongest and best-funded public pension funds by focusing on long-term stability, smart diversification, and responsible risk management. Reaching a record-high value is a testament to the strength of our investment team and our commitment to keeping the promises made to New Yorkers.”
The Fund’s long-term expected rate of return is 5.9%, the second lowest among major public pension funds in the country. During his tenure, DiNapoli steadily lowered the assumed rate of return from 8% to a more prudent and sustainable level that has earned praise from independent fiscal experts for strengthening the Fund’s long-term fiscal health.
While annual returns can fluctuate with market conditions, the Fund continues to deliver strong long-term performance, achieving a three-year annualized return of 9.74%, five-year annualized return of 6.77% and a 10-year annualized return of 8.94%.
The Fund's value reflects retirement and death benefits of $16.8 billion paid out during the fiscal year.
As of March 31, 2026, the Fund had 39.4% of its assets invested in publicly traded equities. The remaining Fund assets by allocation are invested in cash, bonds, and mortgages (22.9%), private equity (14.3%), real estate and real assets (14.3%), and credit, absolute return strategies, and opportunistic alternatives (9.1%).
DiNapoli’s management of the Fund has received praise from two independent reviews in 2026. First, a legally required fiduciary and conflict of interest review of the Fund released in January recognized the Fund for its exemplary investment oversight, risk management, and ethical governance. This review, conducted by Weaver and Tidwell LLP and required by state regulations, is part of the reforms that DiNapoli fought for when he became State Comptroller to provide the public with a clear, independent assessment of how the Fund is being managed and where improvements could be made.
Weaver’s review found:
- The Fund operates under a strong governance framework with a rigorous system of internal controls and maintains a high level of operational transparency.
- DiNapoli manages the Fund with the highest ethical, professional, and conflict of interest standards, and acts for the sole benefit of the retirement system’s members and beneficiaries.
- The Fund has a great deal of focus on the fees applied to each individual deal and whether the proposed fees fall within prevailing market norms.
- The Fund demonstrates a strategic asset allocation between public and private markets that closely aligns with its peer group.
- Fund staff are knowledgeable and dedicated and manage the Fund in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
The review highlights that the Fund’s high-funded status and conservative assumed rate of return put it in a stronger financial position to meet long-term obligations than its peers and is able to weather market volatility. The funded status was 92.2%, as of March 31, 2025, and is still being calculated for the fiscal year that just ended.
A second independent review conducted by the State Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Funds’ regulator, found the investment and risk teams are performing their duties professionally and competently while safeguarding the retirement security of the state pension fund’s members. The report found total fund performance versus benchmarks over 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods “has been very good,” and highlighted the Fund’s consistently healthy funded ratio as evidence of a well-managed portfolio and low risk to pensioners, and found that investment fees and expenses were reasonable.
Employer contribution rates are determined by investment results over a multi-year period along with numerous other actuarial assumptions, including wage growth, inflation, age of retirement, and mortality. Integral to the Fund’s strength have been the state and local governments, which consistently pay their contributions.
The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. It holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of nearly 1.3 million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries, and has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded public plans in the nation.
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