The New Hampshire Retirement System is reporting a $700 million gain in assets and crediting improved economic conditions and federal monetary policy.
The system reported Thursday that the fund grew from $5.8 billion to $6.5 billion during the fiscal year that ended on June 30. That is a 14.5 percent rate of return on investments.
System executive director George Lagos cautioned that while the results are good, the system's primary focus is to meet or exceed a 7.75 percent rate of return over the long term.
The public pension system covers about 49,000 active and 28,000 retired state and municipal workers, teachers, police and firefighters. Contributions from employers — the state and local governments — and employees plus money earned through investments make up the pension fund.