State Retirement System Sees Modest Gains In Fiscal Year 2015

The New Hampshire Retirement System says it saw gains in fiscal year 2015, though the return on investment was smaller than that of previous years. 
 
The trust fund’s assets grew by roughly $120 million to just over $7.5 billion as of June 30th. 
 
The 3.5% return on investment is a drop from the previous year, in which the retirement system earned over $900 million with a 17.6% rate of return. 
 
Officials pointed toward a range of factors that complicated investments over the past year. "NHRS - like all investors - dealt with a very challenging and volatile investment landscape over the past year,” Executive Director George Lagos said in a statement. “These challenges included the re-emergence of Greek debt issues, China’s slowing growth, a strong dollar, and a low and uncertain interest rate environment.” 
 
The state retirement system funds pensions and other benefits for state and local employees. It has over 48,000 active members; about 31,000 individuals receive pension benefits.