The Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho, PERSI, "has experienced two good years of returns and we're cautiously optimistic about the future," PERSI executive director Don Drum told legislative budget writers this morning. "Fiscal year 2011 was a very successful year for PERSI. ... We actually had our highest growth in the last 25 years in the fund this year." During the fiscal year, the fund grew by $1.9 billion, and at the end of the fiscal year was approaching fully funded status at 90.2 percent funded; the U.S. Government Accountability Office considers plans that are 80 percent funded  healthy.

In fiscal year 2011, PERSI paid out $578 million in benefits, Drum said. "Most public employers believe the PERSI benefit is important to retaining staff. ... It also is important in the Idaho economy," he told lawmakers.

In May of 2011, PERSI hit a historic high in its asset value at $12.2 billion; that's a gain of nearly 65 percent since the market low on March 9, 2009. Historically, PERSI's 46-year average returns are 8.31 percent.

Questions from lawmakers included one from Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, who asked how Gov. Butch Otter's proposal to grant state employees one-time bonuses rather than raises next year would affect their PERSI retirement. Drum said bonuses don't count toward retirement. "They would not factor in for the retirement salary calculation," he said.