“Being able to retire with dignity is the promise of the teachers’ pension fund, and it’s a real pleasure to celebrate this moment where we no longer fear for the solvency of that fund,” said CEA President Kate Dias at a news conference earlier this fall announcing the highest-ever funding level of the $40 billion Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF).
“It’s important to understand the context of this news,” she added. “One of my first actions as a union member was to come to the State Capitol for the Keep the Promise campaign, because teachers’ pensions had been so underfunded we were terrified of losing the retirement security we worked so hard for. Thanks to our advocacy and the responsible fiduciaries partnering with us to lift up the profession, a day when our pension is fully funded is on the horizon—and the lesson is that we are a much stronger state when we hold to our obligations. Educators draw on their pensions and immediately put that money back into the economy, so this is a full-circle investment.”
“Every dollar invested in our pension equates to two dollars in economic activity,” Connecticut AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne pointed out.
The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds reported returns of 15.1% for Fiscal Year 2026, substantially outpacing the assumed rate of return of 6.9% for several years in a row. State Treasurer Erick Russell, principal fiduciary of the teachers’ pension fund as well as those of state and municipal employees, noted that funding is up $11 billion, which lowers fixed costs and protects teachers’ and other public employees’ retirement security.
“Another year of strong investment performance is an important result for Connecticut’s pension funds and the people who rely on them,” Russell said. “A 15.1% return this year and four consecutive years of returns above our assumed rate demonstrates the value of maintaining a disciplined, diversified, longterm investment strategy. These results strengthen the retirement security of Connecticut’s teachers and state employees while reducing pressure on future state budgets and helping us continue the progress we have made in strengthening the financial foundation of our state.”
“This has been an enormous turnaround,” Governor Ned Lamont agreed. “This fund was once at the bottom of the barrel—one of the worst-performing pension funds in the country, going back 20, 30, 40 years. Our fund has gone from 30% funded about 10 or 11 years ago to nearly 70% funded today, putting us in the top 25% of public pension funds in the country. We’re not out of the woods, but we’re in a much stronger position than we’ve ever been in.”
Referring to the state’s 70-year history of underfunding or failing to fund teachers’ retirement, he added, “Kate Dias is right. Our teachers were worried that Connecticut wasn’t going to keep its promise, because politicians often make promises for somebody else to keep. Well, that somebody else was us. We’re here to make sure our teachers know we’re honoring our commitment to them.
“The biggest mistake our state made was going 70 years without paying our required contributions into the pension fund. We have to make sure we never go back to doing that, and we need to maximize the funds we have now. Our North Star is always the folks whose money we’re managing, and of the three funds the state manages—state employees, municipal employees, and teachers—the Teachers’ Retirement Fund is the closest to fully funded.”
Although official numbers around the funding ratio won’t be available until the end of the year, Russell’s projections hit close to the 70% mark.
Read More: Connecticut Teacher Pensions Reach Highest-Ever Funding Level – Connecticut