The Department of Employee Trust Funds published its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report as of and for the year ending December 31, 2023.
This report provides information about the Wisconsin Retirement System and other benefit programs administered by ETF, including the related financial statements and an unmodified, or “clean,” audit opinion.
The WRS continues to be one of the best-funded public employee retirement systems in the country. It attributes its financial strength to the system's unique plan design, funding discipline, strong governance, and the effective investment strategies of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
There are two common funding measurements for public pension plans: fair value and funding value.
The fair value-based ratio, calculated according to standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, puts the WRS’s funding level at 99% as of December 31, 2023. This is an increase from 96% in 2022 and can be attributed to investment gains due to more favorable market conditions in 2023. Because the GASB requires plan assets at fair value, this ratio fluctuates yearly depending on investment performance.
The WRS's funding level remains at 100% using the funding value-based ratio, which smooths investment gains and losses over a five-year period.