STRS Ohio

STRS Ohio, or the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, is one of the leading retirement systems and one of the largest pension fund in the United States. The agency was founded back in 1920 and is the oldest public pension system in Ohio. The system currently has approximately half a million active and inactive members comprised of license teachers and administrations, faculties of public colleges and universities, and educational employees and country boards of developmental disabilities within the State of Ohio. In 2013, STRS Ohio paid over $7.1 billion in total benefits to its eligible members, comprised of services retirement, disability and survivor benefits to over 152,000 individuals. The system is header by the 11 members of the State Teachers Retirement Board made of 5 elected contributing teacher members, 2 elected retired teacher members, the superintendent of public instruction, and 3 investment experts appointed by the governor, treasurer of state, and jointly by the Ohio Senate President and Speaker of Ohio House of Representatives, all serving four year terms. The system currently has around 575 associates and over $77 billion in total assets. Around three quarters of STRS Ohio’s investments are managed internally by its over 100 investment professionals while the rest are invested by outside managers. Most of its investments are placed in the domestic and international equities sectors, which together make up over half of its total investments, with other assets allocated in the fixed income, alternative investments, real estate, and short term investment sectors, listed in order of decreasing amount allocated. The system’s total investment assets has grown drastically in the past three decades, growing from just over $8 billion in 1984 to over $30 billion by 1996 to its current amount today with losses in 2002 and 2009 that STRS Ohio recovered quickly from. Most of its revenue comes from investment returns with employer contributions, member contributions, and others comprising the rest in decreasing amounts.