Pennsylvania Treasurer Torsella Welcomes Auditor General's Performance Audit Of PSERS

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella today welcomed the Auditor General's performance audit of the Pennsylvania School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS).

"I commend Auditor General DePasquale for initiating this audit of PSERS, and support his call for PSERS to reduce fees paid to outside investment managers, $416 million annually according to the audit. While there has been progress on this issue at PSERS in recent years, as I have said repeatedly, we can and should do much better to save Pennsylvanians' money by reducing Wall Street fees. Today's audit should remind us all to work harder toward that goal, as well as the other important recommendations.

"I intend to ask the PSERS board to consider our proposal for reducing fees by 20 basis points over a three-year period at its June meeting. I have been encouraged by the initial response of PSERS staff and fellow board members, and am hopeful that we can make real progress.

"While lowering fees alone will not solve our pension challenges, there is no reason we should delay in finding every dollar we can save and every efficiency we can find to improve the health of our pension systems."

Last month, Governor Wolf and Treasurer Torsella sent a joint letter to the boards of SERS and PSERS to encourage them to reduce investment costs by moving away from high-fee investments, implement administrative efficiencies, and provide supplemental savings opportunities for public educators.

Media contact: Heidi Havens, Treasury, 717-787-2991 or [email protected]

The Pennsylvania Treasury is an independent department of state government led by the state treasurer, who is elected every four years. The department's primary duty is to safeguard and manage the state's public funds. It invests state money to generate income on behalf of the citizens of Pennsylvania, reviews and processes payments for state government agencies, and serves as custodian of more than $100 billion in state funds. Key Treasury programs include Unclaimed Property, PA 529 College Savings Program and the Board of Finance and Revenue. To learn more visit patreasury.gov.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Treasury Department