June 19, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Matt Stohr
(608) 266-3641
2010 Wisconsin Retirement System Contribution Rates Announced

MADISON, (Wis.) – Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) Secretary
David Stella
announced today that required Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS)
employer and employee
contribution rates that fund future WRS benefits will increase
slightly next year, as expected.

The ETF Board approved the new rates yesterday, following the
recommendation of the retirement system’s consulting actuary. The rate
increases, expressed as a percentage of salary, go into effect for
salaries and wages paid beginning January 1, 2010 and are as follows:

Employee Category 2009 2010 Percent of Payroll Increase
General/Teacher 10.4% 11.0% 0.6%
Elected Official/Executive/Judge 11.5% 11.9% 0.4%
Protective covered by Social Security 13.1% 14.1% 1.0%
Protective not covered by Social Security 13.8% 15.2% 1.4%

The modest increases in contribution rates for 2010 are a direct
result of investment declines in
2008, brought about by the global economic crisis, said Stella.
Contribution rate changes,
whether increases or decreases, are considered normal for retirement
systems that pre-fund
retirement benefits. Despite these modest increases, WRS contribution
rates continue to be
relatively stable and below historic highs. For example, the total
contribution rate for general
category employees reached 11.6% in 1996.

For the history of WRS contribution rates, visit:
http://www.etf.wi.gov/employers/wrs_contribution_rates.htm

More
STATE OF WISCONSIN
Department of Employee Trust Funds
David A. Stella
SECRETARY
801 W Badger Road
PO Box 7931
Madison WI 53707-7931
1-877-533-5020 (toll free)
Fax (608) 267-4549
http://etf.wi.gov
Contribution rates, page two
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Additional information:
More than two-thirds of the funding of WRS benefits comes from
investment returns.
The WRS prefunds retiree benefits. Contributions and investment
income collected during an employees’ working career fund their future
benefits. Benefits paid to current retirees are not affected by
employer and employee contribution rate changes.
The WRS has approximately 263,000 active employees, including
teachers, University of Wisconsin System employees, state workers and
most local government workers, with a total annual payroll of
approximately $12.1 billion. Notable exceptions are the City of
Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, which have separate retirement
systems. Roughly 75% of the active WRS employees work for a local unit
of government, such as
a school district, county, city, etc. General category employees
comprise approximately 91% of the total WRS employee population.
The market value of the trust funds as of December 31, 2008 was
approximately $61.8
billion. The WRS is the 9th largest US public pension fund and the
24th largest pension fund in the world. The rates shown in the table
do not include other mandatory employer contributions for duty
disability, the state’s Accumulated Sick Leave Conversion Credit
Program, or unfunded liabilities, all of which vary by employer.