According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation's state retirement systems lost significant assets — $641.3 billion (24 percent) from 2008 to 2009.
In 2009, state retirement systems had $2 trillion in holdings and assets, down from $2.7 trillion in 2008. This follows a $152.2 billion loss the previous year.
These large decreases are mostly thanks to the financial crisis; a $484.9 billion decrease in earnings on investments between 2008 and 2009 followed a loss of $439.8 billion the previous year. Retirement systems have substantial investments in financial markets and consequently earnings are dependent on changes in market performance.
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