Why Florida state worker pensions are in a pickle

This fall, Florida's top pension plan investment manager is singing the praises of his fund that managed to wring out a feeble 0.61% return on investments this fiscal year.

“The positive net returns show the value of diversification, our success in controlling costs, and the prudence and patience of sticking to the fund's long-term investment plan in a challenging year,” said Ash Williams, executive director of the State Board of Administration, which manages investments for the Florida Retirement System.

It's nice that he wants to be so cheerful, but there is a problem with the positivity. It's based on an idea that the goal is to simply get returns greater than 0% each year. But pension systems need to do more than just avoid losing money. For the Florida Retirement System, the goal is to get returns greater than 7.65%.