New Mexico public pension foresee headwinds

Administrators of New Mexico’s main public pension fund for state and municipal workers say the $15.5 billion trust is struggling to catch up with unfunded obligations and to ensure long-term solvency.

Chief Investment Officer Dominic Garcia of the Public Employees Retirement Association said Thursday odds are against the pension fund catching up soon with its financial obligations to current and future retirees.

He told a panel of lawmakers that combined retirement plans are 75 percent funded, and that there is an 11 percent chance that assets will catch up with liabilities over the next decade.

The fund’s oversight board is evaluating whether its predictions for future investment returns are too rosy.

The boards at New Mexico’s two major pension funds for teachers and public employees are weighing possible solvency reforms.