Last verified 2026-10-01

Iowa PERS — assets, returns and funding

Q: How much does Iowa PERS have in assets?

Iowa PERS reported $46.7bn in total assets for fiscal year 2025, as compiled by the Public Plans Database.

Q: What return did Iowa PERS make on its investments?

Iowa PERS reported a 9.9% one-year investment return for fiscal year 2025, and 8.1% a year over the past ten years, per the Public Plans Database.

Q: Is Iowa PERS fully funded?

Iowa PERS was 92.2% funded for fiscal year 2025 — above the ~80% mark many treat as reasonably sound. US public plans face no federal funding minimum, and actuaries add that the trend matters more than any single line (Public Plans Database).

Q: How is Iowa PERS's money invested?

Iowa PERS held 40.5% of its assets in public equities and 28.5% in fixed income (bonds), its largest sleeves for fiscal year 2025 (Public Plans Database).

Pensions: all tracked plans · Australian super in numbers · Private market performance · the PE statistics · what plans disclose · where they diverge

Newest reported year for this plan: fiscal year 2025 — public plans publish audited figures 6–12 months after year end, and the database compiles them in batches, so this is the current public record, not a stale copy.

Iowa PERS (Iowa) reported $46.7bn of assets for fiscal year 2025, a one-year investment return of 9.9%, and was 92.2% funded — around the ~80% mark the industry reads as sound.

Total assets (FY 2025)	$46.7bn
1-year return	9.9%
5-year return (annualised)	9.5%
10-year return (annualised)	8.1%
Funded ratio (GASB)	92.2%

How the money is invested (asset allocation)

Iowa PERS held 40.5% of its assets in public equities and 28.5% in fixed income (bonds) for fiscal year 2025 — the largest of 6 sleeves it reports, with the rest below:

Public equities	40.5%
Fixed income (bonds)	28.5%
Private equity	16.9%
Commodities	6.9%
Hedge funds	6.1%
Cash	1.1%

The plans most worth reading Iowa PERS against — similar in size, or invested in the same managers — side by side, each with its own page for the detail:

Plan	Assets	1-yr return	Funded ratio	Why comparable
Iowa Municipal Fire and Police	$3.5bn	9.2%	85.4%	Same state — Iowa
Des Moines (IA) Water Works	$56m	8.1%	92.1%	Same state — Iowa
Massachusetts Teachers	$44.3bn	9.6%	63.3%	Similar size
Maryland Teachers	$44.2bn	9.8%	76.8%	Similar size
Texas Municipal	$49.4bn	13.8%	90.4%	Similar size
NY State & Local Police & Fire	$42.6bn	5.8%	88.5%	Similar size

Questions this page answers

How much does Iowa PERS have in assets?

Iowa PERS reported $46.7bn in total assets for fiscal year 2025, as compiled by the Public Plans Database.

What return did Iowa PERS make on its investments?

Iowa PERS reported a 9.9% one-year investment return for fiscal year 2025, and 8.1% a year over the past ten years, per the Public Plans Database.

Is Iowa PERS fully funded?

Iowa PERS was 92.2% funded for fiscal year 2025 — above the ~80% mark many treat as reasonably sound. US public plans face no federal funding minimum, and actuaries add that the trend matters more than any single line (Public Plans Database).

How is Iowa PERS's money invested?

Iowa PERS held 40.5% of its assets in public equities and 28.5% in fixed income (bonds), its largest sleeves for fiscal year 2025 (Public Plans Database).

Figures as reported for fiscal year 2025 · Data: Public Plans Database (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College / MissionSquare Research Institute / NASRA) — used with attribution under its non-commercial terms · Refresh: quarterly pull, annual figures · Limitations: public plans report with a lag — FY figures arrive months after year end; returns are as reported by the plan, net/gross basis varies by plan

See also: all tracked plans · how the private-equity funds these plans invest in have actually performed, from the plans' own disclosures: private market performance, and where plans' numbers diverge on the same fund.