WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced a 13.9% net return on investments for the 2025–26 fiscal year. The total Teachers’ Retirement Fund was valued at $415.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.
CalSTRS is a long-term investor with a goal of achieving an average return of 7.0% to meet pension obligations. The 2025–26 return keeps CalSTRS on track, as the 5-,10-, 20- and 30-year returns, including the 9.4% 10-year return, all surpass the actuarial assumption of 7.0% despite inflation, stock market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty.
This strong return reflects the dedication and skill of our investments team and everyone at CalSTRS who supports their work,” Chief Executive Officer Cassandra Lichnock said. “This is a significant step toward achieving full funding, which is vitally important to fulfilling our mission to secure the financial future of California’s public school educators and their beneficiaries.”
CalSTRS is ahead of schedule to reach full funding by 2046. The CalSTRS funded status was 79.3% as of June 30, 2025, the eighth consecutive year the funded status has increased. The funded status has grown nearly 17 percentage points—from 62.6% to 79.3%—since 2017. Funded status refers to the ratio of CalSTRS’ assets to its total pension obligations.
The next actuarial valuation of the Defined Benefit Program, which will include an updated funded status, will be released in May 2027.
While we’re pleased with this year’s return, we remain focused on creating consistent, decades-long growth,” Chief Investment Officer Scott Chan said. “Our ability to attain returns above 7% over the long term in an increasingly complex market demonstrates the success of our diversified investment approach, risk management and ability to outperform our policy benchmark.”