Public Retirement funds continue to get battered

Things are getting a little ugly here in Ohio: WorldCom customers uneasy; Ohio?s retirement funds hurt.

PERS and other public retirement funds are getting hit hard by these scandals. Enron, Global Crossing – all of these company’s flame outs have hit the retirement system’s investments and WorldCom is no exception:

Ohio?s state retirement funds have lost more than $300 million in value stemming from their investments in WorldCom, officials said on Thursday.
The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio put its loss at $206 million in WorldCom stock and bonds, about 0.4 percent of its $52 billion portfolio, spokeswoman Linda Lewis said.
The State Teachers Retirement Fund of Ohio still is calculating its lost value in WorldCom investments, but it figures to be more than $100 million, said Herb Dyer, the fund?s executive director.
The School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, which handles the retirement of bus drivers, janitors and other school workers, calculated its loss at $6.1 million, less than a tenth of 1 percent of its $7.32 billion portfolio.
The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund holds $6 million in WorldCom bonds in its $8.2 billion portfolio.

Ouch.