State and local government pension plan assets grew 10.6% in 2010 to $2.7 trillion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Monday.
The $257.2 billion gain follows two years of investment losses, including investment losses of $621.1 billion in 2009.
Statistics from the 2010 Annual Survey of Public-Employee Retirement Systems show investment increases in almost all categories except for cash, mortgages and real property, which together account for 7.9% of total holdings.
The three largest investment holdings were corporate stocks, which represented 34.78% of all holdings; corporate bonds, 15.88%; and international securities, 15.77%.
The biggest investment gains came from international securities, which increased 13.8% to $421.9 billion. Corporate stocks rose 13.4% to $930.2 billion, while corporate bonds increased 2.8% to $424.9 billion.
Government securities, which accounted for 8.7% of holdings, increased 7.8% to $232 billion.
The survey covers state retirement systems, which in 2010 had $2.2 trillion, or 83% of assets, and local systems with $453.5 billion, or 17% of assets.
Employee contributions decreased 0.5% to $39.1 billion in 2010. Government contributions increased 1.5% to $86.4 billion.
The 2010 Annual Survey collected information on defined benefit plans for fiscal years from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010.
