General Treasurer Seth Magaziner today released a Final Report, which provides an overview of the Administration’s achievements and progress over the past eight years as Treasurer Magaziner and his team have worked to increase economic opportunity and financial stability for all Rhode Islanders.
"Over the course of my Administration, our office has made significant progress towards our vision of building a stronger, more resilient economy in our state by making historic investments to fix public school buildings, putting Rhode Islanders to work in good-paying jobs on clean energy projects, supporting local small businesses, and growing the State’s pension fund that thousands of Rhode Islanders and their families rely on for retirement security," said General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. "This final report provides a summary of our achievements over the past eight years in helping Rhode Islanders to become more financially secure and build a stronger economy for our state."
The final lookback report provides an overview of the performance of many programs and initiatives under Treasurer Magaziner’s leadership over the last eight years including:
- Strengthening performance and providing greater stability for the pension system under Treasurer Magaziner’s “Back to Basics” investment strategy. The funded status of the pension fund grew to 63.9% in Fiscal Year 2021, the highest level since 2008, while the unfunded liability decreased by $408,597,654 – the largest single-year decrease in over a decade. The average annualized investment return during Treasurer Magaziner’s administration was 7.3% between January 2015 and November 2022, considerably outperforming a traditional portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, which returned 5.0% during the same period.
- Launching the historic investment in Rhode Island’s school buildings developed by the School Building Task Force Magaziner chaired. In just over four years, the program has allocated more than $2.2 billion to repair or replace 202 school buildings in communities across the state, creating 36,000 construction-related jobs and benefitting over 100,000 Rhode Island students annually.
- Returning more than $84 million to over 150,000 people since 2015 through the state’s Unclaimed Property program. Treasurer Magaziner also launched YOUR MONEY, an automated program through which unclaimed property checks are sent to Rhode Islanders, businesses, and non-profits automatically, with no paperwork required with the support of the General Assembly in 2017. Under YOUR MONEY, over 42,000 Rhode Islanders, in every city, town, and zip code, have automatically received their missing money, without filling out any paperwork.
- Putting thousands of Rhode Islanders to work in good-paying jobs on energy efficiency projects through the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, which has significantly increased the availability of capital and invested more than $842 million in green infrastructure projects in 34 communities across the state while reducing the state’s carbon footprint, saving Rhode Island communities and taxpayers millions on utility bills and creating over 17,250 jobs.
- Supporting Rhode Island small businesses through BankLOCAL, a program created by Treasurer Magaziner that moved millions of dollars of the State’s cash to local banks and credit unions and has since provided over 450 local small businesses greater access to more than $44 million dollars in capital to help them grow and hire.
- Expanding support for victims and minor witnesses of violent crime through the Crime Victim Compensation Program, which has provided more than $9 million to support 3,121 Rhode Islanders since 2015. Treasurer Magaziner advocated for and helped pass legislation expanding the program to provide enhanced support for victims of domestic violence to relocate to safety away from their abusers and mental health services for children who witness these crimes. 1,043 people, primarily victims of domestic violence, have since been provided with emergency relocation funding to escape unsafe, life-threatening living situations.
- Building CollegeBound Saver’s status as one of the highest-rated 529 savings programs in the country, with over $4.4 billion in assets across over 180,000 accounts. Treasurer Magaziner expanded the program to cover the costs associated with apprenticeships and other valuable job training programs for Rhode Islanders at the beginning of their careers or workers considering a career change.
"I’d like to thank all the staff and community partners who have made these achievements possible," said General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. "Their efforts have made a profound impact on the lives of Rhode Islanders and made our state’s economy stronger and more resilient. I am extremely proud of our work together and more excited than ever for the future of Rhode Island."
Links
Administration of General Treasurer Seth Magaziner Final Report
