As described in the Maryland Reporter, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System Board of Trustees recently lowered its investment target for the state pension fund, which is currently valued around $41 billion.  The Board lowered the investment target from 7.75% to 7.55%, a move it’s been considering for over a year, according to the Maryland Reporter.

The rate of return on investment is a key target that helps determine how much the state must put away to fund the retirement of over 300,000 active and retired state employees and public school teachers. Next year the state government is expected to contribute $1.9 billion into the pension fund, with the counties helping carry some of the load on teacher pensions. That’s up $200 million from this year’s annual contribution to the pension fund.

The change will be phased-in over the next four years, as recommended by Maryland’s Secretary of Budget and Management, Eloise Foster, according to the Maryland Reporter.

For more information, see the full story from the Maryland Reporter.