Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

• We issued an unqualified opinion on the financial statements of the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota (TRA) as of and for the year ended June 30, 2007.
• We did not identify any significant deficiencies involving TRA’s internal control over financial reporting or noncompliance with significant legal provisions that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.

Background Information

TRA is the administrator of a multi-employer, cost sharing, defined benefit fund.  Its members include teachers employed in Minnesota’s public elementary and secondary schools, charter schools, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, and all other state educational institutions, with the exception of teachers employed by the cities of Saint Paul and Duluth and the University of Minnesota. 

TRA provided retirement coverage for 77,694 active members, 46,538 retired members, and 12,636 members who no longer contribute but are eligible for future annual benefits.

At June 30, 2007, TRA’s total net assets held in trust for pension benefits were approximately $19.9 billion.  For the year ended June 30, 2007, TRA received contributions and direct aid of about $409 million and paid benefits and refunds of about $1.3 billion.