Erick Russell has been state treasurer only since January 2023.
Over the course of those two years, though, he’s instituted reforms that have improved the state’s finances. That prompted a prominent critic of past state treasurers to call him “probably the best treasurer we’ve had in 30 years.”
Under Russell, the state pension fund has grown. In December, he joined Gov. Ned Lamont and Comptroller Sean Scanlon in announcing that the state employees retirement system is now 55.2% funded, the highest level since 2003, while the state teachers’ pension fund is 62.3% funded, highest since 2008.
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While Connecticut remains one of just six states with pensions funded below 60%, the improvement is significant. It’s due in part to $8.5 billion in additional contributions since 2020, but also to two straight years of strong investment returns — 8.5% in fiscal year 2023, and 11.5% in fiscal 2024 — aided by investment changes Russell put in place.
Born and raised in New Haven, Russell got his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. After college, he took a job at law firm Pullman & Comley, where he was eventually elevated to partner in the firm’s public and private finance group.
Russell represented towns, cities and the state in financing infrastructure projects, managing debt and restructuring pension obligations.