Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The California Public Employees’Retirement System, the biggest U.S. pension, said its assetsreturned 16.2 percent in 2013, the biggest gain in 11 years, asglobal stocks and private equity soared.

Known as Calpers, the $281 billion fund earned 25.6 percent onits publicly traded equity holdings, Chief Investment Officer JoeDear said at a meeting of the system’s governing board in Monterey.Private equity, which lags three months, gained 19 percent throughthe end of September.

“Equity had a powerhouse year,” Dear said.

Calpers assets passed a pre-recession high of $260.6 billion inMay, five years after the global financial crisis wiped out morethan a third of the fund’s value. Local governments and stateagencies have been forced to help make up the loss and coverbenefits promised to employees.

The pension had a 12.5 percent gain on investment for the fiscalyear ended June 30. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index of sharesrose 29.6 percent in 2013, according to data compiled byBloomberg.

Calpers needs to earn at least 7.5 percent to match its assumedrate of return. The rate is used to calculate how much money theplan will need to cover promised benefits, and what employers mustcontribute.

Dear is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer and has cededsome duties to Ted Eliopoulos, senior investment officer for realestate.

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