January 2018
The funded status of local public pension plans is growing closer to that of state funds, according to a new national study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The same is true of many local plans in Texas, and the outperformance could be due to those systems receiving more of their required contributions and using more rigid funding methods than their state counterparts.

The Board of Trustees of the Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) elected Polk County Commissioner Bob Willis as its new vice chair and re-elected Judge Robert Eckels as chair at its December board meeting.

TEXPERS has become a Visionary Circle member of the National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit research and education organization established to foster a better understanding of retirement security. Membership comes with perks, including one that extends to TEXPERS’ system administrator and trustee members.

The American Legislative Exchange Council last month published "Unaccountable and Unaffordable," a study of public pensions. The report is based on an examination of more than 280 state-administered public pension plans. The methodology and findings of the ALEC study contain serious flaws. For example, the report bases its conclusions on the use of a below-market, risk-free interest rate to calculate the funding condition of public pension plans; and erroneously states that using a risk-free rate for funding is endorsed by the Society of Actuaries.

An advanced training class for public pension system trustees will be conducted on Saturday, April 14 on South Padre Island during the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems' annual conference. 

Sponsors
Put your TEXPERS membership to work. Advertise in the association's monthly TEXPERS Outlook newsletter. It's a very affordable way to reach the association's plan sponsor members and increase visibility with them throughout the year. Review details and the rate sheet  here
About Us 
The Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS) is a statewide voluntary nonprofit association that provides education and legislative advisory services to the trustees, administrators, professional service providers and employee groups that manage the retirement money of police, firefighters, municipal and district employees in cities across Texas.