At 10 a.m. CST on Thursday, Dec. 8, the Texas Pension Review Board will meet to review the actuarial soundness and compliance of state and local government public retirement systems. Those interested in managing public employee pension systems may attend in person or via videoconference. 

The Texas Pension Review Board meets at 10 a.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Austin at the Capitol Extension, Room E2.028, located at 1100 Congress Avenue. 

In 2018, public pension benefit dollars represented between 0.4% and 1.1% on average of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for each county type in Texas. New research indicates that public pension plans have a particularly positive economic impact on small towns and rural communities.

Interest rates have been on a secular decline since the early-1980s after Paul Volcker pushed short-term rates to nearly 20% to beat back inflation.  Today, by comparison, the Fed Funds rate is targeted between 0.25% and 0.50%.  Unfortunately, as interest rates fell, pension discount rates have barely budged, leading to a widening “yield gap” between what plan fiduciaries expect to receive from the market and what the market can realistically provide.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT: Our client, Austin Fire Fighters Relief & Retirement Fund (AFRS), a single employer defined benefit pension plan provides service retirement, death, disability and termination benefits for eligible members and their survivors, is seeking a Fund Administrator.