The U.S. Senate today, Dec. 21, overwhelmingly passed the Social Security Fairness Act with a 76-20 bipartisan vote, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These longstanding federal policies have denied nearly 3 million public employees, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, and teachers, their full Social Security benefits.

New training rules will be in place beginning Jan. 1, 2025, ensuring that pension trustees and administrators are fully prepared for the challenges of managing public pension funds.

There is a bill on the Texas Senate Calendar for April 19 that relates to the fiduciary responsibilities of the governing bodies of public retirement systems in the state and their investment managers and proxy advisors.

The Texas House Committee on Pensions, Investments and Financial Services is holding a public hearing at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 12 in E2.014 of the Capitol Building. 

TEXPERS System Members will likely keep an eye on the Senate Committee on State Affairs, which reviews legislation under its purview, including pension regulations, during the 88th Legislative Session. 

The Texas Pension Review Board committee creating rules for implementing House Bill 3898 accepted new, flexible proposals from the staff at its May meeting. The rules will be presented to the full Board on July 14 and the official public comment period will begin. Ultimate consideration of all comments and changes is planned for the October PRB meeting.

Amundi Asset Management is serving as a Gold Keynote Sponsor of TEXPERS' 2022 Summer Educational Forum to be held Aug. 21-23, 2022, in El Paso, Texas.

We believe the COVID-19 crisis has facilitated a fundamental reshaping of society in how people shop and pay, along with how businesses interact with their employees, customers, and other businesses.