Pension Review Board offering opportunity to influence state training requirements
The Texas Pension Review Board, which oversees the implementation of legislative requirements for the minimum educational training of public retirement fund trustees and administrators, is reviewing its program needs and is asking for feedback from pension system leaders and the public.
Commenters may discuss current training requirements, offer potential changes, or make any other comments as desired according to the following schedule:
- On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the PRB is conducting a Zoom meeting to discuss these issues from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The PRB asks that interested parties pre-register no later than Friday, Dec. 8, at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrd-mvqDIpEtJHJVIBD6ZOdQ9daVtvMiex. Agendas will be provided to registered attendees before the meeting.
- Those who have ideas for improving the PRB’s minimum educational training requirements or want to comment on them can send those thoughts to [email protected].
Under the PRB’s minimum educational training, or MET, program, new trustees and administrators must complete seven credit hours of training in core areas within their first year of service. The core topics are fiduciary matters, governance, ethics, investments, actuarial matters, benefits administration, and risk management.
Trustees and system administrators also must comply with continuing education requirements of at least four credit hours every two years after their first year of service. The credit hours can be for the core or non-core subject areas or any combination thereof, according to the PRB. The non-core areas include compliance, legal and regulatory matters, pension accounting, custodial issues, plan administration, the Texas Open Meetings Act, and the Texas Public Information Act.
More specifics about the training requirements can be found in Texas Administrative Code (state.tx.us). Questions about MET requirements are answered at the PRB’s website here: MET Frequently Asked Questions – Texas Pension Review Board.
TEXPERS offers training that meets MET core and non-core requirements during the Association’s Annual Conference in April and Summer Educational Forum in August. Registration is now open for the Association’s Annual Conference, April 7-10, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. To learn more and register, visit https://bit.ly/TEXPERS2024AC. TEXPERS is a PRB-accredited training sponsor.
About the Author:Joe Gimenez is a public relations professional who specializes in pension fund communications. He has assisted TEXPERS and several Texas pension funds in crisis situations and public affairs.