TEXPERS thanks Wolf Popper LLP for its sponsorship of TEXPERS conferences and publications.

Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., an Associate Member of TEXPERS, will participate as a Silver Sponsor of the TEXPERS 2026 Summer Educational Forum, scheduled for Aug. 2-4 at the Westin Riverwalk San Antonio.

TEXPERS is pleased to announce that Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP has signed on as a Table Sponsor for The Hat Affair: A Brunch Extravaganza, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, during the TEXPERS 2026 Summer Educational Forum in San Antonio.

Artificial intelligence and digital finance are no longer experimental concepts sitting on the edge of the financial services industry. They are increasingly part of the operational and investment infrastructure that shapes how institutions communicate, manage risk, process transactions, detect fraud, and interact with financial markets.

Public pension trustees, administrators, investment professionals, and industry partners from across Texas gathered April 26–29 for the TEXPERS 2026 Annual Conference at the Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort.

The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems is now conducting its annual survey of pension systems to gather comparative information on salaries and bonuses for the most common positions in public pensions. TEXPERS members should strongly consider participating in the 2026 NCPERS–CBIZ Public Pension Compensation Survey to save money and gain greater insights into the hiring dynamics for public employee pension systems. The Survey closes May 12.

Each year, the TEXPERS Annual Conference begins with a familiar moment: the singing of the National Anthem. This year, it will be performed as a trio by James Perry, Stephanie Grossman, and Doug Borths during the Opening Ceremony, beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, April 27.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s 2026 Texas Senate committee assignments provide an early look at how pension-related legislation may move when the 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027.

For trustees and administrators responsible for managing public pension systems, understanding how investment advice has evolved is essential to making informed decisions. That topic will take center stage at the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems 2026 Annual Conference, where Dimensional Fund Advisors will serve as Presenting Sponsor.

Each year on the first Friday in March, organizations across the country observe National Employee Appreciation Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the people whose daily work keeps organizations, communities, and essential services running. For TEXPERS, this day carries special meaning. Our association exists because of the commitment of individuals who dedicate their careers to public service and to the stewardship of retirement systems that protect the financial security of public employees across Texas. From pension system administrators and trustees to the professional partners who support them, the work our members do helps ensure that promises made to public workers remain secure.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is creating unprecedented demand for electricity, prompting major technology companies to pursue new energy strategies, including nuclear power development and dedicated data center generation capacity. An upcoming Broadband Breakfast webinar, AI, Nuclear Power and Data Centers (Feb. 18 at Noon ET / 11 a.m. CT), will explore how hyperscale technology firms are reshaping energy markets and investment dynamics in infrastructure. Recent developments include Microsoft’s agreement to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear facility, Google’s partnerships with small modular reactor developers, and Amazon’s investments in nuclear technologies to support future AI infrastructure.

For Texas public pension trustees and administrators, 2025 felt like a long-awaited thaw. Dealmaking picked up. IPO markets reopened. Exit values climbed. On the surface, private equity looked healthier than it had in years. But the newest Global Private Markets Report 2026: Private equity — Clearer view, tougher terrain, released Feb. 10 by McKinsey & Co., offers a more nuanced signal. The fog may have lifted, the authors write, but the terrain ahead is more technical and demanding for both general partners and limited partners.

State governments across the U.S. are racing to attract large-scale data center projects fueled by cloud computing and artificial intelligence; however, a new analysis suggests that the long-term fiscal trade-offs could significantly impact state and local budgets. While the report does not directly address public employee retirement systems, its findings raise questions that are increasingly relevant for pension trustees and administrators, particularly regarding tax policy, infrastructure costs, and long-term fiscal sustainability.

At first glance, federal broadband policy may seem far removed from the day-to-day responsibilities of public employee retirement system trustees and administrators. But recent developments reported by Broadband Breakfast suggest changes that could have meaningful economic implications for Texas communities — and, indirectly, for the public pension systems that serve them.

Texas public employee pension systems will face clearer timelines and applicability rules for required investment reviews under updated guidance approved by state regulators in December, a move aimed at strengthening investment oversight and compliance planning.

Artificial intelligence adoption is often discussed in abstract terms. Pilot programs. Vendor demos. Strategic roadmaps that never quite leave the page. But a recent report from JPMorgan Chase, highlighted by VentureBeat, offers a more grounded example of what large-scale AI use can look like when governance, infrastructure, and organizational trust are aligned. According to the report, roughly half of JPMorgan’s workforce now uses internal AI tools. Not because they were mandated to do so, but because the tools were built to connect directly to real workflows, data, and decision-making needs. For public employee retirement systems, the lesson is less about copying a bank’s technology stack and more about understanding the governance conditions that make adoption possible and sustainable.

Managing a public pension system is a long-term commitment built on trust and transparency. Trustees and administrators are tasked with navigating market uncertainty, fiscal pressure, and public accountability while ensuring that retirement benefits remain secure for both active and retired public employees.

Cybersecurity threats are no longer confined to IT departments or large corporations. They are increasingly a governance and fiduciary issue, especially for public employee retirement systems that rely on a wide network of employers, vendors, and service providers.

The beginning of a new year is a good time to pause. Not to overhaul everything, but to reflect on what matters most and where renewed focus can make a real difference. For public employee pension trustees and administrators, New Year’s resolutions are less about personal ambition and more about responsibility, consistency, and trust.

In this episode of the TEXPERS Deep Dive Podcast, we take a look back at Pensionomics 2025, a national research report released in January 2025 by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), which examines the economic impact of defined benefit pension spending.