PSRS and PEERS Receive National Public Pension Standards Awards for Funding and Administration

PSRS and PEERS received the Public Pension Coordinating Council's (PPCC) 2021 Public Pension Standards Awards for meeting professional standards in plan funding and administration.

PSRS has received the awards each year since 2004, and PEERS each year since 2005. Once again, this year, both Systems not only met, but also substantially exceeded the requirements for both the plan funding and administration awards.

"The PPCC awards serve as an important measure of how well we serve our members," said PSRS/PEERS Executive Director Dearld Snider. "We are always pleased to receive this recognition. It affirms the success of our ongoing efforts to administer and fund the Retirement Systems in a professional and prudent manner."

To receive the Recognition Award for Funding, a retirement system must certify that it meets the requirements for funding adequacy, as defined as meeting one or more of the following criteria:

1. A funded ratio of 100% (as of June 30, 2021 PSRS was 85.2% funded and PEERS was 87.7% funded),
2. Contribution rates equal to or greater than 100% of the Actuarially Determined Contribution Rate (both PSRS and PEERS contribution rates currently meet this criterion), or
3. A plan has been approved by the governing body to achieve one or both of these criteria within five years.

To receive the Recognition Award for Administration, a retirement system must certify that it meets the requirements in five areas of assessment. Those areas are:

1. Comprehensive Benefit Program. The system must provide a comprehensive benefit program including service retirement benefits, in-service death benefits, disability benefits, vesting and provisions for granting a cost-of-living adjustment.
2. Actuarial. An actuarial valuation must be completed at least every two years using generally recognized and accepted actuarial principles and practices.
3. Audit. The system must obtain an unqualified opinion from an independent audit conducted following government auditing standards generally accepted in the United States.
4. Investments. The system must follow written investment policies and written fiduciary standards and the system must obtain an annual investment performance evaluation from an outside investment review entity.
5. Communications. Members must be provided a handbook or summary plan description, regular updates to the documents, and an annual benefit statement. Meetings of the governing board of the system must be conducted at least quarterly with adequate public notice.

The PPCC is a coalition of three national associations that represent retirement systems and administrators. 

• The National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA)
• The National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR)
• The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS)

Together, these associations represent more than 500 of the largest pension plans in the United States, serving most of the nation’s 18+ million state and local government  employees.

The Public Pension Standards reflect minimum expectations for public retirement system management, administration and funding. They serve as a benchmark to measure public defined benefit plans. All public retirement systems and the state and local governments sponsoring them are encouraged to meet the standards.