September Board Meeting

The Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri (PSRS/PEERS) Board of Trustees convened on Sept. 2, 2026, at the PSRS/PEERS offices at 3210 W. Truman Blvd., Jefferson City, Missouri. Board members in attendance were Beth Knes, Katie Webb, Chuck Bryant, Dr. Nate Moore, Amanda Perschall, Allie Gassmann, and John Ruth. Also present were Executive Director Dearld Snider, Chief Operating Officer Sarah Swoboda, Chief Investment Officer Craig Husting, Chief Counsel Mike Moorefield, Director of Internal Audit Jeff Hyman, Chief Financial Officer Brandon Robertson, Director of Human Resources Michelle Varcho, Director of Member Services Nicole Hamler, Director of Employer Services Stacie Verslues, Chief Technology Officer Lisa Scheulen, Chief Information Security Officer Jake Woratzeck, Director of Communications Susan Wood, Director of Executive and Board Administration Jennifer Martin, and other PSRS/PEERS staff members.

Regular Board Meeting

System Operations

Approval of Minutes

The Board unanimously approved the minutes from the Investment Symposium (June 8-10) and the June 15, 2026, open session.

Order of Business

The order of business was approved with no changes.

Election of Vice Chair

Katie Webb was unanimously elected to serve as vice chair of the Board for the period Sept. 2, 2026, through June 30, 2027, completing Dr. Eric Park's term.

Election of Budget and Audit Committee member

Allie Gassmann was unanimously elected to the Budget and Audit Committee, filling Dr. Eric Park's vacancy. The other committee members are Beth Knes and Katie Webb.

Other

None

Investments Report

Fiscal Year 2026 Performance and Attribution

Craig Husting from PSRS/PEERS and Michael Hall from Russell (the Systems' investment consultant) provided a detailed presentation on the PSRS/PEERS fiscal year 2026 investment performance. The presentation included: 1) a review of the Systems' investment principles and asset allocation, 2) a summary of fiscal year 2026 performance, 3) PSRS/PEERS' performance relative to expectations and relative to peer groups, 4) attribution for fiscal year 2026 performance, and 5) long-term performance and risk information.

Husting reported that the fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026) investment return for PSRS/PEERS was approximately 12.9%, or 12.7% net of all fees and expenses. The 10-year annualized return for the Systems ending June 30, 2026, was 9.7% (9.5% net). The Systems outperformed the passive benchmark ( 9.0%) for the 10-year period and exceeded 67% of its peer group as defined by the Wilshire TUCS universe of public pension plans with assets more than $1 billion. The Systems generated the investment return while taking less risk than approximately two-thirds of comparable public funds. The PSRS/PEERS internal investment staff and external investment managers added value above the policy benchmark of over $4.7 billion (net) for the last 10 years. The outperformance was due to portfolio construction and tactical asset allocation decisions by internal investment staff (overweighting and underweighting asset classes around targets), as well as active management on the part of external managers.

Management Report

Meeting Dates

The Board unanimously approved the following meeting dates: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2027; Monday, Nov. 1, 2027; and Monday, Dec. 13, 2027.

Member Services Report

Nicole Hamler from PSRS/PEERS reviewed Member Services statistics for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and discussed the department's many accomplishments. She also commended her team for continuing to provide a high level of customer service. She presented total membership statistics, active service information, benefits, working after retirement, and total member interactions.

Key Accomplishments

Sarah Swoboda reviewed key accomplishments since the April Board meeting:

•  In July 2026, PSRS/PEERS mailed 447 retirement packets to new retirees, compared to 3,334 packets mailed in July 2025. The dramatic drop is due to a new electronic delivery option in Web Member Services.
• The Benefit Connection Podcast celebrated its one-year anniversary with 26 episodes, 6,672 views, and 18 guest appearances between August 2025 and August 2026.
• In August, we launched a new option for benefit recipients to receive tax documents. Previously, we mailed all 1099-Rs while also making them available in Web Member Services. Members can now choose to receive tax documents, like their 1099-R tax form, online only. This improves access to documents while also reducing paper mailings.
• Forms and processes related to fund rollovers were reviewed and updated. Several departments collaborated to make the rollover process easier for both members and staff.
• The Secure 2.0 project was completed in May 2026 and involved configuring and testing benefits and payroll systems to implement Secure 2.0 functionality.
• A new Working After Retirement Dashboard was developed in Power BI to analyze and visualize working-after-retirement provisions, providing high-level and detailed insights into usage patterns.
• We received the CEM Benchmarking results. PSRS/PEERS achieved a service score of 90, above the peer median of 80, and maintained low pension administration costs ($27 below peer average).
• The 2026 Experience Study was completed, covering data from 2020-2025.
• We received the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 32nd consecutive year.
• The expansion of the St. Louis office was completed in July 2026. The expanded office space will support staff and operations.
• Six interns completed the investment internship program, including site visits, Bloomberg Certifications, and participation in recruitment efforts for future intern participants.
• We welcomed John Ruth as our newest member of the Board.

CEM Benchmarking

PSRS/PEERS participated in the CEM benchmarking study based on fiscal year 2025 performance. Sarah Swoboda and Stephanie Rankin from PSRS/PEERS and Franco Wang with CEM Benchmarking Inc. presented the final report. CEM benchmarked PSRS/PEERS' service and costs compared to 83 leading global pension systems, including 12 peers of similar size.

For the 10th year in a row, the results were very positive. PSRS/PEERS achieved an overall service score of 90. Our service score has increased from 78 to 90 between 2018 and 2025. This high level of service was provided in a cost-efficient manner with total administration costs below the average cost of the CEM universe.

Wang explained to the Board how CEM measures both costs and service by analyzing more than 120 key performance metrics. Swoboda expressed her appreciation to CEM and to the staff of PSRS/PEERS for continuing to provide a high level of service in a cost-efficient manner.

Board approval of RFP for Fiduciary Legal Counsel

Mike Moorefield reviewed the Fiduciary Counsel Appointment process. Missouri State Law – Section 169.020.20 RSMo allows the Board to appoint an attorney or firm of attorneys to be the legal advisor to the Board and to represent the Board in legal proceedings; however; if the Board does not make such an appointment, the attorney general shall be the legal advisor of the Board of Trustees and shall represent the Board in all legal proceedings. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for fiduciary counsel was issued in July 2026. Under the recommendation of Moorefield and staff, the board voted and unanimously approved Ice Miller as the fiduciary counsel for PSRS/PEERS.

Government Relations Update

Mike Moorefield from PSRS/PEERS and Doug Nelson with Clarkston Nelson LLC presented the government relations update.

Moorefield reviewed the August 2026 primaries, which resulted in many changes.

Next, Moorefield reviewed Missouri's budget and fiscal outlook. Fiscal year 2026 saw a 2.8% decrease in actual collections versus a 2.1% estimated decrease, leading to Governor Kehoe's vetoes and withholds for fiscal year 2027. Auditor Fitzpatrick's June 2026 report highlights surplus spending and exhaustion of funds, indicating tough choices ahead for discretionary spending.

Lastly, Moorefield highlighted some key issues that may be forthcoming in the 2027 legislative session, including tax cuts, property tax reform, data center regulation, AI frameworks, budget decisions, and the potential impact of amendments on the November ballot.

CPI-U Update

Snider reviewed the COLA policy that was set by the Board of Trustees at their Nov. 3, 2017, meeting. According to the policy, COLAs may be granted based on the CPI-U as follows:

Snider explained that the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPI-U is the measure of the change in prices of goods and services purchased by urban consumers between any two time periods. A PSRS/PEERS regulation requires that the time period for the CPI-U calculation used in the determination of a COLA be from June to June. Based on the values provided by the BLS, the CPI-U is up 3.53% for the year ended June 30, 2026. The CPI-U calculation for fiscal year 2026-2027 is -0.01% through July 31, 2026. The August CPI-U update will not be released until Sept. 11, 2026.

Public Comment

None

Other

None

Closed Session

The Board went into closed session at 12:45 p.m.

Adjournment

The Board adjourned at 2:19 p.m.

This summary is not the official minutes of the PSRS/PEERS Board of Trustees meeting. The official minutes will be approved at the next PSRS/PEERS Board of Trustees meeting and will be posted to our website at that time.