Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Alabama Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan
| Alabama Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Top official: | John R. Whaley, chair |
| Year founded: | 1983 |
| Active members: | 135,931 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $ 1,877,790,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Alabama
The Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) is a Alabama state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public education employees. PEEHIP had $ 1,877,790,000 ($1.9 billion) in total assets under management as of September 30, 2023.[1]
The management of public pension funds can indicate support or opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment practices. ESG investing considers the extent to which corporations align with and promote certain non-financial standards, such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals. States typically hire asset management companies (AMCs) to direct pension plan investments, some of which have ESG commitments that guide their strategies.
This article features the following sections:
- Background: Information about the structure and functions of PEEHIP.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by PEEHIP.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with PEEHIP, including a list of contracting AMCs that are participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
- Governance and accountability: Details about PEEHIP's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP), founded in 1983, invests the assets of and provides funding for the pensions of the state’s public education employees.[2]
PEEHIP served over 135,931 active members and approximately 97,905 retirees and beneficiaries as of September 30, 2023.[2][1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan as of September 30, 2023:[1]
| Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan pension performance (September 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total market value of assets |
| 2023 | 38.9%% | $ 2,951,489,800 | $1,877,790,000 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
|
| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Asset management companies (AMCs) are hired to manage asset investment for state pension funds across all 50 states.
As of October 2024, 330 AMCs were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 391 AMCs were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aimed to align the investment decisions of signatories with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[3][4]
NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website. The group said in a statement it would reevaluate its plans and operations in light of “[r]ecent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”[5]
List of AMCs contracting with the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan
The Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) contracted with one asset management company (AMCs) or specific fund as of 2021. The company was not an investor participant in Climate Action 100+, but was a member of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMC (and in some cases, the specific fund) contracting with PEEHIP:[6]
- State Street (NZAM)
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 15-member board of trustees that oversees the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP). The board is not specific to oversight of PEEHIP and exercises oversight duties for the Alabama Teachers' Retirement System.[7]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees PEEHIP is made up of 15 members.Some members of the board are elected, while others serve ex officio, or because of their held office in state government.[7]
Board of trustees membership
A 15-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of PEEHIP. The following individuals served on the board as of May 2024:[7]
- John R. Whaley, chair
- Dr. Susan Williams Brown, vice chair
- Dr. Eric Mackey
- Hon. Young Boozer
- Mr. Bill Poole
- Ms. Peggy Mobley
- Ms. Anita Gibson
- Mr. A. Jason Davidson
- Dr. Thomas E. Jones
- Dr. William A. Walsh
- Ms. Kelli D. Shomaker
- Ms. Amanda Miller
- Ms. Mary Beth Tate
- Mrs. Susan Lockridge
- Ms. Amy Knight Fowler
See also
- Public pensions in Alabama
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Arguments about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
- Reform proposals related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing
- State legislative approaches supporting ESG investing
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Retirement Systems of Alabama, “Alabama Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan Report of Actuary on the Retiree Health Care Valuation Prepared as of September 30, 2023,” May 29, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Retirement Systems of Alabama, “PEEHIP,” May 29, 2024
- ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
- ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
- ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Retirement Systems of Alabama, “Board of Control,” May 29, 2024
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
