Alabama Teachers' Retirement System
| Alabama Teachers' Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Top official: | Mr. John R. Whaley, chair |
| Year founded: | 1939 |
| Active members: | 138,441 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $28,765,969,859 |
- See also: Public pensions in Alabama
The Alabama Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) is a Alabama state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's teachers. TRS had $28,765,969,859 ($28.8 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 TRS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by TRS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with TRS, 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 TRS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Alabama Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), founded in 1939, invests the assets of and provides funding for the state’s teachers. The plan operates as a defined benefit plan[2]
TRS served over 138,441 active members and approximately 107,273 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 Alabama Teachers' Retirement System as of September 30, 2023:[1]
| Alabama Teachers' Retirement System pension performance (September 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[3] |
| 2023 | 65.1% | $15,409,356,863 | $28,765,969,859 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
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| • 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.[4][5]
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.”[6]
List of AMCs contracting with the Alabama Teachers' Retirement System
The Alabama Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) contracted with one asset management company (AMCs) or specific fund as of 2021. It 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 TRS:[7]
- State Street (NZAM)
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 15-member board of trustees that oversees the Alabama Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). The board is not specific to oversight of TRS and exercises oversight duties for the Alabama Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees TRS is made up of 15 members. Three members serve ex-officio, the state superintendent of education, the state treasurer, and the director of finance; and the TRS membership elects twelve members of TRS.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A 15-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of TRS. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2024:[9]
- Mr. 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 Retirement Systems of Alabama, “Teachers' Retirement System of Alabama Report of the Actuary on the Annual Valuation Prepared as of September 30, 2023,” June 4, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ‘’Retirement Systems of Alabama,’’ “TRS,” June 4, 2024
- ↑ Note: By default, this refers to the actuarial valuation of total assets. In some cases, the total market value of assets is shown instead. See the cited source for details.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 ‘’Retirement Systems of Alabama,’’ “TRS Member Handbook,” June 4, 2024
- ↑ ‘’Retirement Systems of Alabama,’’ “Board of Control,” June 4, 2024
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