Employees Retirement System of Georgia
| Employees Retirement System of Georgia | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Top official: | Jim Potvin, executive director |
| Year founded: | 1950 |
| Active members: | 54,781 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $15,033,459,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Georgia
The Employees Retirement System of Georgia (ERSGA) is a Georgia state pension fund that “administers five separate and distinct cost-sharing defined benefit pension plans for employer agencies across the State of Georgia.”[1] ERSGA had $15,033,459,000 ($15 billion) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2023.[2]
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 the Employees Retirement System of Georgia.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Employees Retirement System of Georgia.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Employees Retirement System of Georgia, 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 the Employees Retirement System of Georgia's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Employees Retirement System of Georgia, founded in 1950, operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Georgia state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the State of Georgia public employees and their families.[2]
The Employees Retirement System of Georgia served over 54,781 active members and approximately 54,688 retirees and beneficiaries as of 2023.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Employees Retirement System of Georgia as of June 2023:[2]
| Employees Retirement System of Georgia performance (June 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[3] |
| 2023 | 72.0% | $5,860,477,000 | $15,033,459,000 |
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 Employees Retirement System of Georgia
The Employees Retirement System of Georgia contracted with eight asset management companies (AMCs) as of June 2021. Of those companies or funds, two were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and one was a member of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Employees Retirement System of Georgia:[7]
- Albritton Capital Management
- Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss
- Cooke & Bieler
- Fisher Investments (Climate Action 100+)
- Mondrian Investment Partners Limited
- Sands Capital Management
- WCM Investment Management
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Employees Retirement System of Georgia. The board is not specific to oversight of the Employees Retirement System of Georgia and does exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Employees Retirement System of Georgia is made up of seven members:
- State auditor
- State treasurer
- Department of Administrative services commissioner
- one member appointed by the governor
- two members elected by the board with at least five years of service in ERS
- one member elected by the board with at least 10 years experience in investments and is not a current or former member of ERS.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Employees Retirement System of Georgia. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2023:[8]
- Homer Bryson, chair
- Frank F. Thach, Jr., vice chair
- Eli P. Niepoky
- Rhonda Wilson
- Rebecca Sullivan
- Steve McCoy
- Greg Griffin
See also
- Public pensions in Georgia
- 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
- ↑ Employees Retirement System of Georgia, "About us," accessed June 25, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Employees Retirement System of Georgia, "Report of the Actuary on the Valuation Prepared as of June 30, 2023," accessed June 25, 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 8.2 ERS.gov,’’ “Board of Trustees,” accessed June 24, 2024
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