Kansas Public Employee Retirement System
| Kansas Public Employee Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Topeka, Kansas |
| Top official: | James Zakoura, chairperson |
| Year founded: | 1962 |
| Active members: | 151,984 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $26,450,000,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Kansas
The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System is a Kansas state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public sector employees. The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System had $26,450,000,000 ($26.45 billion) in total assets under management as of December 31, 2022.[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 the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Kansas Public Employee Retirement System, 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 Kansas Public Employee Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System, founded in 1962, invests the assets of and provides funding for the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS), the Kansas Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (KP&F), and the Kansas Retirement System for Judges (KRSJ). KPERS, KP&F, and KRSJ all operate as defined benefit pension plans based on a formula established by Kansas state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary—provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public sector employees.[2]
The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System served over 151,984 active members and approximately 113,031 retirees and beneficiaries as of December 2022.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System as of December 31, 2022:[1]
| Kansas Public Employee Retirement System pension performance (December 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[3] |
| 2022 | 73.4% | $9,567,000,000 | $26,450,000,000 |
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.[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 Kansas Public Employee Retirement System
The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System contracted with 23 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of July 31, 2022. Of those companies, 11 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 14 were members of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System:[7]
- Adrian Lee & Partners
- Axium Infrastructure US LP (NZAM)
- Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- BlackRock Institutional Trust Company (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Brookfield Asset Management (NZAM)
- CenterSquare Investment Management Inc. (Climate Action 100+)
- Franklin Templeton Institutional (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- IFM Global Infrastructure (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Insight Investment Inc. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc. (NZAM)
- Lazard Asset Management, LLC (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Loomis Sayles & Company, LP
- MacKay Shields LLC
- Mellon Capital Management Corporation (Climate Action 100+)
- Molpus Timberlands Management
- Payden & Rygel Investment Counsel (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- RMS Evergreen
- Russell Investment Group (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- State Street Global Advisors (NZAM)
- T Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (NZAM)
- Tortoise Capital Advisors, LLC
- Wellington Management Company (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Western Asset Management Company
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the nine-member board of trustees that oversees the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System. The board is not specific to oversight of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System and does exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System is made up of nine members. Four are appointed by the governor, two are appointed by legislative leaders, two are elected by system members, and one is the elected state treasurer.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A nine-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of July 2024:[8]
- James Zakoura, chairperson
- Brad Stratton, vice chairperson
- Ernie Claudel
- Emily Hill
- Steven Johnson
- Derek Kreifels
- Ryan Trader
- Sam Williams
- Jo Yun
See also
- Public pensions in Kansas
- 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 ‘’KPERS’’, “KPERS 2023 Valuation,” December 31, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ‘’KPERS’’, “About Us,” accessed July 12, 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 ‘’KPERS’’, “Board of Trustees,” accessed July 12, 2024
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
