Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan
| Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Top official: | Denise Clark, acting director of MTA Human Resources Department and board chair |
| Year founded: | 1950 |
| Active members: | 2,532 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $487,366,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Maryland
The Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan (The MTA pension plan) is a Maryland state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the employees of MTA who are covered by one of two collective bargaining agreements and those management employees who transferred from positions covered by one of the collective bargaining agreements. The Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan had $487,366,000 ($487.4 million) in total assets under management as of June 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 the Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan, 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 Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan (The MTA pension plan), founded in 1950, operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Maryland state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the employees of MTA who are covered by one of two collective bargaining agreements and those management employees who transferred from positions covered by one of the collective bargaining agreements and their families.[2]
The MTA pension plan served over 2,532 active members and approximately 2,135 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 30, 2023.[1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 39.75% | $738,630,000 | $487,366,000 |
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.[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 Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan
The Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan (the MTA pension plan) is a sub-fund under the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS). MSRPS administers the MTA pension plan, among other retirement and benefit plans for the governmental workers of Maryland. The MTA pension plan does not contract with its own AMCs; the AMCs for MSRPS account for all the pension plans it administers.
MSRPS contracted with 31 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2021. Of those companies, six were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and five were members of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with EPS:[6]
- AQR Capital Management, LLC
- Artisan Partners Limited Partnership
- Attucks Asset Management, LLC
- Axiom International Investors (Climate Action 100+)
- Baillie Gifford & Company (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Brown Capital Management
- Capital Prospects, LLC
- Credit Suisse Asset Management (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- DE Shaw & Co., LP
- Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc.
- Dodge & Cox
- Double Line US Securitized
- Durable Capital Partners
- Equity Long Short
- FIS Group, Inc.
- Internally Managed
- Leading Edge Invest. Advisors, LLC
- Longview Partners Ltd.
- Marshall Wace (Climate Action 100+)
- MetLife Investment Management
- Pacific Investment Management Company
- Pine Bridge Investments LLC
- Polunin Capital Management (Climate Action 100+)
- Record Currency Management
- RhumbLine Advisors
- RWC Partners Emerging Markets
- State Street Global Advisors (NZAM)
- T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (NZAM)
- TT International (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Western Asset Management
- Westwood Global Investment
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan. The board is specific to oversight of the Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[7]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees The MTA pension plan is made up of seven members. The board members serve by nature of their roles within the Maryland Transit Administration organization or their association with labor unions representing MTA employees. Union representatives from labor groups like Local 1300, Local 2, and Local 1859 are appointed to the Board to ensure that both management and labor perspectives are considered in decision-making, according to MTA's Director of Media Relations.[7]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of The MTA pension plan. The following individuals served on the board as of September 2024:[7]
- Denise Clark, chair
- Edward Wilson
- Rosemary Haynes
- Michael McMillan
- James Smith, Jr.
- Michael Spiller
- Laurie Brown
See also
- Public pensions in Maryland
- 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 Maryland Department of Transportation, "Maryland Transit Administration Pension Plan Financial Statements and Supplemental Schedules Together with Independent Auditors’ Report For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2023," September 24, 2024
- ↑ Department of Legislative Services, "Review of the Pension Plan Administered by the Maryland Transit Authority," September 24, 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 Ballotpedia staff researched this information through direct outreach to the Maryland Transit Administration Director of Media Relations
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