North Carolina Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System
| Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Raleigh, NC |
| Top official: | Dale Folwell, state treasurer |
| Year founded: | July 1, 1941 |
| Active members: | 302,293 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $77,445,236,928 |
- See also: Public pensions in North Carolina
The Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) is a North Carolina state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to all full-time teachers and State employees in all public school systems, universities, departments, institutions, and agencies of the State. TSERS had $77,445,236,928 ($77.4 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 TSERS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by TSERS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with TSERS, 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 TSERS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS), founded in 1941, invests the assets of and provides funding for North Carolina’s Retirement Systems pension plan. TSERS is a defined benefit plan that uses a formula to calculate monthly retirement benefits once the eligibility requirements are met.[2]
TSERS served over 302,293 active members and approximately 246,374 retirees and beneficiaries as of February 2024.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) as of December 31, 2022:[3][1]
| Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) pension performance (December 31, 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total market value of assets |
| 2022 | 88.3% | $11.3 billion | $77,445,236,928 |
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 North Carolina Retirement Systems Division (NCRS)
The Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) is a sub-fund within the North Carolina Retirement Systems Division (NCRS). NCRS administers TSERS, among other retirement and benefit plans for the governmental workers of North Carolina. TSERS does not contract with its own AMCs; the AMCs for NCRS account for all the pension plans it administers.[7]
NCRS contracted with 445 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2022. Of those companies, 18 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 22 were members of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with NCRS:[8]
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 13-member board of trustees that oversees the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS). The board is not specific to oversight of TSERS and exercises oversight duties for other state funds.[9]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) is made up of 13 members: eight actively working employees or retirees of public school systems, universities, departments, institutions, or agencies of the State, and five public and appointed members who also serve on the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System Board.[9]
Board of trustees membership
A 13-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of TSERS. The following individuals served on the board as of December 2022:[9]
- Dale Folwell, state treasurer
- Lentz Brewer
- John Ebbighausen
- Vernon Gammon
- Pat Hurley
- Barbara Gibson
- Linda Gunter
- Oliver Holley
- Margaret Reader
- Joshua Smith
- Catherine Truitt
- Jeffrey Winstead
- Margaret Reader
See also
- Public pensions in North Carolina
- 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 North Carolina Total Retirement Plan, "Principal Results of Actuarial Valuation as of December 31, 2022," February 7, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 North Carolina Total Retirement Plans, "Teachers’ & State Employees’ Retirement System," February 7, 2024.
- ↑ North Carolina Total Retirement Plans, Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS)," February 7, 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
- ↑ This information is sourced from research performed by Ballotpedia staff.
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 North Carolina Total Retirement Plans, "TSERS & LGERS Boards of Trustees," February 7, 2024.
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