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Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System
| Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Top official: | Karl W. Wilson, president |
| Year founded: | 1919 |
| Active members: | 1,225 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $1,834,761,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Utah
The Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System (Tier 1 FRS) is a Utah state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's firefighters hired before July 1, 2011, and their families. The Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System had $1,834,761,000 ($1.8 billion) in total assets under management as of December 31, 2023.[1][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 Tier 1 FRS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by Tier 1 FRS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Tier 1 FRS, 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 Tier 1 FRS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System (Tier 1 FRS), founded in 1919, is a sub-fund under Utah Retirement Systems. Tier 1 FRS operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Utah state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's firefighters employed prior to July 1, 2011, and their families.[3]
Tier 1 FRS served over 1,225 active members and approximately 1,691 retirees and beneficiaries as of December 31, 2023.[1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System as of December 31, 2023:[1]
| Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System performance (December 31, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 113.1% | ($212,961,000) | $1,834,761,000 |
- Note: The unfunded liability is a negative number for Tier 1 FRS because the value of its accrued liabilities is less than the actuarial value of its assets.
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 Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System
The Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System (Tier 1 FRS) is a sub-fund of Utah Retirement Systems (URS). URS administers Tier 1 FRS, among other retirement and benefit plans for the public employees of Utah. Tier 1 FRS does not contract with its own AMCs; the AMCs for URS account for all the pension plans it administers.[7]
URS contracted with 14 asset management companies (AMCs) as of December 31, 2024. Of those companies or funds, two were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and two were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with URS:[7]
| Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System asset management companies Click on a column header below to sort the list of asset managers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMC name | Investment type | Assets under management | Percentage of total fund assets | NZAM Initiative signatory as of October 2024[8] | Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024 |
| Albourne America LLC | ; | No | No | ||
| Callan Associates, Inc. | ; | No | No | ||
| Glass Lewis & Company | ; | No | No | ||
| Northern Trust Company | ; | No | No | ||
| BlackRock | ; | Yes | No | ||
| Charles Schwab & Co. | ; | No | No | ||
| Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc. | ; | No | No | ||
| Dodge & Cox Investment | ; | No | No | ||
| Insight Investment | ; | No | Yes | ||
| Jennison Associates LLC | ; | No | Yes | ||
| Northern Trust Company | ; | No | No | ||
| PGIM Real | ; | No | No | ||
| T Rowe Price | ; | Yes | No | ||
| Utah Retirement Systems | ; | No | No | ||
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees, titled the Utah Retirement Systems Board, which oversees the Utah Tier 1 Firefighters Retirement System (Tier 1 FRS). The board is not specific to overseeing Tier 1 FRS and does exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[9]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees Tier 1 FRS, titled the Utah Retirement Systems Board, is made up of seven members. The members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Utah Senate. They serve four-year terms.[9]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees, titled the Utah Retirement Systems Board, oversees the operation and administration of Tier 1 FRS. The following individuals served on the board as of October 2024:[9]
- Karl W. Wilson, president
- Christie N. Behunin, vice-president
- Larry W. Evans
- Richard K. Ellis
- Aaryn S. Birchell
- Laura C. Warnock
- Marlo M. Oaks
See also
- Public pensions in Utah
- 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 Utah Retirement Systems, "2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report," October 16, 2024
- ↑ Utah Retirement Systems, "Tier1 Firefighters Retirement System Highlights," October 23, 2024
- ↑ Utah Retirement Systems, "Utah Retirement Systems History: A Miniature," October 23, 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
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 This information is sourced from research performed by Ballotpedia staff. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "BP" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Note: NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Utah Retirement System - Newsroom, "URS Board," October 16, 2024
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