Vermont State Employees' Retirement System
| Vermont State Employees' Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Montpelier, Vermont |
| Top official: | Roger Dumas, chair |
| Year founded: | 1972 |
| Active members: | 8,611 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2021: | $2,216,499,478 |
- See also: Public pensions in Vermont
The Vermont State Employees' Retirement System is a Vermont state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public employees. The Vermont State Employees' Retirement System had $2,216,499,478 ($2.2 billion) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2021.[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 Vermont State Employees' Retirement System.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Vermont State Employees' 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 Vermont State Employees' Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Vermont State Employees' Retirement System (VSERS), founded in 1972, invests the assets of and provides funding for the Vermont Employees Retirement System. VMERS operates as a defined benefit pension plans based on a formula established by Vermont 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 employees.[2]
The Vermont State Employees' Retirement System served over 8,611 active members and approximately 8,058 retirees and beneficiaries as of May 2024.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System as of June 30, 2021:[1]
| Vermont State Employees' Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2021) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[3] |
| 2021 | 67.6% | $1,064,000,000 | $2,216,499,478 |
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 Vermont State Employees' Retirement System
The Vermont State Employees' Retirement System contracted with 15 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of December 31, 2021. Of those companies, eight were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and eight were members of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System:[7]
- Acadian International All Cap (SA) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Artisan Global Opportunities Trust
- BlackRock MSCI ACW IMI (SA) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Blackrock MSCI World LCTR (SA) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Blackrock S&P 500 (Eql Wtd) (SA) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Blackrock TIPS (CF) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- BlackRock US Agg. (SA) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Champlain US Mid Cap Core (SA)
- Mondrian International Equity (SA)
- PIMCO Core (SA)
- PIMCO Liquidation (SA)
- PIMCO Unconstrained (SA)
- SSgA Russell 2000 Growth (Ex Tobacco) (SA)
- UBS Trumbull Property (CF) (Net) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Wellington Opportunistic EMD (CF) (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the eight-member board of trustees that oversees the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System and does not oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System is made up of eight members. The state treasurer, governor's delegate, commissioner of Personnel, commissioner of Finance and Management, elected representative of the Vermont Retired State Employee's Association (VRSEA) and three members selected by the Vermont State Employee's Association (VSEA) to represent the active employees.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A eight-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Vermont State Employees' Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of May 2024:[8]
- Roger Dumas, chair
- Eric Davis
- Jean Paul Isabelle
- Tom Mozzer
- Michael Pieciak
- Beth Fastiggi
- Adam Greshin
- Jay Wisner
See also
- Public pensions in Vermont
- 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 ‘’Vermont State Employees' Retirement System’’, “Actuarial Valuation and Review,” June 30, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ‘’VSERS’’, “VSERS,” accessed May 17, 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 ‘’VSERS’’, “VSERS Board of Trustees,” accessed May 17, 2024
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