Earlier this week, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott announced the names of three appointments to the State Pension Review Board, and named Josh McGee of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) the board’s new chairman.
As many of our members are aware, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation is the leading organization in the nation attacking public pension funds. Josh McGee serves as Vice-President of the LJAF and “leads the organization’s nationwide efforts to improve retirement security.”
The Texas Pension Review Board is “mandated to oversee all Texas public retirement systems, both state and local, in regard to their actuarial soundness and compliance with state law.”
The Board is composed of seven members. The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints seven members with the following qualifications or experience: three persons with experience in the field of securities investment, pension administration, or pension law; one actuary; one person with experience in governmental finance; a contributing member of a public retirement system; and one person receiving benefits from a public retirement system. You can read more about current board members here.
Other advocacy groups such as those representing police officers and firefighters are also raising serious objections over this named appointee, including the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT). You can read CLEAT’s comments about this appointment in this Dallas Morning News article.
Members, this is an important issue that may impact your pension fund in some way during the 84th Legislative Session that begins in 2017. Please forward this Inside Lineto your fellow retirees and active teachers you may know. Please let them know that signing up for the Inside Line is free and can be done from our website using this link.
The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) is following this unusual development and will report more on the story soon. Please stay tuned to the Inside Line as we provide additional details.
Thank You
Protecting your retirement benefits is one of TRTA’s top priorities, and your participation makes all of difference! Be sure to stay tuned to our other digital mediums to stay informed on all the latest news and updates. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
