JJ Milder and Brady OConnell recently attended the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) conference in Baltimore. NASRA seeks to gather senior leaders and trustees from large public pension plans to improve education and information sharing.

The majority of state retirement systems directors and trustees were represented, as well as a cross-section of other retirement systems, associations and industry members. The conference theme, “Navigating Change, Charting the Future,” framed the challenges facing many pension plans and future retirees. During the Roll Call sessions–when system directors report their strategic priorities–several initiatives were consistently voiced:

• Plan sustainability, benefit design, and ongoing work needed with state legislatures
• Lowering of targeted investment returns and revisiting other actuarial assumptions
• Continuing to press for lower investment management fees
• Investment in IT, replacing legacy systems and ramping up cyber security
• Succession planning as senior plan leaders retire

NASRA research staff presented in-depth analysis of developments across the states including historic trends stemming from the Public Funds Survey. Keynote speakers included:

• Retired General Keith Alexander, who addressed cyber security issues from his perspective as former Commander, US Cyber Command and former director of the National Security Agency
• Anirban Basu, Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, who gave his views on the economic pressures affecting both national and global markets.