ARIZONA – The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) has honored the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) with its Certificate of Transparency for the Arizona system’s commitment to “furthering open disclosure” and “contributing to the public’s understanding of public retirement systems.”

PSPRS was one of 138 state and local government pension funds that participated in NCPERS’ 2020 Public Retirement Systems Study, a comprehensive overview analyzing the most current data available on public sector retirement funds’ fiscal condition and the steps being taken to ensure fiscal and operational integrity. Founded in 1941, NCPERS is the largest trade association for public-sector pension funds, representing approximately 500 funds throughout North America.

“All of us at PSPRS are honored by this recognition from NCPERS, because it reaffirms our commitment to being as transparent as possible when it comes to our investments, returns, obligations and actuarial projections,” said Administrator Mike Townsend. “As a public sector retirement system, we are ultimately responsible to our more than 60,000 members and to Arizona’s taxpayers. We get that – and we absolutely want to lean into that responsibility.”

Collectively, respondents to the 2020 NCPERS study represent more than 12.8 million active and retired members, with total assets exceeding $1.5 trillion. Statewide and local pension funds were represented in roughly equal measure (51 percent and 49 percent, respectively).

According to the NCPERS study, only 34 percent of participating systems received the NCPERS Certificate of Transparency this year, down from 35 percent last year.

PSPRS trust assets today exceed $13 billion. The system is governed by a nine-member board consisting of members of PSPRS-managed plans and civilian investment and financial experts.