Your promised pension benefits are an obligation of the state and they are secure. Unlike individual retirees, MOSERS invests over a very long-term time horizon. Our portfolio is well-diversified and designed to weather the volatility of the financial markets. We encourage you to visit our Funding page to learn more.

MOSERS has been providing retirement benefits for Missouri’s state employees for more than 60 years. Our mission is to advance the financial security of our members by providing them a secure retirement income. That is why the Board and staff work hard every day to ensure the long-term sustainability of the System.

MOSERS trust fund assets equal approximately $8.5 billion. In providing retirement benefits, the Board recognizes that the most important determinant of long-term return and risk is the asset allocation decision. The Strategic Target Allocation (below), as set by the Board, is designed to provide the highest probability of meeting or exceeding the Plan’s investment objectives at a controlled level of risk and with an acceptable level of liquidity.

As you can see, the portfolio is highly diversified across many different asset classes. For every $1.00 of assets that we have, MOSERS has $1.40 of market exposure. This extra exposure is primarily held in the Long US Treasuries and US TIPS portions of the portfolio. Implementing extra exposure in these asset classes works to increase the diversification of the portfolio. 

Yes, your pension is secure.

As an institutional investor, MOSERS, like many public pension funds across the country, maintains a diversified portfolio to invest the funds of the System. Within the portfolio, MOSERS utilizes external fund managers when investing in non-US securities, rather than any direct investing. As of March 1, MOSERS had approximately $9 million of indirect Russian exposure within MOSERS’ global investment funds. This exposure, which is a portion of MOSERS’ diversified investment strategy, accounts for approximately 0.07%  (seven one-hundredths of one percent) of the total MOSERS portfolio exposure of $13.3 billion.

The MOSERS Board of Trustees will hold a special Board meeting on Thursday, March 3, at 4:00 p.m. to discuss Russian exposure within MOSERS’ asset allocation.

Any change in the employer contribution rate does not impact retiree benefits. As compared to last year, the employer contribution rate certified this year by the MOSERS Board of Trustees represents a higher contribution for one year of service for active members and one year of payment on the plan’s unfunded actuarial accrued liability.

 System funding comes from three sources:

• investment income,
• employer contributions, and
• employee contributions (from those first employed on or after January 1, 2011).
  

For more information on MOSERS’ Employer Contribution Rate,  please see the Employer Contribution Rate infographic or feel free to contact us if you have further questions.