Oregon's Pioneering Spirit Closes Funding Gap, Earns OPERS Plan Sponsor of the Year Award.STAMFORD, Conn. -- Strong investment performance and bold system reforms have allowed the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS OPERS Ohio Public Employees Retirement System OPERS Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System ) to close a $17 billion pension funding gap, and earned the system recognition as PLANSPONSOR's Public Plan Sponsor of the Year. "Public plan sponsors have a unique set of challenges," notes Nevin E. Adams, Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR magazine. "OPERS made tough decisions and confronted the issues head on." The reforms also allowed the retirement system to take advantage of good investment earnings to improve its funding status - and the Oregon Investment Council (OIC "Oh, I see." See digispeak. (chat) OIC - oh, I see. ), which oversees OPERS' fund investments, has a long history of exploring fruitful new investment areas for public funds, demonstrating an open mind to new ideas, a disciplined approach, and a commitment to monitoring results. Throughout, the teams at OPERS and OIC have demonstrated the innovative approach and commitment to excellence in process and result that have earned them recognition as Plan Sponsor of the Year. "This is a great honor for Oregon," says Governor Ted Kulongoski. "It recognizes our collective effort to reform our public retirement system to deliver fairness and sustainability for both Oregon taxpayers and PERS a. 1. Light blue; grayish blue; - a term applied to different shades at different periods. members while maintaining a defined benefit program." As detailed in the cover story of the February issue of PLANSPONSOR magazine, OPERS and OIC's pioneering spirit have contributed to a history of robust investment returns that, coupled with significant plan design reforms, have given the $60.7 billion PERS system, which covers 95% of all public employees in Oregon and has 315,000 participants, a $1.75 billion surplus. "Oregon has a long history of innovative and prudent investing," says State Treasurer Randall Edwards, whose staff manages the pension fund for the Oregon Investment Council. "I'm proud of the state for receiving this honor, and I credit a great team effort by the Oregon Investment Council and the investment staff in the State Treasurer's Office." "We have a willingness to be a pioneer," says Ron Schmitz, Director of the Oregon State Treasurer's Investment Division, about the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System and its fund. "I guess that is part of being an Oregonian." "America's workforce faces some daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin challenges in the years to come," notes Adams. "It is a pleasure to be able to acknowledge the efforts of plan sponsors such as Oregon Public Employees Retirement System in helping them prepare for a financially secure retirement." OPERS and OIC staff will be honored as Public Plan Sponsor of the Year at PLANSPONSOR's annual Awards for Excellence banquet on March 29, 2007, at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers, in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . About the Award Each year, the editors of PLANSPONSOR magazine, the industry's leading resource for pension and benefits related news, choose a plan sponsor that demonstrates leadership in providing a more secure retirement for workers. Previous recipients have included IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) ; the United Methodist Church United Methodist Church, in the United States, religious body formed by the union in 1968 of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church (see Methodism). ; Gary Amelio, Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board was established as an independent agency of the United States government by the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986. It is one of the smaller Executive Branch agencies, with just over 100 employees. ; David Bronner, Head of the Retirement Systems of Alabama Retirement Systems of Alabama is the administrator of the pension fund for employees of the state of Alabama. It is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. David G. Bronner is the chief executive officer. ; the FDNY FDNY Fire Department New York (New York City, NY, USA) FDNY Fort Drum, New York (US Army) Pension Fund; and General Motors Asset Management's Allen Reed. About PLANSPONSOR PLANSPONSOR magazine is the nation's leading authority on retirement issues. PLANSPONSOR.com provides comprehensive news and commerce services dedicated solely to helping employers and financial advisers navigate the complex world of retirement plans on behalf of their employees or clients. For more information see www.plansponsor.com. PLANSPONSOR is headquartered at 1055 Washington Blvd, Stamford, CT 06901 |
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