Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Article Contents

Membership
Investments
Structure and Management
Address and Contact
Recent News Coverage

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is a public pension plan of the State of Texas and one of the largest public pension funds in the United States.

Established in 1937, TRS pays retirement pensions, disability benefits, health care benefits, and death benefits to retired teachers and their survivors. TRS also serves employees of public colleges and universities

Membership

Members pay regular contributions to TRS equivalent to 7.7% of their salary. The state pays matching contributions of 6.8%. The average member retires at age 60 and receives a monthly annuity of $2,118.

As of August 31, 2020, the pension system had 445,274 members receiving retirement benefits, 914,752 active contributing members, and 142,682 inactive members, for a total membership of about 1.7 million.

Investments

TRS invests about 41% of its assets in public equities (stocks), 15% in private equity, 14% in government bonds, 13% in real estate, 8% in risk parity accounts, and 5% in hedge funds, according to a snapshot of its portfolio on August 31, 2020. TRS managed $164.6 billion in assets on that date.

Structure and Management

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas is governed by a nine-member board of trustees who serve staggered six-year terms.

Three trustees are direct appointees of the governor, two are appointed by the governor from a list prepared by the State Board of Education, two are appointed from nominees of employees of public school districts, and one is appointed by the governor from nominated retired TRS members.

The board leaves the day-to-day management of TRS to an executive director. Other key executives include the chief investment officer, chief strategy officer, and chief audit executive.