About

NASRA was founded in 1955, which is when it held its first conference in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1956, W. Frank DeLamar was elected the first president, and the now annual summer meeting was in his home state of Georgia. (Mr. DeLamar was also the inaugural director of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, which was created by an act of the state's 1949 General Assembly.)

In the first 61 years, NASRA adopted three different logos, each of which included a polygon. The original logo used an equilateral triangle with the words “for the members, for the systems, for the taxpayers.” In the late 1980s, NASRA added a Celtic knot to symbolize shared community and strength. In 2015, the current logo was introduced, simplifying the design by using the polygon shapes to convey movement and connectivity.

 

Today, NASRA is a non-profit association whose members are the directors of the nation's state, territorial, and largest statewide public retirement systems. NASRA members oversee retirement systems that hold more than two-thirds of the over $6.0 trillion held in trust for nearly 15 million working and 11 million retired employees of state and local government.

Mission:

To serve the members of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators in managing sustainable public employee retirement systems through research, education, and collaboration.

Core values:

Integrity
Professionalism
Credibility
Collaboration
Transparency


Become A Member

Becoming a member of NASRA offers a unique opportunity to join a community committed to the sound, efficient, and innovative stewardship of public retirement systems. Membership connects you with a network of professionals and experts, providing valuable insights into managing public retirement systems with a focus on sustainability and risk-averse strategies.

By joining NASRA, you gain the tools and resources to enhance the management of public retirement systems, ensuring their long-term success and reliability for generations to come.

What's New at NASRA: Updated Cost of Living Issue Brief

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) play a significant role in public pensions. They help retirees keep up with rising prices, but they also add costs to pension plans. Policymakers and plan sponsors are tasked with balancing three things: benefits adequacy, plan sustainability, and affordability for members and plan sponsors.
The recent increase in inflation caused many policymakers and, in some cases pension trustees, to review how benefits are designed and paid for, including the way COLAs are granted and funded. NASRA’s recently updated issue brief on the lates trends in COLAs is available in the NASRA Research Center.