Missouri

Overview

Major public employee retirement systems in Missouri include the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS), the Missouri Public School/Public Education Employee Retirement System (PSRS/PEERS), the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS), and the MoDOT & Patrol Employees Retirement System (MPERS).

MOSERS administers retirement and other benefits for most state employees, including members of the state general assembly, state elected officials, and judges. The System administers three plans. Of these, the State Employees' Plan represents more than 99% of all members and comprises three benefit structures: the MSEP and MSEP 2000, which are closed plans. Employees hired after June 30, 2000, and until 12/31/10 participate in the MSEP 2000. The Missouri Legislature established a new tier, MSEP 2011, for employees hired beginning 1/1/11. Other plans are for judges and legal advisors.

The Public School Retirement System of Missouri administers pension and other benefits for certificated employees of public school districts and state community colleges. The System is administered jointly with the Public Education Employees Retirement System of Missouri. Both systems are overseen by a common board and administered by a common staff. The systems are depicted here as a single system with two plans: the PSRS, for certificated teachers, and the PEERS, for non-certificated employees.

Missouri LAGERS administers pension and other benefits for employees of more than 490 political subdivisions that have elected to participate. Approximately 60 percent of participating employers have chosen a non-contributory plan for their members.

Plan Design

Defined benefit plans serve as the primary retirement benefit for substantially all public employees in Missouri.

According to the US Government Accountability Office, 66 percent of employees of state and local government in Arkansas participate in Social Security.

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Authorizing Statutes and Board Structure

MO Rev Stat § 104.320 creates the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System. MO Rev Stat § 104.450 establishes the board of trustees, which consists of 11 members.

MO Rev Stat § 104.020 creates the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System. MO Rev Stat § 104.160 establishes the board of trustees, which consists of 13 members. 

MO Rev Stat § 70.605 creates the Missouri Local Government Employees’ Retirement System which is overseen by a board of 7 trustees.

MO Rev Stat § 169.020 creates the Public School Retirement System of Missouri, which is overseen by a board of 7 trustees. 

Details regarding the composition of these and other retirement boards is accessible via the Retirement and Investment Board Characteristics search tool located at the bottom of this page.

Fiduciary Duty/Prudence Standard

MO Rev Stat § 105.688 states:

The assets of a system may be invested, reinvested and managed by an investment fiduciary subject to the terms, conditions and limitations provided in sections 105.687 to 105.689.  An investment fiduciary shall discharge his or her duties in the interest of the participants in the system and their beneficiaries and shall:
(1) Act with the same care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a similar capacity and familiar with those matters would use in the conduct of a similar enterprise with similar aims;
(2) Act with due regard for the management, reputation, and stability of the issuer and the character of the particular investments being considered;
(3) Make investments for the purposes of providing benefits to participants and participants' beneficiaries, and of defraying reasonable expenses of investing the assets of the system;
(4) Give appropriate consideration to those facts and circumstances that the investment fiduciary knows or should know are relevant to the particular investment or investment course of action involved, including the role of the investment or investment course of action plays in that portion of the system's investments for which the investment fiduciary has responsibility.  For purposes of this subdivision, "appropriate consideration" shall include, but is not necessarily limited to a determination by the investment fiduciary that a particular investment or investment course of action is reasonably designed, as part of the investments of the system, to further the purposes of the system, taking into consideration the risk of loss and the opportunity for gain or other return associated with the investment or investment course of action; and consideration of the following factors as they relate to the investment or investment course of action:
(a)  The diversification of the investments of the system;
(b)  The liquidity and current return of the investments of the system relative to the anticipated cash flow requirements of the system; and
(c)  The projected return of the investments of the system relative to the funding objectives of the system;
(5)  Give appropriate consideration to investments which would enhance the general welfare of this state and its citizens if those investments offer the safety and rate of return comparable to other investments available to the investment fiduciary at the time the investment decision is made.

Legal Protections of Retirement Benefits

No explicit constitutional protection for public pension benefits, but courts provide protection based on impairment of contract principles to the extent that the vested rights are outlined in the controlling statute in effect at the time of vesting which became a part of the contract of employment. Firemen's Retirement System v. City of St. Louis, 2006 WL 2403955 (Mo. App. E.D. Aug. 22, 2006) (holding that city was required to pay the employer contributions certified by actuary and pension board); Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No.2 v. City of St. Joseph, 8 S.W.3d 257 (Mo. App. W.D. 1999) (recognizing that government employees have no property rights in a pension fund except to the extent explicitly provided by statute). (MO CONST., Article 1, §13) Source: Robert Klausner, Esq., State Constitutional Protections for Public Sector Retirement Benefits

See also the following search tools:

More Data

• Public Fund Survey Summary of Findings
• Roll Call (NASRA members-only)