New Mexico

Overview

Two state retirement systems in New Mexico account for all state and local government pension assets and participants in the state. These are the New Mexico Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) and the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (ERB). ERB provides retirement and other benefits for certified teachers and other employees of state public schools, colleges and universities, and public charter schools. PERA provides retirement benefits for state employees and employees of political subdivisions that have elected to participate and who are not eligible to participate in the ERB.

Plan Design

All employees of the state and its political subdivisions in New Mexico participate in a defined benefit plan as their primary retirement benefit.
 

According to the US Government Accountability Office, 93 percent of employees of state and local government in New Mexico participate in Social Security.

Access plan design detail

Authorizing Statutes and Board Structure

New Mexico Statutes Title 10, Section 11 establishes the PERA board.

The New Mexico ERB is established by New Mexico Statutes Chapter 22, Article 11.

A 2024 ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court found that the ERB has sole and exclusive authority to set salaries for its employees and to make personnel decisions:

The New Mexico educational retirement board, as the trustee of the New Mexico educational retirement fund, has the sole and exclusive authority to set salaries and make personnel decisions related to its administration of its funds under its constitutional and statutory authority, and therefore the New Mexico department of finance and administration does not have the authority to either reject salary increases for employees of the New Mexico educational retirement board or seek the governor's approval before implementing such approved salary increases.  N.M. Educ. Ret. Bd. v. Romero, 2024-NMCA-013.

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

New Mexico Statutes Part 6 prescribes the investment standard of care for the PERA and ERB boards, defining and specifying the state Prudent Investor Rule.
 

Legal Protections of Retirement Benefits

Article XX, Section 22 of the New Mexico Constitution recognizes that public pensions give rise to vested property rights, protected by due process. Article XX, Section 22 provides that "Upon meeting the minimum service requirements of an applicable retirement plan created by law for employees of the state ..., a member of a plan shall acquire a vested property right with due process protections under the applicable provisions of the New Mexico and United States Constitutions." Pierce v. State, 910 P.2d 288 (determining that state retirement statutes created vested property rights, but not contract rights; "We decline to join those states that find a contractual relationship where one does not clearly and unambiguously exist and that proceed to justify how the legislature may nonetheless unilaterally modify this contract without the consent of the participants."); Whitely v. N.M. State Pers. Bd., 850 P.2d 1011(1993) (determining that public employees did not have the contractual right to unconstitutional impairment of contract). (NM CONST., Article XX, Section 22) Source: Robert Klausner, Esq., State Constitutional Protections for Public Sector Retirement Benefits
 

See also the following search tools:

Retirement System Account Interest Policies Economic Actuarial Assumptions Retirement and Investment Board Characteristics
Information about interest rates applied to account balances of inactive plan participants Assumed rates of investment return and inflation Composition and characteristics of public retirement and investment oversight boards
Mortality Assumptions Plan Design Features Post-retirement Employment Policies
Public retirement system actuarial assumptions for mortality Numerous elements of retirement plan design Policies governing return-to-work for retirement system annuitants

More Data

Flag of New Mexico (September 18, 1920)

Population (2023) 2,114,371

New Mexico public pension statistics, per U.S. Census Bureau as of FY 2023

Assets

$33.0 billion

Active Members

116,308

Annuitants

100,846

Benefits Paid

$2.8 billion

Employee Contributions

$761.3 million

Employer Contributions

$1.1 billion

Systems

Two state systems that account for all public pension plan participants and assets in the state. There are no locally sponsored retirement systems in New Mexico.


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: Latest Update on Employee Contributions to Public Pensions

NASRA updates six key briefs annually on public pension management. The latest focuses on employee contributions to public pensions. Unlike private sector pensions, state and local government employees contribute to their retirement benefits, a crucial practice for stable pension funding. Post-2008 financial downturn, many plans increased these contributions. This brief examines the contribution plans’ design, policies, and trends, underlining their importance in pension sustainability.