NCPERS Member Update: Fall Events and Plans for 2026

The NCPERS team has been busy working to provide the best resources, insights, education, and networking opportunities that meet the ever-changing needs of public pension leaders. As the temperatures begin to drop and the days get shorter, we look forward to continuing to serve the public pension community. Keep reading for important news about what's ahead.

By: Hank Kim, Executive Director, NCPERS

With Labor Day marking the unofficial end of summer, this year seems to be flying by. The NCPERS team has been busy working to provide the best resources, insights, education, and networking opportunities that meet the ever-changing needs of public pension leaders. So far in 2025, we've seen continued growth and engagement with the public pension community:

• 650 organizations—including pension plans, stakeholder groups, and service providers—are currently benefiting from their NCPERS membership, the most in five years.
• 1,250+ individuals from 430 different organizations have attended our 2025 in-person events to learn from industry experts and grow their networks.
• 750+ public pension professionals—from CEOs to member services staff—have regularly participated in our virtual Pension Fund Roundtable meetings to connect with and learn from their peers from across the country.
• 800 members of the public pension community have attended the eight webinars NCPERS has hosted this year to gain timely insights on key issues impacting our industry.

And we're not done yet! The NCPERS team is gearing up for our final four in-person events of the year and our upcoming webinars, preparing for the release of the 2025 Public Pension Compensation Survey, finalizing plans for the new year of programming that will support the entire public pension community throughout 2026, getting ready to distribute membership renewal notices, and… well, it's clear we have a busy few months ahead.

As the temperatures begin to drop and the days get shorter, we look forward to continuing to serve the public pension community. Please read below for important news about what's ahead:

HR Professionals Gathering in Philadelphia

A last reminder that the Public Pension HR Summit is scheduled for September 24-26 in Philadelphia, and we are still accepting registrations from plan professionals. The Summit will bring together our human resources community for peer-to-peer learning and expert insights on the latest developments impacting the public pension workforce. Plus, attendees can earn up to 12 SHRM credits. Register now to save—discounted early-bird pricing ends September 9th.

Join Us in Fort Lauderdale

We look forward to seeing many of you in two short months at the 2025 FALL Conference, our Program for Advanced Trustee Studies (PATS), and the NCPERS Accredited Fiduciary (NAF) Program. Hundreds of public pension leaders will benefit from wide-ranging educational opportunities, expert speakers, and social events to build their networks. As NCPERS' last in-person events of the year, this is the best way for trustees and plan leaders to complete their CE requirements and stay in-the-know about key opportunities and risks ahead. The early-bird deadline is October 10th.

New Trustee Training Platform Available

Pension trustee training is central to our FALL Conference and NCPERS University programs, and we are very pleased to be making available a new training platform. NCPERS member Callan has generously agreed to let our pension trustees and staff access the Callan On Demand Education (CODE) library of educational modules at no cost.

The CODE platform provides institutional investment coursework designed for fiduciaries and investment professionals of all levels. CODE learning modules cover fiduciary duties, investing fundamentals, asset allocation, and many more topics every trustee should understand. Each learning module is broken into 30- or 60-minute self-guided segments delivered by Callan experts.

“Research and education are at the heart of Callan's consulting business,” explains John Jackson, a senior vice president and investment consultant at Callan. “We believe a more educated investment community makes better decisions, and better decisions can lead to better outcomes for the beneficiaries we all serve.”

Plan leaders registering for NCPERS University programs in October will receive instructions on how to access CODE and which online courses they should take prior to arriving in Fort Lauderdale. Please consider attending the PATS or NAF program to receive access to this valuable new resource!

Your Ideas for the Next Roundtable

NCPERS will distribute a survey in early September to gather your suggestions for the next virtual Roundtable we should launch in 2026. With two more Roundtables starting earlier this year, we currently have seven Public Pension Fund Roundtables – CEO, CIO, Communications, HR, Government Affairs, Legal, and Member Services – with hundreds of public pensions participating on these recurring Zoom calls. These peer-driven discussions are focused on sharing intelligence and crowd-sourcing solutions to common issues.

Now we want to know what area of public pension work you would like to see covered by the next virtual Roundtable community. Please watch for this short survey via email and submit your feedback to help guide our decision-making.

2026 Membership Renewal Period and NCPERS 2.0

The new year of NCPERS membership will begin on January 1st and renewal notices will be emailed to our billing contacts at each member organization in mid-September. Please be on the lookout for those emails, and don't hesitate to reach out to membership@ncpers.org with questions about the renewal process.

We are always looking for ways to increase the value of membership for your organization. Our next phase of growth into “NCPERS 2.0” will include a strategic rebranding, building an enhanced website for easier access to your membership benefits, and celebrating our 85th Anniversary in 2026. But the most significant new initiative will be our partnership with the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute. NCPERS has partnered with SOA to ensure the continued creation of public sector-specific mortality tables, with research efforts to begin next year for an anticipated release in 2030. We know SOA actuarial data is referenced by almost every public pension plan and is essential to our community.

This new initiative, on top of all our recurring NCPERS programming, will deliver substantial value to your organization. It is the support of our members that enables NCPERS to advance the interests of state and local public pensions, and we look forward to working for you in 2026!