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NCPERS 2024 Year in Review (And What to Watch in 2025)
The holidays offer a moment to reflect on the significant milestones NCPERS achieved this year, including expanding resources and educational opportunities for the public pension community.
By: Hank Kim, Executive Director & Counsel, NCPERSFor many—myself included—the holidays are often a time to reflect and express gratitude. This year, NCPERS achieved significant milestones as we expanded our membership offerings to provide new resources and educational opportunities for the public pension community. I'm immensely grateful to the NCPERS staff for their hard work this year that has allowed us to better serve our members and stakeholders.
And we still have plenty to look forward to! Below, you'll find highlights from NCPERS' work in 2024 and what to watch in 2025:
NCPERS Expands Educational Lineup with Inaugural Public Pension HR Summit
NCPERS continues to deliver diverse educational opportunities for the public pension community. Whether you're a new trustee or a seasoned plan staff member, our 11 recurring educational events provide tailored options to meet your professional or organizational needs.
In 2024, we hosted 13 in-person events and seven webinars with a total of more than 2,900 attendees. This included the launch of a brand-new event: the Public Pension HR Summit. We were thrilled to provide the space for HR professionals to learn, share best practices, and connect with peers who face similar challenges and opportunities.
View our upcoming event calendar to start planning for your organization's 2025 continuing education, fiduciary training, and professional development. Interested in sharing your expertise at our events? Submit your speaker proposal for the 2025 Annual Conference & Exhibition.
NCPERS Launches New Virtual Networking Opportunities for Public Pension Professionals
NCPERS Pension Fund Roundtables have become a key resource for pension professionals seeking to crowd-source solutions from peers and discuss best practices, with more than 600 members regularly participating in these virtual meetings.
This year, we created a new roundtable for Member Services staff—adding to our existing lineup for roundtables for CEOs, CIOs, Communications, and HR professionals. Learn more and sign up today (participation is free for NCPERS pension fund members).
In 2025, we're looking forward to launching a new Government Affairs Professionals Roundtable in Q1. We invite all pension fund staff responsible for advocacy efforts and building relationships with policymakers to participate by signing up here.
Industry Leaders Recognized with Inaugural Public Pension Communicator of the Year Award
In January, we proudly recognized four public pension professionals with the inaugural Public Pension Communicator of the Year Awards. These awards were created to honor communications staff at public pensions who have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills; shown superior innovation and creativity; and created an impact with their communications endeavors in the preceding year.
Judging is currently underway for the 2024 Public Pension Communicator of the Year Awards, and we look forward to recognizing industry leaders during the 2025 Pension Communications Summit next month. View the agenda and register now to learn strategies to enhance your organization's communications and get insights into industry-leading practices.
New Partnerships Lead to Improved Benchmarking Data for Public Pensions
In 2024, NCPERS partnered with CBIZ to produce our most comprehensive Public Pension Compensation Survey yet. The recently released report and interactive dashboard feature in-depth compensation data on 88 common positions at public pensions. Complete the order form to access this valuable tool created to help funds of all sizes make informed decisions about compensation, benefits, and hiring strategies.
We're currently analyzing the latest data from our Annual Public Retirement Systems Study, which was recently conducted with another new survey partner: Greenwald Research. More than 200 funds participated in the latest annual study, the most in the 14-year history of this research initiative.
We look forward to releasing the results of the study to our members next month as both a report and interactive dashboard designed to help funds benchmark their fiscal, operational, and business practices. Sign up here for the latest survey updates.
NCPERS Launches New Resources and Best Practices Guides
NCPERS and its partners regularly produce documentation, best practice guides, and resources for public pension staff, trustees, and stakeholders. This year, we launched two exciting new resources: NCPERS Guide to Pension Governance & Oversight Best Practices and SECURE 2.0: A Desk Reference for Governmental Plans.
If you have any suggestions for new resources that would be valuable to your fund—or if you would like to partner with us to produce a resource guide—please reach out to membership@ncpers.org.
2025 NCPERS Membership Renewal Underway
Membership in NCPERS operates on a calendar year basis, so be sure to renew by December 31st to ensure your team has uninterrupted access to our many member benefits and resources. We were extremely proud to welcome 30 new organizations to the NCPERS community during 2024, and we are excited to see what our 600- member association can accomplish in 2025.
We're always looking to improve your membership experience, so please complete this anonymous form or contact membership@ncpers.org to share any feedback or ideas for how NCPERS can best support your organization in 2025.
What's Next for NCPERS?
With new policymakers being sworn in next month—and important tax debates on the horizon—we're busy preparing for the Legislative Conference & Policy Day. To be held January 27-29, this is your chance to learn about the key legislative developments that may impact public pensions in 2025 and to build relationships with policymakers to support your advocacy efforts. Register now to secure your discounted early-bird rates.
Looking for thought leadership opportunities? We're currently accepting submissions for PERSist, our quarterly research publication. View the guidelines here and submit your article to membership@ncpers.org by December 27th for consideration.
We look forward to continuing our work to protect and expand pension access in 2025. Please follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook for the latest updates, news, and announcements from NCPERS.
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