Public Pension Compensation Survey FAQs

Please submit your completed survey to compsurveys@cbiz.com by Tuesday, May 12.

Please submit the file via email to compsurveys@cbiz.com.

There are 100 positions included in this year’s survey. A PDF with the list of position titles and job summaries is available here.

Please report each employee’s individual salary information, rather than the average. Employee by employee information should be listed on the “DCF4 – Compensation Data” tab of the survey spreadsheet.

List the employee information without a benchmark job code.

Full-time equivalency percentage (EX: 20 hours worked per week out of a 40 hour full-time schedule would equal 50% FTE). Having an accurate FTE % allows us to annualize pay data for part-time employees.

An educated guess or an educated guess range is sufficient.

Direct investment refers to the approach where capital is invested directly by internal staff into companies, projects, or assets rather than external, third-party managers.

Threshold is the minimum level of performance that must be achieved before an incentive can be earned, below which the bonus goes to zero. Target is the expected level of achievement that is achievable and meaningful. If the target isn’t explicitly set, list as the average of threshold and maximum. Maximum is the payout level that cannot be exceeded.

Yes.

Yes.

Results will be made available in the fall.

Yes, funds that choose not to participate may purchase the survey for $2,500 (nonmember rate). The survey results will be made available at no cost to participants.

Please reach out to compsurveys@cbiz.com.

With both NCPERS and CBIZ producing annual public pension compensation surveys, we decided to combine our resources to better serve the public pension community. With this partnership, we’ll be able to provide even more thorough data to your fund while reducing the number of surveys you’re asked to complete.

CBIZ is one of the nation’s leading providers of professional advisory services. Their Talent & Compensation Solutions division has deep roots working with public pension funds both through compensation consulting and executive retained search (as EFL Associates). The Compensation Consulting team has a track record of working with public pension funds to benchmark market-competitive compensation and design compensation programs that are aligned with the compensation philosophy and help achieve total rewards goals and objectives. EFL Associates has successfully completed more public pension leadership and investment management searches than any firm in the country.

Since 1941, NCPERS has been the trusted partner for public pension leaders across local, county, and state retirement systems. Through practical education, timely insights, and a welcoming peer community, we help members strengthen their funds and secure the futures of more than 20 million teachers, police officers, firefighters, municipal workers, and other public servants.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NCPERS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization proudly representing a diverse membership that includes more than 650 public sector retirement systems, plan sponsors, unions, and service providers who collectively manage approximately $6 trillion in retirement assets.

NCPERS is more than an association. We are the industry’s hub for connection, catalyst for progress, and partner working to strengthen retirement systems for generations to come.