1. MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM © 2016 CobaltCommunityResearch 2015117 April 12 th, 2016 2015 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study Webinar Supporting Decisions | Inspiring Ideas

2. 2 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 2 Background on Cobalt Community Research  501c3 not for profit research coalition  Mission to provide research and education  Created to help governments, retirement systems, local schools and other nonprofit organizations measure, benchmark and manage their efforts through high-quality affordable research  Headquartered in Lansing, Michigan  Staffed through the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) of Michigan

3. 3 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 3 Study Goals  5 th year comprehensive study  Explore retirement practices of the public sector  Analyze the most current data available on retirement funds’ current fiscal condition and steps they are taking to ensure fiscal and operational integrity  Identify best practices and strategies for lowering unfunded actuarial accrued liability

4. 4 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 4 Methodology  Two pools of respondents:  1. NCPERS members  Invited 351 funds  Conducted via survey online via eblast  2. Top 500 non-NCPERS member funds by assets and participants  Invited 286 funds  Conducted using two paper mailings with option to complete online  Conducted in July and August 2015 (same timeframe as prior studies)  Valid response from 179 funds, of which 151 gave permission to group their data for reporting purposes  Overall distribution of responding funds is similar to prior studies

5. 5 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 5 Bottom Line 2015 Key Findings 1.Public funds are becoming more cost effective 2.Funds continue to tighten benefits, assumptions and governance 3.Funds are currently experiencing healthy 1 ‐ year, 3 ‐ year, 5 ‐ year and 20 ‐ year returns 4.Funds experienced an increase in average funded level 5.Income used to fund pension programs generally comes from three sources: member contributions, employer contributions and investment returns 6.Public funds remain confident in their ability to address retirement trends and issues over the next two years

6. 6 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 6 Available Tools  2015 Media Release: http://www.ncpers.org/files/120115%20Survey%20Release.pdf  Full report is available for download here: http://www.ncpers.org/files/2015%20NCPERS%20Public%20Retirement%2 0Systems%20Study%20Report.pdf  Access to interactive dashboard link: http://www.ncpers.org/membersonly2015dashboard OR email Amanda Rok, Communication & Social Media Manager at amanda@ncpers.org amanda@ncpers.org

7. 7 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 7  Improve the quality of member research and reduce the effort/cost  Develop core questions allowing retirement funds to benchmark scores  Deliver analysis and comparisons based on sound research methodology  Align with the American Customer Satisfaction Index to compare with the broader public and private sectors  Oversee program to augment existing programs or provide a high-quality, affordable option for funds not currently measuring satisfaction 1.Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund 2.Minnesota State Retirement System 3.Missouri State Employee’s Retirement System 4.Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan 5.New York State Teachers’ Retirement System 6.The School Employees Retirement System of Ohio Retirement System Workgroup

8. 8 CobaltCommunityResearch.org Page 8 Wrap Up  2016 NCPERS Public Employee Retirement Systems Study will be launched in July 2016  Questions? William SaintAmour, wsaintamour@cobaltcommunityresearch.orgwsaintamour@cobaltcommunityresearch.org Pete Charette, pcharette@cobaltcommunityresearch.orgpcharette@cobaltcommunityresearch.org Hank Kim, hank@ncpers.orghank@ncpers.org www.CobaltCommunityResearch.org www.NCPERS.org