CalPERS Adopts New Strategic Plan

The California Public Employees' Retirement System Board of Administration has approved an updated strategic plan that identifies the goals and principles that will guide the pension fund over the next five to 10 years.

"Due to changing circumstances, it is important that we periodically review and update our strategic plan," said Rob Feckner, President of the CalPERS Board of Administration. "This will be the blueprint that guides the CalPERS Board and staff as we endeavor to provide and administer employee benefits that are valued by our members, employers, and taxpayers."

The plan has 12 goals in four major business categories - enterprise, pension, asset and liability management, and health:

Enterprise

1. Exercise global leadership to ensure the sustainability of CalPERS pension and health benefit systems.
2. Foster a work environment that values quality, respect, diversity, integrity openness, communication, and accountability.
3. Sustain a high performance work culture utilizing staff development, technology, and innovative leadership and management strategies.
4. Design and develop education and communication initiatives to ensure broad member and stakeholder understanding of CalPERS value.

Pension

5. Provide sustainable pension benefit products and services responsive to and valued by members, employers, and stakeholders.
6. Administer pension benefit services in a customer oriented and cost effective manner.
7. Enable and educate members and employers to make informed decisions leading to a predictable and secure retirement future.

Asset and Liability Management

8. Manage the risk and volatility of assets and liabilities to ensure sufficient funds are available, first, to pay benefits and, second, to minimize and stabilize contributions.
9. Achieve long-term, sustainable, risk adjusted returns.

Health

10. Develop and administer quality, sustainable health benefit programs that are responsive to and valued by enrollees and employers.
11. Promote the ability of members and employers to make informed decisions resulting in improved lifestyle choices and health outcomes.
12. Engage and influence the healthcare marketplace to provide medical care that optimizes quality, access, and cost.

"A lot of thought and discussion went into this update of our strategic plan," said Robert F. Carlson, Chairman of the CalPERS Board Finance Committee. "By following these principles, we will ensure that CalPERS members, employers, and taxpayers will continue to be well served."

The process of updating the CalPERS strategic plan began at the beginning of the year and included a series of workshops on all of the major business lines. Now, CalPERS staff will begin work on development of a three-year business plan that will contain specific objectives with measurable outcomes and timeframes to accomplish the adopted strategic goals.

CalPERS is the largest public employee pension system in the U.S. with assets of more than $196 billion. It administers retirement and health benefits on behalf of more than 2,500 California public employers for more than 1.4 million active and retired California government employees and their families.