LCPR

Status of the 2025 Omnibus Pension and Retirement Bill

The bill was signed into law by the Governor on Friday, May 23, 2025, as Laws 2025, Chapter 37.

● A summary of Chapter 37, the 2025 Omnibus Pension and Retirement Bill, is now available.

● The bill was passed by the Senate on Sunday, May 18, 2025, and by the House on Monday, May 19, 2025.

● See the 2025 Omnibus Pension and Retirement Bill page for more step-by-step information on the omnibus bill and links to amendments and summaries of the bill and amendments.

LCPR Work Group for 2025 Interim

Laws 2025, Chapter 37, Article 17, requires LCPR staff to convene a work group for the purpose of creating pension plans for probation officers and 911 telecommunicators. The names and contact information for the representatives who will serve on the work group must be provided to LCPR staff by June 14, 2025.

Firefighter relief associations no longer have to file an annual Investment Business Recipient Disclosure form!

The 2025 Omnibus Pension and Retirement bill, enacted as Chapter 37 of the 2025 session laws, repeals the requirement in Minnesota Statutes, section 356A.06, subdivision 5, to file an annual investment business recipient disclosure form. The requirement, in effect since 1989, meant the chief administrative officer of every firefighter relief association and other “covered pension plans” had to annually file with the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement a form that lists “the recipients of investment business placed with, or investment commissions allocated among, commercial banks, investment bankers, brokerage organizations, or other investment managers.” The repeal of this requirement in the 2025 pension bill means that, beginning August 1, 2025, firefighter relief associations no longer need to file the “Investment Business Recipient Disclosure Form” with the LCPR executive director. See Chapter 37, Article 8, Section 2.

The Secure Choice Retirement Program is seeking an Executive Director

The Executive Director serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program, providing leadership and vision as directed by the Secure Choice Board of Directors. This position is responsible for developing, launching, and managing this new state-sponsored retirement savings program designed to provide access to retirement savings for workers without employer-sponsored plans. The Executive Director will establish the program infrastructure, manage operations, and build strategic partnerships to ensure successful implementation of this important retirement security initiative. The position is located in St. Paul, Minnesota with a $5 million appropriated budget to establish program operations. The salary range for this position is $121,000 to $173,000.

To see the Position Description, please view the link "Position Description." To learn more about the Responsibilities and Preferred Qualifications, please view the link "Position Specifications." To apply, please send your resume to Tamara at tamara.wesely@cbiz.com.

Mandatory Reporting Requirements

Minnesota statutes and session laws enacted in 2025 require certain entities to provide reports to the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement on an annual basis. Specifically, in 2025, the Commission received reports for the first time on the Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Plan incentive program, the correction of operational errors by the public pension systems, and the employees who elected a transfer from the Minnesota State Individual Retirement Account Plan to the Teachers Retirement Association. All reports are available on the LCPR website on the page titled Mandatory Reporting to the LCPR.

Minnesota News

Jill Schurtz, CIO and Executive Director of the MN State Board of Investment, is featured in a two-part interview published in Pensions & Investments on September 4, and September 5, 2024.

In the first installment of Pensions & Investments’ latest Face to Face interview, Schurtz discusses new initiatives, particularly the board’s recent adoption of a climate roadmap aimed at capturing returns from the energy transition, investing in private markets and how she’s structured the team.

In this second installment of a Face to Face interview with Schurtz, executive director and CIO of the $146 billion Minnesota State Board of Investment, she talks about lessons learned, her career, the importance of hiring and developing a team, and the need for diverse perspectives.

Chris Farrell on the advantages of auto-IRA programs, including Minnesota’s Secure Choice program (Star Tribune)

"Minnesota’s saving program should become available next year for those workers without an employer retirement plan." Read more...

State Board of Investment reports 12.3% investment return for the Combined Funds for fiscal year 2024

"Minnesota State Board of Investment, St. Paul, on Aug. 14 reported $93.7 billion in defined benefit assets as of June 30, the close of SBI’s fiscal year, buoyed by a net investment gain of 12.3%."
"The board’s latest return topped its composite benchmark by almost 50 basis points, according to a performance report on the SBI website." Read more...

Revenue explains new subtraction for public pension income (MN DOR)

The Minnesota Department of Revenue published a document on Public Pension Subtraction, last updated March 21, 2024. Information is available on the pension plans that qualify, income limitations for the subtraction, determining benefits for the subtraction, and determining eligibility for benefits if you are receiving Social Security benefits. Read more...

See previous Minnesota News articles

National News and Recent Publications

2025 NASRA Fast Facts & Helpful Resources on State and Local Government Retirement Systems

NASRA recently released an updated infographic detailing the significant economic footprint of of public retirement systems across the United States for 2025. See the 2025 infographic...

2023-24 Wisconsin Comparitive Study of Major Public Employee Retirement Systems

The study compares significant features and retirement benefits of 87 major state and local public retirement systems for general employees and teachers in the United States. The Wisconsin Legislative Council has prepared similar studies nearly every two years since 1982. Read the 2023-24 report...

NASRA Report: Recent Changes to COLAs

Rising prices have been a concern for many retirees in recent years as inflation reached its highest levels in decades (see CPI-U data below). Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are intended to protect retirement benefits from a loss of purchasing power due to inflation. What changes have states made to COLAs provided by public pension plans during this period of high inflation? See the recent NASRA issue brief on COLAs, published in May 2024, for more information.

Research on Public Pension Retirement Security and Teachers’ Benefits (PEW)

Presentation by The Pew Charitable Trusts on practices of successful pension systems, retirement security metrics, and a comparison of Minnesota TRA pensions to teacher pensions in other states. Read more...

See previous National News articles

Secure Choice News and Publications

State auto-IRA programs gain steam as interstate pact, public support grow. (Pensions & Investments, 5/17/2024)

"More than 3 in 4 Americans (77%) agree that state-facilitated retirement savings programs are a good idea...In addition, the overwhelming majority of Americans (82%) also say they would participate in state-facilitated programs, up from 75% in 2020..." Read more...

Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs (National Institute on Retirement Security, May 2024)

"..states are taking action to address the retirement challenges facing Americans by providing increased access to retirement plans. Since 2012, every state except Alabama has either enacted or introduced legislation that would establish state-facilitated retirement savings programs. These state-facilitated retirement programs offer a backstop for those working in jobs where employers do not offer retirement plans like a pension plan or 401(k) account." Read more...

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement

Upcoming Commission meetings