Pensions Fund Pension Fund Analysis

The school was founded in 1839 and is Missouri's largest research university offering more than 280 degree programs (Mizzou, N.d.). The school is also the largest employer in the area with more than thirteen thousand full-time employees. The Retirement Trust and the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust hold the assets of the Retirement Plan and the OPEB Plan. The university is require to fully comply with the GASB reporting requirements and the Trusts are managed by external firms that are restricted to investing in certain asset sectors.

The externally-managed Trust funds are allowed to invest in asset sectors such as U.S. And international equity, emerging markets debt and equity, absolute return strategies, private equity, real estate, global fixed income, high yield fixed income, bank loans, and Treasury inflation protected securities (University of Missouri, 2011). This fund represents the pension and OPEB benefits for a wide variety of different types of employees including those within the MU Health Care teaching hospitals and extensions. At June 30, 2010, the University's financial position remained sound with total assets in the neighborhood...

Full-time employees vest in the retirement plan after five years of credited service and become eligible to start receiving benefits based on age and years of service. The compensation base is determined by the five highest years of salary and credit is also given for additional services such as teaching summer classes. There are also many options for employees or former employees to receive their benefits. Vested employees who are at least 55 years of age that have worked at least ten years or more can opt for an early retirement option at a reduced benefit rate. There are also options for employees to covert a significant portion of their retirement benefits into a lump sum payment.
Figure 1 - Pension Benefits Total Membership (University of Missouri, 2011)

The University's contributions to the retirement plan are equal to the actuarially determined employer contribution requirement which is determined as a percentage of the payroll…