As we close out 2024, I’d like to take time to reflect on the strides we have made at Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS) this year.
For over 50 years, Missouri LAGERS has helped local government workers prepare for a secure retirement. This year, our commitment remained steadfast as the LAGERS team worked diligently to uphold our fiduciary responsibility and safeguard your future benefits. Our top priority continues to be providing an exceptional retirement experience for our current and future retirees.
In May, we welcomed Scott Day as LAGERS’ new chief investment officer. Scott joined LAGERS with over 30 years of institutional asset management experience, most recently serving as the deputy chief investment officer for the School and Institutional Trust Fund Office (SITFO) in Utah, where he helped oversee the $3.5 billion permanent fund. Prior to his tenure at SITFO, Scott was a managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he served as an outsourced chief investment officer of a $15 billion Canadian pension fund.
Scott has already helped build upon LAGERS’ successful investment program, and his expertise across all asset classes, coupled with his passion for institutional investing, positions us to further advance the program into the future.
In June, our board adopted a new strategic plan, Vision 2030: Our Drive to Be More. This comprehensive road map outlines LAGERS’ vision, goals, priorities, and the actions needed to achieve them. The strategic plan will ensure that our efforts align with our members’ best interests, help allocate resources effectively and guide the organization toward long-term sustainability and success.
In July, we implemented new security enhancements as part of our ongoing effort to strengthen our cybersecurity infrastructure. With more daily activities and financial transactions shifting online, these investments are becoming more critical than ever. One example is the adoption of multifactor authentication for all myLAGERS logins, which adds an extra layer of security for our members’ confidential information.
In September we once again received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). This is the 46th consecutive year LAGERS has been awarded the certificate, which is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.
Receiving this award year after year truly reflects LAGERS’ commitment to our mission and to maintaining the highest financial standards, ensuring we provide our members with the benefits they have earned.
In October, we honored Tracy Prost, city clerk from the city of Perryville, with the 2024 Local Government Hero Award at LAGERS’ 57th Annual Meeting. The Local Government Hero Award celebrates the outstanding contributions of the state’s local public workforce and honors a LAGERS member who has gone above and beyond the daily duties of a public servant to enhance their workplace, community, and profession.
Tracy was chosen for this year’s award in recognition of her 42 years of service to the city of Perryville as a city clerk, where she played an instrumental role in improving the city for its citizens and demonstrating exceptional leadership to her colleagues. As her nominee, Brent Buerck, said, “a true hero is someone who does things not necessarily because they want to, or because they were told to, but because it needs to be done.”
Thank you, Tracy, for always doing what needs to be done to ensure that your community thrives.
LAGERS is proud of our continued growth, welcoming 16 new employers to our system this year. As we grow, we remain committed to our mission of supporting a secure retirement for our members. Pension plans continue to be an important benefit, not only to our members, but to our state. According to our recent Economic Impact Report, LAGERS retirees generated $596 million in economic impact in 2024 with 92% of the income remaining in the local Missouri economy.
Looking ahead to 2025, the LAGERS team will continue supporting the secure retirement of thousands of LAGERS members by partnering with local governments to provide a sustainable defined benefit plan. While the world continues to change and evolve, we recognize that new challenges also bring new opportunities to build upon LAGERS’ strong foundation and invest in the future of our members.
Best regards,
Bill Betts
