State treasurer outlines budget, unclaimed-property staffing request and housing, retirement, climate initiatives

State Treasurer Senator Biccek told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 that the treasurer’s office budget meets the governor’s recommended target and is driven mainly by salary and benefit increases, especially health-care costs.

Biccek said the office manages about $1.7 billion in cash, processed roughly 3,000,000 payments in a year totaling about $8.5 billion, and earned about $109 million in interest in fiscal 2024. He said those investment earnings have become a significant revenue source for the state compared with a few years ago.

The treasurer emphasized the office’s work across divisions: treasury operations, retirement, unclaimed property and economic empowerment. He described the retirement systems as covering roughly 65,000 participants across state employee, teacher and municipal systems and paying more than $500 million in annual benefits. He said the office now manages about $290 million in OPEB (other post-employment benefits) prefunding and that recent reforms and contributions have improved pension- and OPEB-funding ratios, producing projected long-term savings.

Why it matters: The treasurer framed the budget as one that preserves operations while responding to rising personnel costs and expanded program activity, and he asked the committee to consider several targeted resource and language requests intended to increase the office’s ability to return money to Vermonters, support housing and climate recovery lending, and expand retirement access.

Unclaimed property: staffing request and payout threshold

Biccek highlighted a sharp rise in unclaimed property holdings and workload. He said the office currently holds about $130 million in unclaimed property and returned about $5.8 million to claimants in fiscal 2024, with a record number of claims (more than 19,000). He described the unclaimed-property unit as a four-person staff that is processing many more files per person than in prior decades and facing increased fraud and identity-verification complexity.

The treasurer asked the committee to approve two new positions (described as program technician 3-level positions in the presentation) at a total cost of about $200,000. He told the committee the division is fully funded from unclaimed-property receipts and said the request would therefore have no general-fund impact. He also sought statutory language to raise an automatic verification/payout threshold from $250 to $1,000 to speed smaller claims back to owners.

Treasury cash investments and the ‘10% in Vermont’ housing portfolio

Biccek described a program that allows the treasurer’s office to place up to 10% of short-term cash on hand into locally focused investments—the “10% in Vermont” portfolio—prioritizing housing. He said roughly $80 million has been invested across 32 deals in about 11 counties and that those investments are estimated to support about 1,000 housing units. Examples cited included an $8 million low-cost capital investment in Rutland (a public–private package that the treasurer said should support 150 downtown units) and a $5 million investment through the Vermont Economic Development Authority for 65 units in Vergennes. The office described these as loans made through partner lenders at deliberately below-market rates to fill financing gaps and keep projects viable amid high construction and interest costs.

Loan pricing cited in the presentation: approximately 1% for terms 0–5 years, 1.5% for 5–10 years and 2% for 10–20 years. Biccek said the treasurer’s money typically sits alongside many other investors and that the state’s lower-rate piece helps projects “pencil out.”

Climate/resilience lending and bridge financing

Biccek said the office created a short-term climate facility that has provided about $20 million in bridge financing (via the Vermont Bond Bank) at about 1% to municipalities recovering from recent floods, intended to reduce short-term borrowing costs while communities wait for FEMA reimbursements. He also briefed the committee on a Climate Super Fund feasibility effort and requested additional funding to proceed to an RFP and fuller analysis.

Retirement programs: Vermont Saves, ABLE and pension/OPEB updates

The treasurer reported the Vermont Saves auto-IRA program launched ahead of schedule and is in open enrollment. He said, as of the committee presentation, about 470 people were fully enrolled, roughly 2,500 employee records were in process and assets under management were about $40,000, with a preliminary opt-out rate near 20% (typical, he said, for comparable state programs). The treasurer requested clarifying language for Vermont Saves in the budget language including raising the auto-escalation cap from 8% to 10% and allowing participants to choose a traditional IRA in addition to the default Roth to enable eligibility for the federal savers match.

He also summarized the ABLE program (tax-advantaged accounts for people with disabilities): roughly 1,200 active ABLE accounts in Vermont with average balances near $10,000 and about $12 million in assets under management.

On pensions and OPEB, Biccek said the treasurer’s office expects continued improvement in funding ratios following reductions in assumed investment returns and a package of reforms, including increased contributions and one-time payments. He said those changes, including a $15 million annual additional payment while systems move toward higher funded ratios, are expected to reduce long-term costs to taxpayers by billions over many decades.

Medical debt relief proposal

Biccek described House Bill 112 / Senate Bill 27, a proposal to eliminate about $100 million in older medical debt held by moderate- and low-income Vermonters. He said the policy would require a one-time appropriation of $1 million to buy portfolios of old debt through a partner nonprofit (named in the presentation as Undue Medical Debt) that negotiates with hospitals to acquire and retire accounts. Biccek said hospitals may donate or accept purchase proceeds and that participation is voluntary for providers. He said the treasurer discussed how purchased portfolios are priced and noted possible public-health benefits from reducing medical-debt barriers to care.

Baby bonds pilot, municipal equipment loans and other language/BAA items

The treasurer said the office is preparing a baby-bonds pilot (the longer program would place about $3,200 in an account for children born into poverty, available for education, home purchase, business capitalization or retirement at ages 18–30). The pilot would target a smaller cohort and seek private philanthropic funding for direct pilot accounts plus state administrative support. He also noted requests that touch municipal vehicle/equipment loan program language, a hardship-waiver increase for the Emergency Personnel Survivors Benefit Fund and BAA language to fund analysis of the Climate Super Fund.

Federal policy and fiscal risk monitoring

Biccek said the office organized a Federal Transition Task Force to monitor federal policy changes that could affect Vermont (tariffs, disaster recovery, municipal bond tax status, Medicaid funding and other federal funding questions). He noted the office has engaged on funding-freeze impacts and contingency planning in the event of a federal continuing resolution, including cash-flow questions and whether the treasurer could temporarily advance funds to agencies.

Committee questions and notes of record

Committee members asked for clarifications on verification standards for unclaimed-property claims (the office said in some cases checks above $10,000 require in-person pick-up), why unclaimed-property positions were not included in the base budget (Biccek said administration guidance directed new initiatives to be filed separately), and whether administration had denied any requested positions (Biccek said an administration request was declined). Members also queried specifics about loan terms for housing investments and how the medical-debt purchase and retirement-protection provisions operate. The treasurer offered to follow up by email and to provide memos and language drafts the office had already filed with the committee.

No committee votes were recorded during this presentation. The treasurer closed by offering to answer follow-up questions offline and by email.