Retirement and Investment Office requests funding to expand internal investing; TFFR funding level reported at about 71.7%

The House Appropriations Government Operations Division received budget testimony Oct. 23 from the Retirement and Investment Office (RIO). Interim executive director Jody Smith and interim chief financial and operating officer Rachel Kametz outlined the office’s base budget, recent accomplishments, and five change packages that together total roughly $6.4 million, of which the governor’s recommendation included about $2.9 million.

RIO described two principal priorities: completion of a multi‑phase pension administration system modernization for the Teacher's Fund for Retirement (TFFR) and expansion of an internal investment program the agency calls an opportunity to reduce external manager costs and improve liquidity and rebalancing.

TFFR funding and IT modernization RIO Deputy Director Chad Roberts told the committee TFFR’s funding level is about 71.67% and that the agency expects to continue work on a pension administration modernization project. Rachel Kametz said the project is in its final phase and the agency expects the new pension administration tool to go live in February 2025. RIO’s base budget for the 2023–25 biennium was described as…