PERS briefs appropriators on shift to defined‑contribution plan, seeks staff and IT funding to implement change

Members of the House Appropriations Government Operations Division heard an overview from the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System on Oct. 23 as the agency summarized growing membership, the Jan. 1, 2025 closure of its main hybrid retirement system to new hires and the budget and staffing it says are needed to administer the change.

The agency, led by Executive Director Rebecca Fricke, told the committee that PERS now administers nine retirement programs and multiple group insurance plans and that significant demographic changes and statutory changes — including House Bill 1040 — are shifting more new hires into a defined‑contribution (DC) framework. "Effective January 1, 2025, this plan was closed to new participants," Fricke said during her overview, noting the legislature-authorized change that makes the defined contribution tier the default for new employees without prior PERS service.

The change means PERS must expand enrollment outreach, employer education and back‑office processing. "With the move to the defined contribution plan, what they'll receive at retirement will be based on the contributions that go into the plan and then how their investments do," Fricke said, describing the programmatic and communications work the agency is doing for new hires. Chief Operating and Financial Officer Derek Cobine told the committee that PERS has begun targeted welcome materials and twice‑monthly meetings with the deferred‑compensation vendor to help new employees make timely elections during the 30‑day IRS election window.

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