Pension board reports strong returns; commissioners weigh COLA and a line-of-duty death benefit

A pension-board representative told DeKalb County commissioners the county's pension fund has posted unusually strong returns this year and presented several benefit-change scenarios commissioners may consider in the 2026 budget cycle.

"We have earned 14.73% year to date," pension-board representative Mr. Wall said while reviewing fund performance. His slides showed a market-value snapshot of about $1.0 billion and a projected funded ratio near 70% given recent gains. Mr. Wall also cited actuary recommendations for county contribution levels ($81.65 million for '25; $83.21 million for '26) and said the plan is a mature, long-standing retirement vehicle.

Mr. Wall presented cost estimates for benefits changes commissioners had requested. He said a 2% cost-of-living increase for all retirees would raise the county contribution by roughly $2.99 million. He also provided a study estimate that moving all group 3 participants (4,024 active employees) to group 2 would raise required contributions by about $18.9 million annually, a figure commissioners called a "heavy lift." Commissioners asked staff to return with phased-option scenarios to reduce near-term budget impacts.

Mr. Wall also proposed a line-of-duty death benefit for public-safety employees that would, if adopted, pay families of qualifying deceased employees an enhanced benefit; he illustrated one change scenario with a modest annual cost (presented as $64,093 for the sample). Commissioners asked whether the change could be made retroactive to 01/01/2025 to cover two recent line-of-duty deaths; the county attorney said staff would analyze retroactivity and return with a legal assessment.

Next steps: staff will provide phased-cost scenarios for moving employees between plan groups, legal analysis on retroactivity for a line-of-duty benefit, and additional materials to support deliberations during budget discussions and FAB committee review.