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About the Fund

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Mission - Dedicated to providing Retirement Benefits and Exceptional Services while Sustaining Trust with our Stakeholders.

Vision
- To be a Leader in Public Pension Fund Management on behalf of our Members and Stakeholders.

Guiding Principles
- In fulfilling our Mission and Vision we will:
 * Act for the sole benefit of members and beneficiaries
 * Conduct business with honesty, integrity, and with excellence
 * Demonstrate prudence in decision making and be accountable for our actions
 * Act strategically, be innovative, and pursue continuous improvements
 * Maintain trust, transparency, and educational outreach through diversified methods
 * Value diversity of our employees and in our investment strategies
 * Empower our employees through a supportive work environment that encourages the ability to act through leadership, respect, trust, and personal ownership of decisions

Overview
The Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund was established by ordinance on Sept. 12, 1945. The Fund is a defined benefit plan, created for the exclusive purpose of providing retirement benefits to full-time City of Fort Worth employees, including general employees, police officers and firefighters. Serving approximately 6,700 active members and more than 4,900 retirees and beneficiaries, the Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund is the only municipal retirement fund in Texas that covers general city employees as well as police and fire.

The Fund is subject to city and state legislative oversight from the Fort Worth City Council and State Pension Review Board.

The Board of Trustees of the Fund is made up of thirteen members who are referred to as Board members or Trustees. Five Board members are appointed, seven are elected by the membership, and one seat is held by the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Fort Worth. The Trustees are the highest governing body of the Fund and are charged with the primary responsibility of overseeing the administration of benefits and the investment of assets.

The Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund, the Fort Worth City Council, and Fort Worth administrative officials have different responsibilities and tasks when it comes to retirement plan benefits and the members who receive them.

The Retirement Fund controls:

Investment decisions and asset allocation of the Fund.

Setting actuarial assumptions and recommending the monetary contributions needed from the city to meet these assumptions in order to fund benefits to members.

Collecting contributions from the city and its employees and paying out benefits in accordance with retirement plan provisions.

Evaluating and granting disability retirement pensions and death benefits.

The Retirement Fund does not control:

Prospective changes to benefits. Changes are controlled by the Fort Worth City Council, including the timing and scope of any benefit changes.

Personnel policy decisions that affect pension benefits, including salary increases, promotions and overtime worked.

Bargaining agreements with civil service groups regarding pay or benefits.

The city’s health care benefits or funding.

Market fluctuations that affect the value of the Retirement Fund’s assets.