(The Center Square) – The Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan posted strong investment returns in 2025, outperforming its benchmark and landing in the top 15% of peer funds.
This is according to a recent release, which MERS officials said shows disciplined strategy is strengthening the system’s long-term retirement stability.
“MERS continues to demonstrate that strong returns and lower risk are not mutually exclusive,” said Chief Investment Officer Jeb Burns. “By combining disciplined governance policies with strong performance, we are strengthening the system for the long term while reducing risk and volatility.”
The system exceeded its rate of return across all measured time periods, reflecting continued outperformance.
MERS CEO Kerrie Vanden Bosch said the results translate directly into greater retirement security for members and more stability for local communities.
“Strong investment performance matters because it translates into greater retirement security for our members and greater stability for the communities we serve,” Vanden Bosch said. “Our results reflect years of thoughtful portfolio construction, disciplined risk management, and a relentless focus on creating long-term value for the public employees.”
MERS manages more than $19 billion in assets and serves over 150,000 participants, including police officers, firefighters, nurses and other municipal workers across Michigan.
It acts as the fiduciary for participating local governments, which means it oversees investments, monitors performance, and manages costs for local pensions. Currently, MERS administers retirement plans for about 84% of Michigan’s pension systems.
This comes as many states, including Michigan, face long-standing pension funding challenges, especially at the local level.
In 2023, Michigan lawmakers approved a program allowing up to $750 million in taxpayer funds to help shore up underfunded municipal pension systems. The funding was aimed at communities with pension plans funded at 60% or less, helping reduce liabilities and improve long-term stability.
At the time, some municipalities faced significant shortfalls. Saginaw’s pension system, for example, was funded at just 49.1% in 2021, with a net pension liability of $180.1 million.
Policy analysts have said for years that insufficient contributions contributed to those gaps. James Hohman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy told The Center Square in 2023 that underfunding has left pension systems strained.
“Despite constitutional requirements to pre-fund pensions, most local government officials put less in than they needed and accidentally made their own employees and retirees some of the government’s largest creditors,” Hohman explained. “This is bad for municipal workers, retirees and the government’s taxpayers.”
In its most-recent report, from 2024, MERS reported just 96 municipalities had their pensions over 100% funded. It also showed 37 municipalities of 748 under the 60% more than, making them eligible for the $750 million in state funding.
