A recent report from the American Legislative Exchange Council named North Carolina among the top four state-administered public pension plans for its transparency in the administration and reporting on the ongoing status of the North Carolina Total Retirement Plans.
The report, Unaffordable and Unaccountable 2017, highlights the importance of transparency in public pension plans, noting that transparency in financial reporting enables the public to access the information needed to make informed decisions. Nebraska, Montana and Kentucky joined North Carolina in serving as “transparency leaders,” the report highlights.
“Unlike most states which make pension fund financial documents available only through the pension organization itself…all pension fund financials are easily available from North Carolina’s Department of State Treasurer,” the report states.
The Department of State Treasurer’s Investment Management and Financial Operations divisions are responsible for managing more than $100 billion in pension and other funds. The department produces dozens of reports each year that outline the investment fees and performance, as well as the financial health, of the state’s pension plans and other investments. The department publishes each of these reports online to make them accessible to any interested parties.