About Arkansans for Pension Integrity
A statewide campaign for transparent, financially sound stewardship of Arkansas public retirement money.
Our mission
Arkansans for Pension Integrity is a statewide, volunteer-led campaign for transparent and financially sound stewardship of public retirement money.
Teachers, state employees, retirees, and taxpayers should be able to see the financial reasoning behind major pension decisions. When a public board commits retirement money, members deserve more than assurances. They deserve a written account of the risks, expected return, liquidity, alternatives, and fiduciary judgment behind the decision.
Public money deserves a public investment record.
What we do
Make complicated decisions understandable. We turn minutes, financial memoranda, transaction records, and Arkansas law into plain-language explanations that pension members can use.
Advance practical safeguards. The Pension Investment Integrity Act would require a written financial analysis for covered purchases of non-tradable sovereign debt. The same rule would apply across issuers, and pension trustees would keep the final investment decision.
Organize the people whose money is at stake. We help educators, public employees, retirees, legislators, and other Arkansans ask informed questions and advocate for better pension governance.
Publish the primary documents. Readers can open the signed minutes, resolutions, financial memoranda, and transaction records behind the site’s central claims.
What we’re asking for
- Pass the Pension Investment Integrity Act. Require written credit analysis, an alternatives comparison, a liquidity explanation, and a fiduciary determination for covered pension purchases.
- Make the reasoning public. Post that analysis within 30 days after a covered purchase so members can judge the decision for themselves.
- Use legislative oversight. Examine how Arkansas’s existing pecuniary-factors and prudent-investor standards are being applied in practice.
Frequently asked questions
What prompted this campaign?
Arkansas agencies directed $115M into completed Israel Bonds purchases and an ATRS manager account created for the same strategy. Pension members were left to reconstruct the financial case from implementation advice, authorization records, emails, and later transactions. The Integrity Act turns those fragments into one usable public decision record.
Who makes the final investment decision?
Pension trustees retain their full investment authority. The proposal adds a written financial analysis and public posting after a covered purchase.
How broadly would the proposal apply?
The same requirements would apply to every covered purchase of non-tradable sovereign debt, regardless of issuer. The Arkansas Israel Bonds decisions show why this statewide rule is needed.
Why focus on process if the amounts are a small share of each portfolio?
Because a sound process protects every investment decision, large or small. A board that can clearly show its work builds confidence. A process that depends on informal explanations leaves members unable to judge whether the same standard will be applied next time.
Who supports the campaign?
Arkansans for Pension Integrity works with educators, public employees, retirees, taxpayers, and civic organizations across the state. Citizens First Congress selected pension investment integrity as a short-term priority for the 2027 legislative session.
How can I help?
Ask your legislators to support the Pension Investment Integrity Act, share the explainer with a pension member, or contact us about volunteering.
Contact
Email: info@arpensions.org