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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Transparency Stars Program • Public Pensions

Questions? Contact pensionaccounting@tmrs.com

To assist your city in fulfilling the documentation for the Texas Comptroller's Public Pensions Guidelines [checklist], TMRS is providing descriptions of the relevant materials with links where appropriate. Generally, a city should be able to find the necessary information in its annual TMRS Rate Letter and in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (Report).

Useful Links at COMPTROLLER.TEXAS.GOV:

Note about TMRS Cities / Entities: The Comptroller’s office has indicated that Members of statewide cash balance plans such as TMRS are eligible for the Pension Star because they exercise some independent decision-making about their benefit elements at the local level. TMRS participating cities should ensure that elements on their sites demonstrate clearly their distinct performance/decision-making within the plan (i.e., if including a statewide document or report to meet the Star requirements, include the page numbers referring to your city; or pull out your city-specific information from statewide information to create your graphic representations, etc.). See City Plan Provisions on the TMRS website for individual city plans.

Transparency Stars Public Pensions Checklist

The summary chart below is equivalent to the Public Pensions Checklist posted on the Comptroller’s website. Review the overall requirements on the Comptroller’s website, and use the list below for help with TMRS documents. Current and archived TMRS Reports and Schedules of Changes in FNP are found under For Cities | Actuarial & Accounting | Financial Reports.

Abbreviations used below:
AV = Actuarial Valuation
Report = TMRS' Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
RL = Rate Letter

Legend
  City Specific Information
  System (TMRS) Information

Required Elements Source
Dedicated webpage or section of website Roll over links below for more information
City Specific InformationGeneral narrative overview of the transparency area
3 clicks or less from the homepage		 Include and explain the elements of your City Plan Provisions
Public Pensions Summary  
City Specific InformationFunded ratio RL (Executive Summary), AV
Amortization period RL (Calculation of Contribution Requirement), AV
System InformationOne-, three- and 10-year rates (if available) of return, with basic explanation (or link to basic explanation) of methodology employed Report
System InformationAssumed rate of return RL, AV
City Specific InformationActuarially Determined Employer Contribution (ADEC) Rate (if plan has UAAL), with comparison to current Total Contribution Rates RL (Executive Summary), AV - City can find the current total contribution in TMRS-3 reports, plus any lump sum payment
City Specific InformationUnfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL) as percent of covered payroll RL (Executive Summary), AV
Visualizations City
City Specific InformationTime trend going back five years showing actuarial value of assets versus actuarial accrued liability Data to create these charts (AVA and AAL) is found in RL
City Specific InformationTime trend going back five years comparing the ADEC to the actual total contribution rate Data to create these charts is found in RL (Executive Summary)
Documents Documents TMRS provides city or posts on web
System InformationFive most recent actuarial valuations AV, RL
System InformationFive most recent audits or annual reports, including:  
System Information
  • Statements of fiduciary net position
Report (Financial Section)
System Information
  • Statements of changes in fiduciary net position
Pre-2014: Report (Schedule of Changes in BAF)
Post-2014: Schedule of Changes in FNP
Downloadable Data  
City Specific InformationActuarial value of assets versus actuarial accrued liability over time going back at least five years RL
City Specific InformationDataset(s) containing the following for the last five years:
  • Total additions for the most recent valuation period by source, such as investment income, other income, employer, employee and other contributions
  • Total deductions for the most recent valuation period by use such as benefit payments, withdrawals, administrative expenses and investment related expenses
Pre-2014:
RL or Report (Schedule of Changes in BAF)

Post-2014:
Schedule of Changes in FNP or GRP

Other Information
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Public Pension Search Tool includes details on state and local pension plans in Texas.

Terminology

Actuarial Valuation (AV)

AVs are available on the website for the past 5 years. [For Cities | Actuarial & Accounting | Actuarial Reports] The 2019 Actuarial Experience Study is also available on the website. Older AVs are available upon request.

Rate Letter (RL)

The City RL contains detailed information on the required city contribution rate. All RLs are available on the website for the past 5 years, accessible from a drop-down menu [Rate Letters under the For Cities tab].

GASB Reporting Package (GRP)

GASB letters are maintained on the website, accessible through a drop-down menu [GASB Compliance page, under GASB Packages].  
(Note: Additional GASB-related resources for cities, including census data that is confidential under state law, are available to authorized city personnel through the secure, password-protected City Portal.)

Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (Report)

The web page for all electronically provided Reports (latest + archive copies) is found under For Cities | Actuarial & Accounting | Financial Reports.

Schedule of Changes in Fiduciary Net Position (FNP)

These documents are also found under the Financial Reports tab. Due to changes in reporting standards in 2014, the Schedule of Changes in Fiduciary Net Position for each participating city was removed from the Report and published as a supplement.

The AV, RL, and the Actuarial Section of the Report are good sources for terminology definitions.