John Voelker

The board meeting agenda includes the election of officers and a closed session designated for discussing personnel matters, specifically the recruitment strategy and process for a new ETF Secretary. Following the return to open session, the board will review the Executive Committee Charter.

The board meeting will address the election of officers, committee reports, and several financial and operational matters. Discussion topics include the WRS 43rd Annual Valuation of Retired Lives, annual annuity adjustments, the 40.65 Duty Disability experience study and reserve policy, and the department's annual comprehensive financial report. The agenda also covers the solicitation of federal tax counsel, updates on trending plan topics, the Secretary's report, organizational metrics, and procurement and contract updates. Additionally, the Board will move into a closed session to deliberate on a specific appeal before returning to open session.

The agenda focuses on educational topics including annual public records training and ethics training. It also covers the State of Wisconsin Investment Board's (SWIB) investment performance review and outlook, along with an overview of the new employer onboarding process. Operational updates are scheduled regarding legislative updates, new employers joining the WRS, administrative rule promulgation, legal case updates, communications, member and employer data, disability statistics, pending appeals, and governance manual updates.

The ETF Strategic Plan focuses on customer experience, performance and process management, talented workforce, and modern technologies. It aims to enable accurate self-service and timely enrollment and eligibility administration, ensure insurance program sustainability, optimize processes, attract and advance top talent, and modernize and integrate systems and data.

The meeting agenda includes announcements, committee reports from the Executive Committee, Audit Committee, and Budget and Operations Committee. The agenda includes discussion and potential action on the Actuarial Audit of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), Group Insurance Board Programs, Wisconsin Sick Leave Conversion Credit Programs Annual Valuation, WRS 44th Annual Valuation of Active Lives and Gain/Loss Analysis, and 40.65 Duty Disability (DD) Insurance Annual Valuation. Operational updates include a legislative update, a 2025-2027 Biennial Budget Update, and the Secretary's Report. Additional items include a correction of error authority, customer service improvements, organizational metrics, disability programs statistics, procurement updates, a legal case update, and board correspondence. The board will also discuss future items and move to a closed session for an appeal consideration and the Secretary's evaluation.