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AFSCME Council 57
The Connecticut Health Care Associates Pension Fund was established in 1991 under a trust agreement between the CHCA union — District 1199 of the National...
AFSCME Council 57
The Connecticut Health Care Associates Pension Fund was established in 1991 under a trust agreement between the CHCA union — District 1199 of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees — and participating employers. CHCA itself formed in 1976 and operates as a subordinate body of AFSCME International. Barbara Simonetta, the union's longtime president, serves as a fund trustee, anchoring governance to labor leadership rather than a separate investment office. The fund runs a balanced strategy split between relatively stable multi-employer real estate holdings and a broader alternative investment portfolio. Public records confirm a position in the Multi-Employer Property Trust, a core real estate commingled vehicle. The alternatives sleeve is unusually wide for a fund of this size, spanning venture capital from seed to late stage, buyout, mezzanine, distressed debt, and special situations. Historically, the plan's funding base has been highly concentrated: as of 2013, Waterbury Hospital — owned by Prospect Medical Holdings — accounted for approximately 96% of total contributions. The plan operates from Wallingford, Connecticut, and participates in the Pension Real Estate Association. Governance runs through the union's trust structure, with AFSCME International as the ultimate parent body. Prospect Medical Holdings, the dominant contributing employer through its Waterbury Hospital subsidiary, entered bankruptcy proceedings, creating a severe funding stress for the plan. The fund's posture has consequently shifted toward an assumption of reduced future contributions and a need to manage existing assets defensively while the employer group restructures. The structural differentiator is the fund's extreme employer-concentration risk tied to a single bankrupt hospital operator — a defining constraint that distinguishes it from most union pension plans. While many multi-employer plans spread risk across dozens of employers, this fund's fate is unusually coupled to the financial outcome of Prospect Medical Holdings' restructuring and the viability of the Waterbury Hospital operations that have historically funded the plan.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1991
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Wallingford
Corporate office
Wallingford, CT, United States
Principals
Barbara Simonetta
President, Connecticut Health Care Associates; Trustee of the Pension Fund
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the CHCA Pension Fund?
Investment governance sits with the fund's board of trustees, which draws from union leadership and employer representatives. Barbara Simonetta, president of the Connecticut Health Care Associates union, serves as a trustee. The fund does not maintain a separate, named chief investment officer on public record, consistent with its small scale and union-trustee oversight model.
How does the fund source its alternative investment exposure?
The fund uses a fund-of-funds approach for its alternative investment portfolio rather than building direct investment teams. Its strategy spans venture capital, buyout, mezzanine, and distressed debt, accessed through external managers. This model fits a $76M plan that cannot practically originate direct private-market deals at scale.
What is the funding status risk given the Prospect Medical Holdings bankruptcy?
Prospect Medical Holdings, the parent of Waterbury Hospital, was historically the dominant contributing employer — representing roughly 96% of plan contributions as of 2013. Prospect's bankruptcy proceeding creates a significant risk that future employer contributions will decline, potentially accelerating the plan's path toward underfunding and raising the prospect of eventual intervention by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Is this a single-employer or multi-employer pension plan?
It is legally a multi-employer defined benefit plan established under a trust agreement between the CHCA union and participating employers. In practice, however, employer concentration has been extreme: Waterbury Hospital and its corporate parent have accounted for nearly all contributions, making it function more like a single-employer plan in economic reality.
What is the relationship between CHCA, AFSCME, and NUHHCE?
Connecticut Health Care Associates is District 1199 of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. CHCA and its affiliated Council 57 are subordinate bodies of AFSCME International. The pension fund was established by the CHCA union under trust agreement, so governance ultimately flows through this AFSCME-affiliated labor structure.
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