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City of South Bend 1937 Firefighters' Pension Plan
South Bend chartered its original firefighters' pension plan in 1937, two years before the state would begin consolidating municipal public-safety retirement...
City of South Bend 1937 Firefighters' Pension Plan
South Bend chartered its original firefighters' pension plan in 1937, two years before the state would begin consolidating municipal public-safety retirement systems. The plan now operates as a closed legacy vehicle: new hires after 1977 enter the state-administered Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS), while the 1937 Fund continues paying benefits to pre-1977 retirees and their beneficiaries. The City of South Bend's Finance Division administers the plan, with the mayor, city controller, and deputy controller sitting on the pension board. The City's annual comprehensive financial reports detail the plan's fiscal position alongside the city's other trust funds. The plan's investment portfolio skews toward capital preservation — cash equivalents, intergovernmental receivables, and traditional fixed-income instruments dominate the allocation. A portion flows into public equities and real assets through the state's investment pool, but the plan does not operate as a direct institutional LP in the private-markets sense. Indiana's Pension Relief Fund, administered by INPRS, provides supplemental distributions that reduce pressure on the plan's standalone asset base, effectively blending local and state funding into each benefit check. The 1937 plan remains small by any absolute measure: its asset pool is embedded within South Bend's broader city treasury, not housed in a separate investment office. No dedicated CIO or internal investment staff exists — the City Controller and Deputy Controller manage treasury functions across all city trust funds. The plan's most recent five-year actuarial experience study, released by the city in December 2023, showed funded ratios and contribution-rate adjustments that reflect the same demographic pressures facing closed municipal pension systems nationwide: a shrinking active-member base, lengthening retiree lifespans, and reliance on state aid to fill gaps. What separates the 1937 Firefighters' plan from most single-family offices and endowed institutions is its statutory encoding: benefit formulas, contribution rates, and board composition are fixed by Indiana state law, not by investment-committee discretion. The plan cannot meaningfully alter its asset allocation, take concentrated positions, or co-invest alongside external managers. Its structural differentiator is its survival as a pre-consolidation artifact — one of a dwindling number of standalone municipal firefighter pensions in Indiana still administering benefits under a charter written during the Great Depression.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1937
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
South Bend
Corporate office
South Bend, IN, United States
Principals
James Mueller
Mayor, Ex-Officio Board Member
Kyle Willis
City Controller, Board Member
Benjamin Dougherty
Deputy City Controller
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is the 1937 Firefighters' Pension Plan different from the state-run 1977 Fund?
The 1937 Fund covers firefighters hired before 1977 under a locally administered, statute-defined plan. Newer hires fall under the Indiana Public Retirement System's 1977 Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension and Disability Fund, a state-pooled system. The 1937 plan is closed to new entrants and shrinking, while the 1977 Fund grows with the active workforce.
Who makes investment decisions for the plan?
The City of South Bend's Finance Division, led by the City Controller, manages the plan's assets as part of the broader city treasury. There is no dedicated CIO or internal investment staff for the pension fund alone. The pension board — composed of the mayor, city controller, and deputy controller — provides oversight, but investment discretion is constrained by Indiana statutes governing municipal pension assets.
Does the plan invest in private equity or venture capital?
No. The plan's asset base is small and held in cash equivalents, fixed-income instruments, and public-market exposure through state investment pools. Its statutory framework and liquidity requirements do not accommodate direct private-equity commitments, co-investments, or venture-capital allocations.
How does Indiana's Pension Relief Fund interact with the 1937 plan?
Indiana's Pension Relief Fund, administered by INPRS, provides supplemental distributions to locally administered legacy plans like the 1937 Fund. These distributions subsidize benefit payments when the plan's own assets and city contributions are insufficient, effectively layering state aid into retiree checks and reducing the standalone funded-ratio pressure on the city.
What is the plan's current funded status?
The city's most recent actuarial experience study, released in December 2023, covers the period from July 2017 through June 2022. It reports funded ratios and contribution-rate adjustments consistent with a closed, aging municipal plan — a shrinking active-member base, rising benefit outflows, and reliance on both city contributions and state relief distributions to remain actuarially sound.
Can the plan alter its asset allocation or take concentrated positions?
No. Indiana Code dictates permissible investments for municipal pension funds, and the plan's board has limited discretion. The allocation must prioritize liquidity and capital preservation. Concentrated positions, direct real-estate development, and alternative-investment partnerships fall outside its statutory mandate.
What happens to the 1937 plan as its membership declines?
The plan will continue paying benefits to surviving pre-1977 retirees and beneficiaries until its liabilities extinguish. At that point, any residual assets would revert according to Indiana law and the plan's governing documents. The state's 1977 Fund and Pension Relief Fund will absorb the long-term burden of post-1977 firefighter retirement benefits.
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