# City of Warren Police & Fire Retirement System

City of Warren Police & Fire Retirement System is a Pension Fund based in Warren, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Warren, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Warren, MI, United States
- **Founded:** 1937
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** cityofwarren.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-of-warren-mi

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The City of Warren Police & Fire Retirement System was established in 1937 to provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for the sworn personnel of the city's Police and Fire Departments. Governed by a commission of city officials and appointees, the system operates as a quasi-judicial body under Michigan law. Chairperson Scott Salyers leads the board alongside Vice-Chair Brent Chisolm, with day-to-day administration directed by Jennifer Essenmacher. The plan sits within Warren, Michigan's largest Detroit suburb and a significant manufacturing hub, giving the fund a direct connection to the fiscal health of a blue-collar municipality with roughly 135,000 residents. The pension fund allocates across a diversified portfolio typical of municipal public-safety plans. Core exposure includes US large-cap equities and investment-grade fixed income. On the alternatives side, commitments have historically targeted private equity funds, real estate, infrastructure, and absolute-return strategies. The fund has participated in private markets through fund-of-funds structures and direct fund commitments, accessing managers in middle-market buyouts and core-plus real estate. The system's most recent actuarial valuation — disclosed publicly as required by Michigan's reporting mandates — reflects a continued focus on achieving the state's assumed rate of return amidst a maturing beneficiary base. Board governance is layered. The retirement commission includes the City Treasurer, City Controller, and appointed commissioners, creating a structure where pension oversight is directly tied to municipal finance functions. The system is a member of MAPERS, the Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems, which provides education, legislative advocacy, and networking for the state's local pension funds. Team size and total assets have not been publicly disclosed in a consolidated form, though Warren's annual comprehensive financial report breaks out the system's net position. A 2020 analysis by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy evaluated the fund's solvency metrics alongside a cohort of Michigan municipal pension plans, offering an external benchmark for its funded status evolution over the prior decade. The structural posture of the Warren Police & Fire fund differs meaningfully from a pooled statewide system. As a single-employer, locally administered plan, it carries concentrated exposure to the city's tax base and the arc of Warren's manufacturing employment. Governance sits with city insiders — the treasurer and controller hold board seats — which creates alignment with municipal budgeting but also concentrates fiduciary decision-making within the local executive branch. This architecture, common in older Michigan cities, means the fund's trajectory is more tightly coupled to local economic development outcomes than that of a diversified state-level system.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Private Credit
- Infrastructure
- Hedge Funds
- Private Equity
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Scott Salyers — Chairperson, Retirement Commission
- Brent Chisolm — Vice-Chairperson, Retirement Commission
- Lorie Barnwell — Secretary and City Treasurer, Retirement Commission
- Gregory Paliczuk — Commissioner, Retirement Commission
- Richard Fox — Commissioner and City Controller, Retirement Commission
- Jennifer Essenmacher — Director of the Retirement System

## Questions

### How is the retirement system governed under Michigan law?

The system operates as a quasi-judicial body pursuant to Michigan's Home Rule City Act and the Public Employee Retirement System Investment Act (Public Act 314 of 1965). A retirement commission appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council oversees administration. The board includes the City Treasurer and City Controller as ex-officio members, which ties pension governance directly to municipal financial management.

### Does the fund commit to private equity and alternative assets?

Yes. The fund allocates to private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and hedge fund strategies. Michigan's Public Act 314 caps local pension fund investments in private equity at 20% of total assets. The Warren system has historically participated through fund commitments and fund-of-funds structures, targeting middle-market buyouts and core-plus real estate alongside fixed income and public equity holdings.

### How does the system's funded status compare to other Michigan municipal plans?

The most recent actuarial valuation is filed with the Michigan Department of Treasury as part of the state's Public Act 202 reporting requirements. A 2020 Mackinac Center for Public Policy study benchmarked Warren's plan against other local Michigan systems, finding solvency metrics broadly in line with similarly situated single-employer municipal safety plans — though the exact funded ratio requires checking the latest treasury filing for the most current figure.

## Related profiles

- [City of Vero Beach Police Officers’ Retirement Fund](https://altss.com/profile/city-of-vero-beach-police-officers-retirement-fund)
- [City of Westminster Council Pension Fund](https://altss.com/profile/city-of-westminster-council-pension-fund)

---

Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/city-of-warren-police-fire-retirement-system

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology