# Dearborn Heights Employee Pension System

Dearborn Heights Employee Pension System is a Pension Fund based in Dearborn Heights, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Dearborn Heights, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Dearborn Heights, MI, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** dearbornheightsmi.gov

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Dearborn Heights Employee Pension System is the retirement trust for municipal employees of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, a suburban city of about 12,000 residents west of Detroit. It comprises two legally distinct retirement systems — the Police & Fire Act #345 Pension System and the General Government Retirement System — each governed by its own board. Harold Dalton presides over the police and fire board, while Vincent Macari chairs the general government board. Laurie Kupchick serves as pension administrator for both entities, a role that centralizes day-to-day operations and investment coordination. The system's investment mandate targets growth-oriented strategies across public and private markets. Asset-class exposure includes domestic equities, fixed income, real estate, and private equity growth capital commitments — the latter reflecting an allocation to funds that invest in expansion-stage companies. The fund participates through institutional limited-partner commitments rather than direct deals or co-investments. Geographic focus remains heavily domestic, though the broader growth-capital exposure may include US-headquartered companies with global operations. The system coordinates investment strategy with the adjacent City of Dearborn pension plans, sharing consultants and selected fund managers — a practice that provides scale efficiencies for both municipalities. Team size and total assets remain undisclosed in public filings. The Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (MAPERS) counts the plan among its members, linking it to the state's network of municipal pension professionals. In recent years, Michigan municipal plans of comparable size have faced actuarial pressure to close funding gaps through contribution increases and return assumptions adjustments — a dynamic that shapes the system's posture toward illiquid private-market allocations. Structurally, the two-board design creates a separation of interests that is uncommon in single-pool municipal systems. Police and fire benefits often carry earlier retirement eligibility and higher cost-of-living adjustments than general employee plans, which means investment-return requirements and risk tolerances can differ between the two boards even though they share an administrator. This architecture makes the Dearborn Heights system a case study in how small municipal plans navigate specialized liability profiles while operating at a scale where every basis point of manager fees matters.

## Sectors

- Growth Capital

## People

- Laurie Kupchick — Pension Administrator
- Harold Dalton — President, Police & Fire Act #345 Pension System Board
- Vincent Macari — Chairman, General Government Retirement System Board

## Questions

### What is the funding status of the Dearborn Heights pension plans?

Specific funded-ratio data is not publicly available at the level of detail required to cite a precise figure. As suburban Michigan municipal plans with police-fire and general employee tiers, the system faces the same actuarial pressures common across the state: rising life expectancies, lower bond yields, and the political difficulty of raising municipal contributions to close funding gaps.

### Is the Dearborn Heights Employee Pension System a member of MAPERS, and does that confer any coordination advantages?

Yes, the system is a member of the Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (MAPERS). MAPERS membership provides access to educational resources, legislative advocacy, and a peer network of other Michigan municipal plans. For a plan of Dearborn Heights' scale, the association's conferences and administrator networks serve as an important channel for manager due diligence and governance best practices.

## Related profiles

- [DC Wealth Management (HK)](https://altss.com/profile/dc-wealth-management-hk)
- [Dearborn Heights Police & Fire Pension Plan](https://altss.com/profile/dearborn-heights-police-fire-pension-plan)

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

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