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Golden Valley Electric Association Retirement Plan
The Golden Valley Electric Association Retirement Plan is a defined-contribution vehicle tied to Golden Valley Electric Association, the member-owned...
Golden Valley Electric Association Retirement Plan
The Golden Valley Electric Association Retirement Plan is a defined-contribution vehicle tied to Golden Valley Electric Association, the member-owned cooperative that has served Fairbanks and Interior Alaska since 1946. CEO Travis Million oversees the cooperative whose assets include nine generating facilities, 40 substations, and extensive transmission infrastructure stretching to Delta Junction, Nenana, Healy, and Cantwell. The retirement plan, structured as part of GVEA's employment benefits package, functions under a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547. Asset-class allocations are not publicly disclosed, though the plan operates as a 401(k) vehicle, likely providing participant-directed investment menus rather than a single pooled trust structure. GVEA's membership in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association connects the plan to the broader NRECA retirement security network, which offers retirement products and advisory services to over 900 electric cooperatives across the United States. The cooperative's generating portfolio is a mix of thermal, renewable, and purchased power facilities, though the retirement plan itself holds no direct interests in those operating assets. GVEA maintains its headquarters in Fairbanks, Alaska, alongside its transmission and distribution operations and the administration of its employee benefit programs. Former CEO John Burns serves on the board of the University of Alaska Foundation, reflecting the cooperative's ties to the state's institutional landscape. The plan's relationship with IBEW Local 1547 means contribution rates and eligibility terms are governed by a negotiated labor contract, an unusual governance feature compared to corporate single-sponsor plans. No recent amendments or funding-ratio disclosures have appeared in public records. The plan's structural distinction lies in its status as a cooperative-sponsored retirement vehicle serving employees in a high-cost, logistically isolated region. Most cooperatives of GVEA's scale participate in NRECA's multi-employer Retirement Security Plan; that GVEA maintains its own 401(k) vehicle suggests a deliberate choice for plan-design autonomy. The Alaska Railbelt's unique interconnection requirements — GVEA is one of six interconnected utilities serving a 700-mile corridor — add an economic context absent from retirement plans at lower-48 cooperatives.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1946
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Fairbanks
Corporate office
Fairbanks, AK, United States
Principals
Travis Million
Chief Executive Officer
John Burns
Former CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who administers the Golden Valley Electric Association Retirement Plan?
The plan is sponsored by Golden Valley Electric Association, an electric cooperative headquartered in Fairbanks, Alaska. Day-to-day oversight falls under the cooperative's management team, led by CEO Travis Million. The plan operates within a collective bargaining framework negotiated with IBEW Local 1547, which governs contribution terms for represented employees.
Is the GVEA plan part of the NRECA multi-employer retirement program?
Golden Valley Electric Association is a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which provides retirement security products to cooperatives nationwide. However, GVEA maintains its own 401(k) plan rather than participating in the NRECA's pooled Retirement Security Plan. This gives GVEA autonomy over investment menus and plan design, though specific investment options have not been publicly catalogued.
What is the relationship between the retirement plan and IBEW Local 1547?
The plan is governed in part by a collective bargaining agreement between Golden Valley Electric Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547. This means contribution rates, eligibility, and certain plan provisions are subject to negotiation rather than set unilaterally by the employer. The IBEW represents cooperative employees, and the plan appears as a negotiated benefit under that labor contract.
Does the retirement plan hold any direct interests in GVEA's generating or transmission assets?
No. The retirement plan is a participant-directed 401(k) vehicle, meaning its assets are held in individually allocated investment accounts — typically mutual funds, collective trusts, or similar pooled vehicles. GVEA's physical assets, including its nine generating facilities, 40 substations, and 3,292 miles of transmission lines, are owned directly by the cooperative, not by the retirement trust.
Has the plan's funded status or contribution levels been publicly reported?
As a defined-contribution 401(k) plan, the concept of 'funded status' — which applies to defined-benefit pensions — does not directly apply. Contribution levels for represented employees are set through collective bargaining with IBEW Local 1547 and are not publicly disclosed. The plan has not appeared in any recent regulatory filings or media reports that would detail its aggregate asset level or participant demographics.
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