# Lake Mary Firefighters' Retirement System

Lake Mary Firefighters' Retirement System is a Pension Fund based in Lake Mary, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Lake Mary, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Lake Mary, Florida, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.lakemaryfl.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Lake Mary Firefighters' Retirement System operates as a municipal defined-benefit pension plan for firefighters and sworn police officers employed by the City of Lake Mary, Florida. Administered by a five-member Board of Trustees chaired by Gabe Vella, the plan mandates a 5% employee contribution and provides retirement, disability, and death benefits. The board includes Secretary Adam Neri alongside trustees Martin Bel, Jeffrey Koltun, and Elizabeth Stack. The plan's investment strategy operates under Florida Statutes Chapter 175, which governs firefighter pension funds. Chapter 175 permits boards to invest up to 80% of assets in equities, with other allowable allocations including investment-grade fixed income and Florida real estate. Municipal Florida firefighter plans of this scale often outsource asset management through an investment consultant and run a streamlined portfolio of public equities, fixed income, and real estate. The board participates in the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association, the state's primary trustee education body. The System functions as a single-city plan covering a specific public-safety unit, a common Florida structure that legally separates police and firefighter pensions from a city's general employee retirement obligations. Plan provisions, including contribution rates and benefit formulas, are specified in a special act or ordinance that can only be adjusted through collective bargaining between the City of Lake Mary and the local firefighters' union. This plan's governance model — an independent five-member board with fiduciary duty to a narrow beneficiary base — is the structural differentiator. Investment decisions cannot be consolidated into a city-wide fund without legislative action, giving the board unilateral control over the firefighter-specific asset pool. Succession risk resides entirely in trustee appointments, a feature common to Florida's municipal pension map but amplified at the single-unit scale.

## People

- Gabe Vella — Chairman of the Board of Trustees
- Adam Neri — Secretary of the Board of Trustees
- Martin Bel — Member of the Board of Trustees
- Jeffrey Koltun — Member of the Board of Trustees
- Elizabeth Stack — Member of the Board of Trustees

## Questions

### Who oversees investment decisions for the Lake Mary Firefighters' Retirement System?

A five-member Board of Trustees holds fiduciary responsibility over the plan's investments. The board is chaired by Gabe Vella and includes Secretary Adam Neri alongside trustees Martin Bel, Jeffrey Koltun, and Elizabeth Stack. Investment consultants are commonly retained to handle day-to-day portfolio management and manager selection for municipal plans of this scale.

### How is this retirement system structured in relation to the City of Lake Mary?

Per Florida law, the system is a legally separate trust with its own board, distinct from the city's general employee or police pension obligations. The City of Lake Mary serves as the plan sponsor and employer of plan members, but the board maintains independent investment authority.

### Who contributes to the plan, and at what rate?

Plan members — sworn firefighters and police officers of the City of Lake Mary — contribute 5% of their salary. The City of Lake Mary, as employer sponsor, makes additional contributions. Exact employer contribution rates are determined actuarially and modified through the collective bargaining process.

### Does the Lake Mary Firefighters' Retirement System invest directly in private assets or only public markets?

Chapter 175 historically constrained these plans largely to listed equities and fixed income, though amendments have expanded scope over time. Many municipal Florida firefighter plans of comparable size blend passive public-market exposure with a real estate allocation, but specific private-market commitment data is not publicly disclosed by this plan.

## Related profiles

- [Lake Hills Wealth Management](https://altss.com/profile/lake-hills-wealth-management)
- [Lake Road Advisors](https://altss.com/profile/lake-road-advisors)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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