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Maynard Contributory Retirement System
The Maynard Contributory Retirement System administers retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for the public employees of Maynard, Massachusetts.
Maynard Contributory Retirement System
The Maynard Contributory Retirement System administers retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for the public employees of Maynard, Massachusetts. The system operates under Chapter 32 of Massachusetts General Laws and is overseen by a five-member board composed of elected, appointed, and ex officio members who serve as fiduciaries for the plan's participants. The system does not manage assets internally. Its investment program is executed almost entirely through the Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board, which runs the PRIT Fund — a pooled vehicle that invests across public equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and timberland. By channeling assets into PRIT, the Maynard system gains exposure to global public and private markets while avoiding the governance burden and manager-selection risk that a standalone portfolio would require. The Commonwealth's PRIT structure has been held up by organizations like Pew Charitable Trusts as a model for delivering institutional-quality returns to small municipal plans. The Maynard Retirement Board convenes regularly to review actuarial valuations, benefit payments, and funding status. The board's membership includes elected members, a mayoral appointee, and an ex officio representative, per Massachusetts pension statute. The system is part of the Massachusetts Association of Contributory Retirement Systems, the industry group that advocates for the Commonwealth's 104 local retirement systems. Recent years have seen the board grapple with the same cost-of-living adjustment and funding-ratio pressures that define the Massachusetts public-pension landscape. Structurally, the Maynard system represents the opposite of a bespoke family office or endowment — it is a creature of state statute, answerable to a local electorate and subject to public-meeting laws. Its investment power is almost entirely delegated to PRIM's professional staff, making the board's primary role one of oversight rather than portfolio construction. This governance model is common among Massachusetts' smaller municipal systems and reflects a deliberate policy choice by the Commonwealth to centralize investment management for its 104 contributory retirement systems.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Maynard
Corporate office
Maynard, MA, United States
Principals
Patrick Hakey
Board Chair
Kenneth DeMars
Executive Director
Sandra Baltazar
Board Member
Kevin C. Petersen
Ex Officio Member
James Alexander
Appointed Member
Michael Pasternak
Fifth Member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Maynard Contributory Retirement System?
The five-member Maynard Retirement Board holds fiduciary authority but delegates investment management to the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, which operates the PRIT Fund. The Maynard board does not select individual managers or securities; it allocates the system's assets into the PRIT pool and monitors the actuarial health of the overall plan.
How does the system invest its assets?
Nearly all assets are invested through the PRIT Fund, a commingled investment pool managed by PRIM. The PRIT Fund allocates across public equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and natural resources. Access to PRIT gives the Maynard system exposure to asset classes and managers that would be unavailable to a plan its size acting independently.
How is the Maynard Retirement Board structured?
The board has five seats, per Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 32: two elected members, one appointed by the Town of Maynard Select Board, one ex officio member, and a fifth member selected by the other four. The board chair is an elected member. The Executive Director handles day-to-day administration of benefits and compliance.
What is the relationship between Maynard Contributory and PRIM?
The Maynard system is one of roughly 104 Massachusetts local retirement systems that invest through PRIM's PRIT Fund. PRIM, established in 1984, is the investment arm of the Massachusetts state retirement system and opens its pooled funds to local systems. This structure allows small plans like Maynard's to achieve diversification at lower cost through economies of scale.
Is the Maynard system fully funded?
Like many Massachusetts municipal systems, Maynard's funded ratio has historically fallen below 100 percent. The board adopts a funding schedule designed to amortize unfunded liabilities over time, in accordance with Massachusetts pension reform legislation. Specific funded-status figures are disclosed in annual actuarial valuations filed with the state's Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission.
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