Northbridge Retirement Board

Northbridge Retirement Board

The Northbridge Retirement Board, overseen by a three-member board plus an ex-officio town accountant, administers retirement assets for municipal employees of Northbridge, Massachusetts. Chairperson Sharon Susienka, Vice Chair Scott McGrath, and Appointed Member Thomas S. Frieswyk govern the fund, with Executive Director Caitlin Leahey handling day-to-day administration. The board operates under the regulatory umbrella of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC), the standard oversight body for Massachusetts contributory systems. Like many Bay State local pensions, Northbridge allocates significant capital via Massachusetts' Pension Reserves Investment Trust (PRIT), a pooled vehicle that provides diversified exposure to global equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, and timberland. Direct strategy tags indicate a narrow focus on buyout, natural resources, and timber investments alongside the PRIT core holdings. Geographic exposure spans US and global markets through PRIT's commingled structures. With an Altss-estimated AUM under $100M, the board operates at the smaller end of Massachusetts' 102 contributory retirement systems. The fund maintains membership in the Massachusetts Association of Contributory Retirement Systems (MACRS), the primary industry and advocacy group for the state's municipal pensions. No dedicated investment staff beyond the board and administrator are publicly identified. The board's structural architecture is defined by its embeddedness in Massachusetts' layered public-pension framework — local governance via elected and appointed town officials, asset management largely delegated to PRIT, and regulatory compliance enforced by PERAC. This model separates fiduciary oversight from day-to-day money management, a hallmark of the commonwealth's approach to sub-scale municipal plans.