# Sanilac County Employees' Retirement Plan

Sanilac County Employees' Retirement Plan is a Pension Fund based in Sandusky, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Sandusky, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Sandusky, MI, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** http://www.sanilaccounty.net
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/sanilac-county

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Sanilac County Employees' Retirement Plan provides retirement, disability, and death benefits for employees of Sanilac County, the Sanilac County Road Commission, and the Sanilac County Community Mental Health Authority. Governed by the County Board of Commissioners, the plan functions as a local government defined-benefit system under Michigan state law, with plan provisions and benefit tiers set by collective bargaining agreements and county board resolutions. Funding comes from employer contributions and employee payroll deductions, with actuarial valuations filed annually with the state of Michigan's Municipal Employees' Retirement System (MERS) or maintained on a standalone basis — a distinction not verifiable from public disclosures alone. The Retirement Board, which includes Commissioner Bill Sarkella and County Administrator Nathan Roskey, relies on professional networks such as the Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (MAPERS) for manager education and peer benchmarking rather than a dedicated internal investment staff. Cost control, liability matching, and actuarial funded-ratio improvement drive decision-making more than outsized return-seeking — a structural norm for plans under $100 million in assets. Participation in MAPERS connects the plan to other small Michigan municipal funds navigating GASB 67/68 reporting mandates and rising employer contribution rates. The separate Retiree Health Funding Vehicle addresses other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities through a distinct trust arrangement, a governance choice that isolates pension credit risk from healthcare inflation exposure. Administrative oversight falls to the County Administrator's office rather than an autonomous investment office, meaning the Board sets policy direction while operations run through county finance staff. A genuine structural differentiator — and constraint — is geography. Sanilac County is among Michigan's least populous counties, with under 40,000 residents. Its pension pool is inherently small and captive to local government revenue streams. That forces a posture long on passive management, insurance-company general account products, or pooled state investment options — a reality invisible in the marketing materials of large institutional gatekeepers but central to how most public pension assets actually sit.

## People

- Jon Block — Chairman, Sanilac County Board of Commissioners
- Bill Sarkella — Board Member, Pension Plan Board
- Nathan Roskey — Sanilac County Administrator and Controller

## Questions

### How is the plan's retiree healthcare obligation structured separately from the pension?

The county maintains a Retiree Health Funding Vehicle distinct from the pension trust, isolating OPEB liabilities from defined-benefit pension assets. This two-trust architecture means healthcare inflation risk does not commingle with pension funding status — a governance choice that gives the retirement plan cleaner actuarial optics. The road commission and mental health authority participate in their own OPEB arrangements under similar segregated structures. This segmentation is common among Michigan local governments responding to GASB 74/75 reporting requirements.

## Related profiles

- [Sandviks Pensionsstiftelse i Sverige](https://altss.com/profile/sandviks-pensionsstiftelse-i-sverige)
- [Sarasota Memorial Health Care System](https://altss.com/profile/sarasota-memorial-health-care-system-smhcs)

---

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

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/sanilac-county-employees-retirement-plan

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology