West Virginia Retirement Plus Plan

West Virginia Retirement Plus Plan

West Virginia Retirement Plus is a deferred compensation plan administered by the West Virginia State Treasurer's Office. It functions as a voluntary retirement savings vehicle for employees of state, county, municipal, and other political subdivision agencies. The plan is designed to layer on top of a participant's base public pension and Social Security, offering a menu of investment options that has historically included a stable value offering known as the West Virginia Fixed Fund as well as a range of mutual funds. Investment strategy is defined-benefit-adjacent, not discretionary growth. The plan relies on Empower Retirement as its outsourced recordkeeper, meaning asset management and day-to-day administration are largely externalized. The sponsor retains fiduciary control over plan design, manager selection, and the overall investment lineup. PublicSquare, a platform focused on a 'parallel economy,' has been identified as an external partner for the Treasurer's office on anti-ESG initiatives, signaling a recent policy-driven influence on investment posture. The plan's scale and team size are not publicly reported. The sponsoring office, under former Treasurer Riley Moore (2021-2025), was a prominent leader in the State Financial Officers Foundation, advocating for anti-ESG investment practices. The office maintains active membership in the National Association of State Treasurers, where former Treasurer John Perdue once served as President. The plan's structural differentiator lies in its governance. It is not a standalone pension system with independent investment staff but a voluntary plan co-located within a state Treasury whose elected leaders have recently prioritized political directives over traditional fiduciary neutrality. This makes the plan's investment lineup susceptible to trustee turnover in a way that large, insulated public funds are not.