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Superior Court Clerks' Retirement Fund of Georgia
The Georgia General Assembly created the Superior Court Clerks' Retirement Fund in 1952 to serve a single occupation: the elected clerks of the state's...
Superior Court Clerks' Retirement Fund of Georgia
The Georgia General Assembly created the Superior Court Clerks' Retirement Fund in 1952 to serve a single occupation: the elected clerks of the state's Superior Courts. Membership expanded in 2002 to include State Court Clerks, but the eligible pool remains structurally capped at a few hundred active participants. Oversight falls to a Board of Commissioners chaired by Rhett Walker, Clerk of Superior Court in Dodge County. The board itself is a mix of active and retired county clerks plus two gubernatorial appointees — the Director of Georgia's Office of Planning and Budget, Richard Dunn, and Governor Brian Kemp, who holds the authority to fill those seats. The fund manages its own balance sheet across five broad sleeves: a domestic equity portfolio, an international equity portfolio, a debt-securities allocation, real estate investment trusts, and a directly owned commercial asset — the Major W.L. 'Bill' Cline Fund Headquarters at 1208 Greenbelt Drive in Griffin. The precise mix and any external manager relationships are not publicly disclosed. Unlike larger state retirement systems that outsource allocations to a dedicated investment office, the SCCRF board directly influences asset decisions, making it a self-administered plan within a modest actuarial footprint. Operational transparency remains limited. Headcount is not published, and the fund does not maintain a LinkedIn presence or a standalone investor-relations site. What is visible is a steady cadence of cost-of-living adjustments: the board approved a COLA effective January 1, 2026, following an earlier mid-2025 increase. The fund also participates in the Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees, sending board members to its certified Trustee School for training. In November 2025, the fund released its Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report (per the fund, November 2025). The fund's structure is unusual even among small state plans. Because membership is tied to an elected judicial-administrative office, the plan's beneficiary count is both small and non-growing — the number of Superior Court clerks is fixed by Georgia's 159 counties. That demographic ceiling creates a distinct actuarial profile: a slowly maturing population without a meaningful pipeline of new contributors, placing a premium on benefit adequacy and disciplined asset stewardship.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1952
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Griffin
Corporate office
1208 Greenbelt Drive, Griffin, GA 30224, United States
Principals
Rhett Walker
Chair of the Board of Commissioners
Timothy Harper
Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners
Homer Bryson
Secretary-Treasurer
Brandt Barlow
Chief Financial Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who sets the investment policy for the fund?
The Board of Commissioners — chaired by Rhett Walker — governs the fund. Its members include active and retired Superior Court clerks plus two appointees of the Governor: Richard Dunn, Director of the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget, and Governor Brian Kemp himself. Because the fund does not outsource oversight to a separate investment committee or external OCIO, the board directly shapes asset-allocation decisions across all five sleeves.
What does the fund actually own?
The portfolio spans five asset categories: a domestic equity portfolio, an international equity portfolio, a debt-securities allocation, real estate investment trusts, and a directly held commercial property — the Major W.L. 'Bill' Cline Fund Headquarters in Griffin. The fund has not disclosed individual holdings, external manager names, or its percentage allocation to any sleeve.
How large is the member base, and who qualifies?
Membership is restricted to elected clerks of Georgia's Superior Courts — one per county — and, since 2002, clerks of the State Courts. With 159 counties, the active member pool is structurally capped at a few hundred individuals. The plan does not publish a current active-vs-retired member count.
Is this fund part of the larger Georgia state pension system?
No. It was created by a standalone act of the General Assembly in 1952 and operates independently from the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia and the Teachers Retirement System. It reports through the state's web infrastructure (scc.georgia.gov) but administers its own assets and board governance.
Does the fund use external investment consultants or an OCIO?
Public records consulted do not name an outsourced chief investment officer or investment consultant. Board members receive training through the Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees, which suggests internal oversight, but the fund has not confirmed whether it retains consulting relationships for manager selection or actuarial work.
What recent benefit changes have occurred?
The board approved a cost-of-living adjustment effective January 1, 2026, following another COLA implemented in mid-2025. The fund frames these adjustments as part of its statutory goal to remain actuarially sound while periodically increasing member benefits. The FY 2025 annual report was released in November 2025.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The fund pools contributions tied to the salaries of Georgia's Superior Court Clerks, with assets accumulated over seven decades of a pay-as-you-go-plus-investment-returns model. There is no single wealth-origin event; the corpus reflects decades of public-sector contributions and investment earnings.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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