The University of Chicago Pension Plan for Staff Employees

The University of Chicago Pension Plan for Staff Employees

The University of Chicago Pension Plan for Staff Employees (SEPP) operates as a tax-qualified defined benefit plan funded entirely by the university. The plan closed to new hires effective July 1, 2016, at which point the majority of enrolled employees ceased accruing additional benefits. A carve-out remains for a small cohort of Teamsters Local 743 members who continue to build retirement credits under the legacy structure. Plan Administrator Patrick O'Hara serves as the primary contact for the vehicle. The plan's investment strategy targets a mix of growth capital, general venture, and co-investments. The University of Chicago Medical Center acts as a participating employer within the plan structure, extending coverage to its eligible staff. The asset-class mix is indicative of an endowment-style approach often favored by large university systems — blending direct and indirect exposures to long-duration illiquid strategies in order to match liabilities. The plan is a component of the broader University of Chicago financial ecosystem, though adjacent vehicles such as the university's endowment are managed through separate governance structures. Team size and aggregate deployment figures are not publicly disclosed. The pension's structural differentiator is its frozen status. Unlike a growing plan that must constantly rebalance inflows against accruing liabilities, this vehicle operates in a de-accumulation posture — managing a closed pool of assets against a known, aging participant base. That creates a liquidity and duration profile distinct from an open plan, with an investment strategy that must service benefits for a shrinking active membership while preserving capital for a much larger population of terminated vested participants and current retirees.