Tyler Firefighters Relief & Retirement Fund

Tyler Firefighters Relief & Retirement Fund

The Tyler Firefighters Relief & Retirement Fund is a public pension system established under the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (TLFFRA), a statutory framework that allows municipal fire departments across Texas to maintain locally controlled retirement plans. The fund provides defined-benefit pensions to firefighters employed by the City of Tyler, Texas, and operates under a board of trustees composed of active and retired firefighters alongside a citizen representative — a governance structure typical of TLFFRA plans. The fund maintains a conservative allocation reflecting its liability-driven mandate. Public filings indicate the portfolio includes direct commercial real estate holdings in the United States, cash and cash equivalents, and likely a mix of fixed-income and equity securities common among small municipal pension plans. The investment program is overseen by the board of trustees; named fiduciaries include active trustees David Riegor, Brett Besselman, Gerard Daniels, and Edward Llewellyn, retired trustee David Lantrip, citizen trustee Lisa Slagle, and system administrator Adam Smith. Advisor relationships and specific fund commitments are not publicly itemized at the level of detail larger Texas systems provide. The fund holds membership in the Texas Pension Review Board (PRB) network, participating in state-mandated educational training and compliance monitoring. As of May 2026, the City of Tyler remains the sponsoring governmental entity, making employer contributions that fund the actuarially determined obligations. The board retained its composition of local trustees without published turnover in the past 24 months; no significant structural changes, benefit adjustments, or allocation shifts have been publicly reported during that period. What distinguishes this plan structurally is its TLFFRA governance — unlike firefighters in the Texas Municipal Retirement System or a statewide plan, Tyler's firefighters have a dedicated, locally controlled fund whose benefit design and funding policy are determined by a board anchored in the department itself. This creates a compact decision-making loop where trustees are also plan participants, a dynamic that can influence risk appetite and investment horizon relative to pooled state systems.