Zoological Society of San Diego Restated Pension Plan for Non-Union Employees

The Zoological Society of San Diego, which operates publicly as San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is the plan sponsor. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization that manages the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and global conservation programs. The pension plan is available to the Society's non-union employees only; union-represented workers are covered under separate collectively bargained retirement arrangements.

It is a private, single-employer defined-benefit plan subject to ERISA and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. It does not report to a state or municipal pension system, and is not part of CalPERS or the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association. The plan's filings — such as Form 5500 — are made with the U.S. Department of Labor rather than through municipal finance disclosures.

Because the plan does not publish a standalone annual investment report, the precise asset allocation is not publicly known. Nonprofit corporate pension plans of comparable size and maturity typically follow a liability-driven investing framework, concentrating in investment-grade fixed income and global equities, often with modest exposure to real assets or private credit for diversification. An investment consultant or outsourced CIO likely assists with manager selection and asset-liability monitoring.

No. Under ERISA, plan assets are held in trust exclusively for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries. They are legally separated from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's endowment, operating budget, and capital reserves. The pension trust cannot be used to fund zoo operations or conservation programs, and conversely, the Alliance cannot access pension assets for general corporate purposes.

Publicly available sources do not confirm whether the plan is currently open to new hires or has been closed or frozen. Many private defined-benefit plans have moved toward freezes over the past two decades, shifting new employees into defined-contribution arrangements like 403(b) plans. The plan's Form 5500 filings, which are not immediately accessible for this profile, would provide the most definitive answer.