The Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) administers retirement programs for Michigan's state employees, public school employees, judges, state police, and National Guard members. ORS serves more than 598,000 customers (approximately 288,000 active and 310,000 retired), representing 1 of every 13 Michigan adults. ORS customers live in approximately 1 of every 8 Michigan households.
Within these systems, ORS administers five defined benefit pension plans, four defined benefit retiree healthcare plans, and two defined contribution plans, managing combined net assets of over $108.8 billion. ORS is responsible for the 21st largest public pension system in the U.S. and the 49th largest pension system in the world. In fiscal year 2021, ORS paid out more than $7.8 billion in pension and healthcare benefits.
ORS is a division of Michigan's Department of Technology, Management & Budget.
PlanSponsor
ORS is the 2024 Plan Sponsor of the Year for Government DC plans with $1 billion or more in assets. Awarded by PlanSponsor, the recognition is for retirement plan sponsors that show an exemplary commitment to their participants’ financial health and retirement success. ORS was one of three finalists in its category and among 10 Plan Sponsor of the Year winners.
ORS received 2024 Best in Class 401(k) Plan honors from PlanSponsor. The recognition is for 401(k) retirement plans and plan sponsors that stand out for their exceptional best practices. ORS was chosen from 1,764 401(k) plans whose sponsors completed the 2023 PlanSponsor Defined Contribution Survey.
America Saves
ORS is a 2024 Savings Champion Award recipient from America Saves. ORS is among 18 organizations (out of 4,600-plus participants) recognized for effectively and actively promoting savings strategies during America Saves Week, which ran April 8-12, 2024.
Public Pension Coordinating Council
ORS earned the 2022 Public Pension Standards Award from the Public Pension Coordinating Councils Standards Program (PPCC). Cited for funding and administration, ORS has received the award every year since 2004. The PPCC Standards, which reflect public retirement system management and administration expectations, are a benchmark for defined benefit public plans.
Government Finance Officers Association Award
ORS was awarded the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for our fiscal year 2022 annual comprehensive financial reports. ORS was recognized with the honor for the 32nd consecutive year.
Plan Sponsor Council of America
ORS, with Voya Financial, claimed a 2022 Signature Award from the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA). We took third place for our “It’s your future, retire well” campaign during National Retirement Security Month in October 2021. The outreach included the redesigned State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plans website by Voya, webinars, one-on-one account reviews, emails, social media, and an online scavenger hunt.
ORS, with Voya, won a 2019 Signature Award from PSCA. We took first place in the Overcoming Obstacles category for our Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System campaign. The outreach urged the 72,000 public school participants with Defined Contribution retirement accounts in the Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plans to engage more with their Voya accounts. The campaign included telephone calls, meetings for public school employees, publications, and LinkedIn social media.
PSCA is part of the American Retirement Association.
National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators
ORS, with Voya, received the 2023 Leadership Award for our Women & Retirement campaign from the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA). Recognized for outstanding achievement in Participant Education & Communication, the Women & Retirement campaign highlighted the importance of women actively engaging in planning and saving for retirement. The campaign ran from November 2021 through October 2022, with goals to raise State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plans account engagement and increase Voya interactions through webinars and one-on-one account reviews. The campaign used emails, social media, flyers, brochures, a learning module, simple registration for education via one-on-one account reviews and webinars, and supplemental digital and other media. Its informative content and checklists, organized around monthly topics, remain on the ORS website.
ORS, with Voya, earned a 2022 Leadership Award for our 2021 National Retirement Security Month (NRSM) campaign themed "It's your future, retire well" from NAGDCA. The NRSM outreach in October 2021 included the redesigned State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plans website by Voya, webinars, one-on-one account reviews, emails, social media, and an online scavenger hunt.
