San Jose retirement board approves $7.63 million administrative budget for 2026–27

The San Jose Office of Retirement Services board on Wednesday approved a proposed administrative budget of $7,630,000 for fiscal year 2026–27, a 3.43% year‑over‑year increase (about $253,000), citing staffing and operational needs.

CEO Flynn told trustees the budget request reflects adding two permanent positions and eliminating one, continuing over‑strength coverage for an administrative specialist, budgeting for cybersecurity and IT efforts (including an AI‑enabled website search), and modest medical services cost increases tied to new vendor pricing. "This budget represents the addition of 2 positions and an elimination of 1 to sustain the business need and support succession planning within ORS," Flynn said.

Flynn said the proposal does not include costs for strategic planning initiatives to be presented later and described personnel services as the largest budget component. He noted the medical services line shows a 13.8% increase but quantified it as about a $20,000 change related to contract renewals.

Trustees probed the benchmarking method used in the presentation. Flynn explained staff compared administrative costs using actuarial liability instead of market value of assets to reduce distortion from different funding ratios across peer funds. "The actuarial liability takes that noise out of the equation," he said, adding that staff plan to continue refining peer comparisons and may participate in more detailed benchmarking in 2027.

Public commenter Brad, introduced by the board, asked about the CIO search and requested the new CIO’s salary be disclosed; Flynn and trustees said search details were part of a national process but did not provide an immediate salary figure during the meeting.

Trustee Abbott moved to approve the administrative budget; Trustee Nakagawa seconded. The board voted by roll call and the motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: the approved numbers will be included in the city budget process and staff will continue to monitor hiring needs, succession planning for the benefits program and the timing of city decisions that affect the board's administrative request.