A May 2011 City Club Research Report, “Oregon PERS: Burdened by the Past, Poised for the Future”, described a “Decade of Deficits” facing Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System,” noting that “PERS will demand an increasing percentage of state and local government payrolls, having an impact on government services.”

As Oregon faces a $1.8 billion budget hole, Steve Rodeman, executive director of the state Public Employees Retirement System, will outline the state of PERS in Oregon today. OPB Senior Reporter Jeff Mapes will then moderate a panel discussion.

SPEAKERS
Steve Rodeman became Executive Director of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) on November 1, 2014. Steve served as the agency’s Deputy Director beginning in 2008 and was the Chief Operations Officer, responsible for leading the agency’s Executive Team to fulfill the agency’s mission to pay the right person the right benefit at the right time. He joined PERS in November 2001.

John Skjervem is Chief Investment Officer at the Oregon State Treasury (OST). he leads a team that manages a financial and real asset portfolio valued at $92.7 billion as of December 31, 2016. That portfolio includes the $70.5 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund and various other educational, insurance and state agency accounts. Prior to his appointment at OST, John held a variety of portfolio management and leadership positions at Northern Trust including Chief Investment Officer for the firm’s then $170 billion (AUM) Personal Financial Services division. John started his career as an associate economist for consultants Natelson Levander Whitney, and also worked as a public finance specialist for investment bankers Ehrlich Bober & Co.

John Thomas is the president and CEO of Financial Pathways Group, a fee-based retirement planning firm in Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Thomas co-founded Pacific Benefit Consultants Inc. in 1993 and served in the past capacity as president and manager of the Financial Services Division. John is past divisional vice-president and chair of the Finance Committee of MDRT, an international association of insurance and financial service professionals located in Chicago. Mr. Thomas previously served as chair of the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital Board of Trustees and was chair of the Lane County Planning Commission and the Lane County Boundary Commission. John is also the past president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Thomas holds a B.A. from Willamette University and an M.S. in financial services from The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas holds professional designations of chartered life underwriter, chartered financial consultant, and certified financial planner.

Moderator:
Jeff Mapes is a senior political reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting. Previously, Jeff covered state and national politics for The Oregonian for nearly 32 years. He has covered numerous presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, legislative and ballot measures, as well as many sessions of the Legislature, stretching back to 1985. Jeff graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in journalism. An avid bike commuter, Jeff is the author of the 2009 book, “Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities….(read more)

LEARN MORE ABOUT: Retirement Planning

REVEALED: Best Investment During Inflation

HOW TO INVEST IN GOLD: Gold IRA Investing

HOW TO INVEST IN SILVER: Silver IRA Investing