Trustee Election Update

9/22/2023

Three candidates have accepted nomination for the 2023 Trustee Election:

Summer Newsletter

8/31/2023

The Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund staff is pleased to announce the release of our second issue of the recently redesigned AFRF News.

Trustee Election

8/21/2023

Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund will be accepting candidate nominations for one position on the AFRF Board of Trustees. The term for this elected trustee position will begin on January 1, 2024, and end December 31, 2026. Trustee elections are open to both active and retired firefighters.

2022 Annual Report

7/31/2023

The 2022 Annual Report is now available.

RFP for IPPE

7/21/2023

On July 21, 2023, the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to seek an independent consultant to perform an Investment Practices and Performance Evaluation (IPPE) for the Fund. The IPPE is required by state law for retirement systems with over $100 million in assets and will be due to the Pension Review Board (PRB) in June 2024.

RFI for Depository Bank

6/2/2023

On May 24, 2023, the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund issued a Request for Information (RFI) to evaluate current offerings for depository banks. The goal of the RFI is to ensure that the Fund continually has access to high quality banking and payment services.

Website Debut

5/16/2023

Welcome to our new website! The Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund staff has been hard at work with its vendor to bring you this completely redesigned and modernized site with a better user interface on both desktop and mobile platforms. The new web address is AFRFund.org. Our previous domain name of afrs.org will reroute to this site for the time being. You can still reach us at staff@afrs.org, but please note that our email address will be updated to reflect our new domain name in the coming months. For members who are accustomed to accessing and submitting forms through the member login section of our previous website, you can continue to access the necessary forms on our Active Forms and Retiree Forms pages. However, the Member Portal will not be available until 2025. When released, the Member Portal will have vastly greater functionality than the member login section of our previous site. In the meantime, please contact our office directly for member service requests including form submission. We are available Monday – Friday from 8am-5pm by phone at (512) 454-9567 and by email at staff@afrs.org. We are also available to meet in-office by appointment.

State Street Bank Memo

4/21/2023

The Fund's custodial bank, State Street, has provided a memorandum regarding the safety of Fund assets.

Proposed Ethics Policy Revision

3/28/2023

The proposed revisions to the Ethics Policy, as discussed in the March Board Meeting, can be reviewed in the document below. If you have any comments to share with the Board prior to their final approval, please email staff@afrs.org.

Silicon Valley Bank Memo

3/13/2023

The Fund's investment consultant, Meketa, has provided a memorandum regarding a market update on Silicon Valley Bank.

Update on DROP Distributions / Procedure

12/1/2022

Effective December 1, 2022, DROP members are now allowed to take a total of 12 distributions from their DROP account, increased from the previous limit of 8. The annual limit of 4 distributions remains the same. To make a withdrawal or to check your DROP balance, please contact the pension office.

Update on 2023 COLA

11/28/2022

At the November 2022 Board meeting, AFRF's actuary determined that a COLA cannot be supported under the Fund’s COLA Policy, based on the Fund’s -14.5% return through September 2022. Therefore, the Board was unable to grant a COLA in 2023. The Board is bound by its COLA Policy and its actuary’s recommendation. It was a difficult decision for the Board given the current inflationary pressure on our retirees. Please see the actuary’s analysis below and feel free to reach out to staff if you have any questions at all.