What Utah Retirement Systems does

Utah Retirement Systems (URS) is a component unit of the State of Utah, governed by Utah Code Title 49, that administers retirement and insurance benefits exclusively for Utah public employees. Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Salt Lake City with 101-250 employees, URS serves more than 250,000 members across approximately 493 public employers, including the State of Utah, local governments, school districts, and higher education institutions. It is not a revenue-generating enterprise but a trust-based pension system funded by employer and employee contributions.

URS operates eight defined benefit pension systems (including Tier 1 plans for public employees, public safety, firefighters, and judges, and a Tier 2 Hybrid Option combining pension with a 401(k)-style component) and four IRS-qualified retirement savings plans (401(k), 457(b), Traditional IRA, Roth IRA). Investment options include Income, Bond, Balanced, Large Cap, International, Small Cap, and Target Date funds, supplemented by a Charles Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) self-directed brokerage window. Members access accounts through the myURS portal — replaced on March 30, 2026 by a new Member Portal using seven-digit Member ID login with SSL encryption and PIN-based authentication — while employers use the separate AureusWeb portal for employee certification and enrollment. Supporting tools include retirement calculators, live and recorded webinars, individual planning sessions with URS Retirement Advisors, and a Financial Wellness Program covering spending plans, debt management, and emergency savings.

The business model is a government-supported trust with services provided to members at no direct cost, funded through employer and employee contributions. Distribution is entirely domestic and restricted to Utah; marketing combines a digital member portal, employer-based communication, in-person seminars across Utah, webinars, individual counseling sessions, and publications (Viewpoint for active members, Cycles for retirees). No public API, SDK, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; the technology stack is centered on member and employer portals with conventional authentication and standard recordkeeping functionality.

Name

Utah Retirement Systems

Legal name

Utah Retirement Systems

Website

https://urs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Utah Retirement Systems is a State of Utah government entity administering defined benefit pensions and IRS-qualified retirement savings plans for over 250,000 Utah public employees across approximately 493 public employers, funded by employer and employee contributions under Utah Code Title 49.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Pension Administration

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251), Administration of Human Resource Programs (except Education, Public Health, and Veterans' Affairs Programs) (923130)

akta.pro primary industry

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Benefits Administration & Enrollment Support (BPAAAIAB)

Keywords

• Public pension administration
• Defined benefit plans
• Retirement savings plans
• Public employee benefits
• Pension fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retirement Administration Services: URS is a government retirement system that administers retirement and insurance benefits for Utah public employees. It is not a revenue-generating entity but rather a trust-based pension system funded by employer and employee contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Utah Retirement Systems (URS) is the State of Utah's public retirement system, administering defined benefit pension and tax-advantaged retirement savings plans for Utah public employees. URS operates eight defined benefit pension systems and four IRS-qualified retirement savings plans (401(k), 457(b), Traditional IRA, Roth IRA), delivering retirement, disability, and death benefits to more than 250,000 active and retired members across 493 public employers.

Product overview

Utah Retirement Systems is a government retirement system providing retirement and insurance benefits exclusively for Utah public employees. The organization operates as a component unit of the State of Utah and administers eight defined benefit pension systems and four IRS-qualified retirement savings plans. The core product portfolio centers on the URS Member Portal (newly launched in March 2026) through which members access their accounts. The retirement benefit structure includes Tier 1 Pension Plans (traditional defined benefit plans for public employees, public safety, firefighters, and judges) and Tier 2 Plans offered in two variants: the Hybrid Option (combining pension with 401(k)-style savings) and the 401(k) Option (defined contribution only). Complementary savings products include 401(k) and 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans, Traditional IRA, and Roth IRA. Investment management features multiple fund options (Income, Bond, Balanced, Large Cap, International, Small Cap, and Target Date funds) plus the Charles Schwab PCRA self-directed brokerage option. Member education is supported through retirement planning calculators, webinars, individual counseling sessions, and a Financial Wellness Program. The technology platform consists primarily of the member-facing web portal with no public API or AI capabilities disclosed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tier 1 Defined Benefit Pension Systems A suite of eight defined benefit pension systems providing lifetime retirement, disability, and death benefits to eligible Utah public employees hired before July 1, 2011 (Tier 1). Benefits are calculated based on years of service and final average salary.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250,000+ members served with retirement benefits
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NAVEXGLOBALcoreTechnology or IntegrationNAVEXGLOBAL provides the anonymous fraud and abuse reporting hotline for URS. Individuals can confidentially and anonymously report unethical or illegal activity via telephone or web 24/7.
• PEHP (Public Employees Health Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPEHP is the health benefits administrator partnered with URS, providing health benefits to public employees. PEHP.org is referenced as a key resource for URS health benefits information.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS): Texas TRS is a much larger state pension system serving Texas public educators with defined benefit and supplemental savings plans — comparable in structure but operating at significantly larger scale than URS.
• New York State Common Retirement Fund: The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest U.S. public pension pools, administering retirement benefits for New York public employees with comparable plan types but a vastly larger membership and AUM base than URS.

Direct peers

• Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (Colorado PERA): Colorado PERA provides DB and DC retirement plans to Colorado public employees with a comparable membership scale and state-employer relationship, closely mirroring URS's structure and service mix.
• Washington State Department of Retirement Systems: Washington DRS administers public employee retirement benefits for the State of Washington with Plan 1, Plan 2, and Plan 3 structures paralleling URS's Tier 1/Tier 2 framework and similar employer-partnership GTM motion.
• Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS): ASRS is a neighboring state retirement system administering DB and DC plans for Arizona public employees with a comparable scale and geographic profile to URS, sharing a similar regional employer base and plan governance.
• California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS): CalPERS is the largest U.S. public pension system, administering defined benefit and savings plans for California public employees — directly comparable to URS in mission, plan structure (DB + DC), and member-facing services.
• Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (Oregon PERS): Oregon PERS administers pension and disability benefits for Oregon public employees with both Tier 1/Tier 2 structures similar to URS, making it a closely matched peer in plan design and governance as a state-administered retirement system.
• Nevada Public Employees' Retirement System (Nevada PERS): Nevada PERS provides retirement benefits for Nevada public employees with parallel employer-partnership structure and DB/DC plan offerings, making it a direct regional peer to URS.
• Idaho Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI): PERSI administers pension and disability benefits for Idaho public employees with a similar membership scale to URS and a directly comparable role as the exclusive state retirement administrator.

Others

• Voya Financial (state public retirement plan recordkeeping): Voya Financial provides recordkeeping, administration, and investment services to many state and public-sector retirement plans — an adjacent service provider that competes with the in-house administration model URS uses, and a potential outsourcing benchmark.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/UtahRetirementSystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/utah-retirement-systems

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Utah Retirement Systems