Employees Retirement System

What Employees Retirement System does

The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) is a state government agency headquartered in Austin, Texas, that administers retirement and group benefit programs for the Texas state workforce. Operating with approximately 143 staff, ERS serves active state employees, retirees, and former employees across all Texas state agencies, providing health insurance, pharmacy benefits, dental and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, tax-advantaged spending accounts, and retirement savings programs. Its core product portfolio includes HealthSelect of Texas (administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas), HealthSelect Medicare Advantage (UnitedHealthcare), HealthSelect Rx (Express Scripts), State of Texas Dental Choice Plan (Delta Dental, transitioning to Humana effective September 1, 2026), State of Texas Vision (EyeMed), TexFlex flexible spending accounts (Inspira Financial), Consumer Directed HealthSelect HSAs (Optum Bank), the Texa$aver 401(k)/457 program (Empower), and the Texas Income Protection Plan disability program (Alight Solutions).

ERS is funded through a combination of state agency contributions, employee/retiree premium contributions via payroll deduction, and investment returns on system assets. The organization distributes benefits directly through its My Account self-service portal, a network of benefits coordinators embedded in every state agency, in-person retirement counselors, and an annual Summer Enrollment window. Its GTM motion is direct-to-state-employee with no commercial sales function. Competitive positioning rests on statutory authority, mandatory participation, scale-driven vendor pricing, and integrated multi-benefit administration rather than on product innovation. The agency's competitive advantages are explicitly characterized in source material as a strong regulatory moat, strong economies of scale, and strong switching costs.

ERS is a defined benefit pension plan and operates under Texas state statute. It is not privately owned, has no funding rounds, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity. The organization does not disclose revenue figures, and the most recent publicly available information (2025-2026) indicates continued operations with active vendor transitions, annual premium repricing, and ongoing wellness program expansion.

Name

Employees Retirement System

Legal name

Employees Retirement System of Texas

Website

https://ers.state.tx.us

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) is a state government agency that administers retirement, health, dental, vision, disability, and supplemental benefit programs for Texas state employees, retirees, and former employees, coordinating delivery through a network of third-party administrators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Employee Benefits Administration

NAICS

Health and Welfare Funds (525120), Pension Funds (525110), Administration of Human Resource Programs (except Education, Public Health, and Veterans' Affairs Programs) (923130)

SIC

Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Government ERP (HDAEAEAG)

Keywords

• Public employee benefits
• Pension administration
• Health benefits administration
• Retirement plan services
• Government benefits programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

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, Others

Revenue model

1. State Agency Contributions: State of Texas agencies contribute to fund employee retirement benefits and group benefit programs.
2. Employee/Retiree Premium Contributions: Active employees and retirees pay monthly premiums for health, dental, vision, and other benefit coverage through payroll deduction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ERS is a Texas state government agency that administers retirement and group benefit programs for Texas state employees, retirees, and former employees. Its core offerings include a defined benefit pension (State of Texas Retirement), health insurance plans (HealthSelect of Texas, Consumer Directed HealthSelect, HealthSelect Medicare Advantage PPO), prescription drug coverage, dental and vision insurance, life and AD&D coverage, disability insurance (Texas Income Protection Plan), and tax-advantaged spending and retirement savings accounts (TexFlex FSA, HSA, Texa$aver 401(k)/457). Most programs are administered through contracted third-party partners while ERS retains oversight, enrollment, and customer service functions.

Product overview

The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) is a state agency that administers a comprehensive portfolio of employee benefits rather than a single product. The offering consists of multiple interconnected benefit programs organized into five core categories: health insurance (HealthSelect of Texas, HealthSelect Medicare Advantage, Consumer Directed HealthSelect with HSA option), pharmacy benefits (HealthSelect Prescription Drug Program, HealthSelect Medicare Rx), dental and vision insurance (State of Texas Dental Choice Plan, DeltaCare USA DHMO, State of Texas Vision), retirement and income protection (State of Texas Retirement, Texa$aver 401(k)/457, Life and AD&D Insurance, Texas Income Protection Plan), and tax-advantaged spending accounts (TexFlex FSAs). Many programs are administered through third-party partners including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, UnitedHealthcare, Express Scripts, Delta Dental, Empower, Optum Bank, Alight Solutions, and EyeMed. ERS also provides wellness programs such as Hinge Health and offers a digital self-service portal (My Account) for participants to manage their benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HealthSelect of Texas Primary health insurance plan for Texas state employees and non-Medicare retirees, administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Includes HealthSelect Secondary and Consumer Directed HealthSelect options.
• HealthSelect Medicare Advantage Plan PPO Medicare Advantage PPO plan for Medicare-eligible Texas state retirees, insured by UnitedHealthcare.
• HealthSelect Prescription Drug Program Prescription drug coverage for HealthSelect participants, administered by Express Scripts.
• HealthSelect Medicare Rx Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) for Medicare-eligible HealthSelect participants, administered by Express Scripts Medicare.
• State of Texas Dental Choice Plan PPO dental insurance plan for Texas state employees and retirees, administered by Delta Dental and transitioning to Humana effective September 1, 2026.
• DeltaCare USA DHMO Dental HMO plan for Texas state employees and retirees, insured by Delta Dental (transitioning to Humana as HumanaDental HMO on September 1, 2026).
• State of Texas Vision Vision insurance plan for Texas state employees and retirees, administered by EyeMed.
• Life and AD&D Insurance Group life insurance offering Basic Term, Optional Term, Dependent Term, and Retiree Fixed Optional Life, plus Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage for state employees and retirees.
• Texas Income Protection Plan (TIPP) Short-term and long-term disability insurance program for state employees, administered by Alight Solutions.
• TexFlex Flexible Spending Accounts TexFlex health care, dependent care, and limited-purpose flexible spending accounts (FSAs) administered by Inspira Financial.
• Consumer Directed HealthSelect Health Savings Account Health savings account (HSA) paired with Consumer Directed HealthSelect, administered by Optum Bank.
• Texa$aver 401(k) / 457 Program Deferred compensation 401(k) and 457 retirement savings program for state employees, administered by Empower.
• State of Texas Retirement Core defined benefit pension program administered by ERS providing retirement income to eligible state employees and retirees.
• Discount Purchase Program Discount purchase program offering state employees reduced pricing on various products and services, administered by Beneplace.
• Hinge Health Musculoskeletal Program At-home joint, bone, and muscle care wellness program available through HealthSelect health plans, provided by Hinge Health.
• Buena Vida Wellness Program Wellness program available through HealthSelect, provided via WebMD Health (buenavida).
• My Account Self-Service Portal Online self-service portal at ers.texas.gov for state employees and retirees to manage benefits enrollment, view claims, and access account information.

Named customers5 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

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX)coreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers HealthSelect of Texas health insurance plan, including HealthSelect Secondary and Consumer Directed HealthSelect plans for state employees and retirees
• UnitedHealthcarecoreTechnology or IntegrationInsures HealthSelect Medicare Advantage Plan PPO for Medicare-eligible state retirees
• Express ScriptscoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers HealthSelect Prescription Drug Program and HealthSelect Medicare Rx (PDP) for prescription drug coverage
• Express Scripts MedicarecoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers HealthSelect Medicare Rx prescription drug program for Medicare participants
• Delta DentalcoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers State of Texas Dental Choice Plan (PPO) for state employees and retirees
• DeltaCare USA (Delta Dental)coreTechnology or IntegrationInsures DeltaCare USA DHMO dental plan for state employees and retirees
• Inspira FinancialcoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers TexFlex health care, dependent care, and limited-purpose flexible spending accounts
• Optum BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers Consumer Directed HealthSelect health savings accounts (HSAs)
• EmpowercoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers TexaSaver 401(k) and 457 retirement savings programs for state employees
• Alight SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers Texas Income Protection Plan (TIPP) including short-term and long-term disability insurance, and Dependent Eligibility Verification
• EyeMedcoreTechnology or IntegrationAdministers State of Texas Vision plan for state employees and retirees
• HumanacoreTechnology or IntegrationEffective September 1, 2026, Humana takes over as administrator of State of Texas Dental Choice Plan (PPO) and HumanaDental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO) plan, replacing Delta Dental

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/employees-retirement-system

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Employees Retirement System