psrs

What psrs does

PSRS/PEERS (Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri) is a state-administered defined benefit pension system headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri, established under Chapter 169 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. The organization administers two related plans covering Missouri's public school workforce: PSRS for certificated teachers and administrators, and PEERS for non-certificated education personnel such as paraprofessionals, bus drivers, and food service staff. Membership is automatic upon employment at a covered Missouri public school district or community college, with the system providing service retirement, disability retirement, survivor benefits, cost-of-living adjustments, and six different benefit plan options at retirement.

The system is funded through three sources: member contributions, employer contributions from participating school districts and community colleges, and — per the organization's own characterization — investment earnings, which constitute the primary funding source for each dollar of benefits paid. As of June 30, 2026, PSRS/PEERS serves 115,000+ benefit recipients and distributes over $4.1 billion annually, with approximately 88% of benefits flowing into all 114 Missouri counties. It ranks as the 47th-largest defined benefit retirement plan in the United States and is described as one of the nation's strongest and best-funded public retirement systems.

The technology foundation is the Web Member Services self-service portal (wms.psrs-peers.org), which enables members to view statements, estimate benefits, calculate purchase costs, file for retirement, designate beneficiaries, and access tax documents. Distribution and member engagement run through a multi-channel education stack including the Benefit Connection podcast (24 episodes released August 2025 through July 2026), Retirement Ready Seminars (in-person and virtual), email newsletters, social media, and phone/web counseling. Governance is provided by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor of Missouri, with leadership including Executive Director Dearld Snider and Chief Operating Officer Sarah Swoboda. The entity is a non-profit state government organization, not subject to traditional PE/VC/M&A investment dynamics.

Name

psrs

Legal name

Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri

Website

https://psrsmo.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

PSRS/PEERS is a Missouri state-administered defined benefit pension system serving certificated and non-certificated public school employees across all 114 counties, distributing over $4.1 billion annually to 115,000+ benefit recipients as the 47th-largest U.S. defined benefit plan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Pension Administration

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Public pension administration
• Defined benefit retirement
• Education employee benefits
• Government retirement system
• Survivor and disability benefits

Headquarters

HQ city

Jefferson 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, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Contributions: Public school employees contribute a portion of their salary to the retirement system
2. Employer Contributions: Missouri public school districts and community colleges contribute to fund retirement benefits
3. Investment Earnings: Investment returns on the pension fund assets are the primary source of funding for benefits paid. Investment earnings constitute the largest funding source for each dollar of benefits paid.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PSRS/PEERS administers two defined benefit pension plans—PSRS for certificated Missouri public school educators and PEERS for non-certificated education personnel—providing lifetime service retirement, disability retirement, and survivor benefits. The system is funded primarily through investment earnings on pension fund assets, supplemented by member and employer contributions from participating Missouri public school districts and community colleges. Members access their accounts, estimate benefits, file for retirement, and update beneficiary designations through the Web Member Services secure online self-service portal, supported by in-person Retirement Ready seminars, webinars, and personalized counseling.

Product overview

PSRS/PEERS (Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri) is a dual-system retirement benefits organization serving Missouri's public school employees. The organization administers two separate retirement systems: PSRS for certificated teachers and administrators, and PEERS for non-certificated education staff. Members access their accounts through Web Member Services, the secure online portal where they can view statements, estimate benefits, file for retirement, and manage beneficiary designations. The portfolio also includes online benefit calculators for retirement planning, the Benefit Connection member education podcast, and various life event resources for new members, retirees, and those experiencing major life changes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Web Member Services: The secure online self-service portal for PSRS/PEERS members to access their retirement information and manage their accounts
• Benefit Connection
• Retirement Ready Seminars

Products and services

• PSRS (Public School Retirement System) A defined benefit pension program serving certificated teachers and administrators in Missouri K-12 public schools and community colleges. Members receive lifetime service retirement benefits, disability retirement coverage, and survivor benefits, with participation automatic upon employment at a covered employer.
• PEERS (Public Education Employee Retirement System) A defined benefit pension program serving non-certificated education employees in Missouri public schools, including paraprofessionals, bus drivers, food service staff, and other support personnel. Members receive service retirement, disability retirement, and survivor benefits, with a 550-hour per school year work limit for post-retirement employment.
• Web Member Services Secure online self-service portal available to all PSRS and PEERS members for viewing statements, estimating retirement benefits, calculating service purchase costs, filing for service retirement online, designating or updating beneficiaries, accessing IRS Form 1099-R tax documents, and managing direct deposit.

Quantifiable outcome

• $4.1 billion in annual benefits paid to 115,000+ recipients
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UnitedHealthcare / UMR / HealthSCOPE BenefitsminorOthersThrough UnitedHealthcare, UMR and HealthSCOPE Benefits, PSRS/PEERS creates and publishes Machine-Readable Files on behalf of the organization. This relates to PSRS/PEERS employees' health plans, not to plans sponsored by covered school districts or other covered employers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS): TRS Texas administers a defined benefit pension for Texas public education employees. It mirrors PSRS/PEERS in serving certificated school employees, offering service retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, and being funded by member, employer, and investment contributions. Both systems rely on a state-law mandate and Board governance.
• New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS): NYSLRS administers defined benefit pensions for New York State public employees and many local government workers. It parallels PSRS/PEERS in DB plan design, state-level governance, and reliance on member/employer contributions plus investment earnings — a same-architecture peer at multi-employer scale.
• Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois (TRS Illinois): TRS Illinois administers a state-mandated defined benefit pension for Illinois public school educators outside Chicago. Like PSRS/PEERS, it serves only certificated public education employees with DB benefits, COLAs, and survivor/disability coverage — a structurally direct peer despite different funding-ratio outcomes.
• State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS Ohio): STRS Ohio is a state-defined benefit pension system exclusively for Ohio public school teachers, comparable to PSRS in target population (certificated educators), benefit structure (DB with COLAs, disability, survivor), and funding model. It provides a same-category peer for benchmarking funding ratios, COLA policy, and member services.
• Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS): OPERS administers DB pensions for Ohio's public employees outside state-teacher systems. It shares PSRS/PEERS's statutory mandate, three-source funding model, and Board-of-Trustees governance structure, providing a directly comparable state-administered public DB pension operator.
• California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS): CalPERS is a large state-administered defined benefit pension system for California's public employees. While it serves a broader employee base than PSRS/PEERS (not exclusively educators), it shares the same operational model — DB plan administration, member and employer contributions, investment-led funding, and state-law governance — making it a comparable institutional peer.
• Florida Retirement System (FRS): FRS administers defined benefit (and defined contribution) retirement benefits for Florida's state and local government employees, including public school personnel. It mirrors PSRS/PEERS's DB benefit framework, state-level governance, and tri-source funding model.
• California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS): CalSTRS is the largest U.S. teacher-only defined benefit pension system, serving California's public school educators. Like PSRS/PEERS, it administers service retirement, survivor, and disability benefits to certificated education employees under a state-law mandate, with member and employer contributions plus investment earnings as funding sources. It is the closest structural analog to PSRS at meaningfully larger scale.
• Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS): Washington DRS administers multiple defined benefit retirement systems for the state's public employees, including public school educators. It is structurally analogous to PSRS/PEERS — state-mandated, DB-style, multi-employer, and funded via member, employer, and investment contributions.

Emerging players

• TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association): TIAA is a major nonprofit financial services organization focused on retirement services for the academic, research, medical, and cultural sectors. While it is a private-sector provider rather than a state-administered system like PSRS/PEERS, it shares an education-employee focus and offers retirement annuities and accumulation products serving an overlapping end-user base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/psrspeers
• Facebookfacebook.com/psrspeers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 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 psrs