SACRAMENTO — Officials from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) briefed industry on their near-term priorities and challenges Thursday morning.
The four-member panel included CalPERS Chief Operating Officer (COO) Doug Hoffner and CIO Stephenson Loveson and CalSTRS COO Lisa Blatnick and Chief Technology Officer Ashish Jain.
The two agencies manage a combined $1 trillion in assets and are focused on technologies that improve business and customer experiences, rather than integrating the latest trendy tool.
While both organizations are working through the integration of AI technology, ongoing modernization efforts and the like, Blatnick said one of CalSTRS’ top priorities is debugging its payroll system project that was 11 years in the making. That project was a success in terms of delivering accurate payments to recipients, but it still needs work in other areas that could require the help of consultants and vendors.
She pointed to increased call center wait times as one example of the problems the team hopes to correct.
“Our No. 1 priority is to make sure that we bring in whoever we have to bring in to get our system stabilized and to start providing our members the service that they’re used to,” she said.
For CalPERS, data and reporting has been a priority area. The agency is in the midst of a $168 million, multiyear data technology platform project, which Hoffner said will consolidate multiple vendor systems into one platform. That work will run through 2028.
Additionally, the overhaul of myHR from a 15-year-old Oracle system to a new product is expected to conclude in the summer of this year and will allow for more employee self-service and reporting capabilities, Hoffner said.
A repeating theme of the conversation was the need for industry to understand not only the mission of the two agencies, but the security compliance needs that come with selling them technology solutions — especially those driven by AI.
Loveson noted that his organization has extremely strict security compliance standards and that vendors should come prepared, with their 530F forms completed.
“At the end of the day, we are a public entity in charge of public trust funds, so we have to adhere to these guidelines and laws and regulations, and we are very conservative when it comes to data,” Loveson said. “So, help us with all these things, and that’ll definitely make you successful.”
Jain underscored the importance of technology solutions that serve the business side of CalSTRS and the need to think critically about “new shiny tools.”
Because both agencies operate outside of what could be considered standard rules for state departments — i.e., procurement authority outside of the Department of General Services and a budget process that is separate from the annual chaos of the state budget — officials advised vendors to get on procurement lists as soon as possible.
Hoffner called these lists CalPERS’ “spring-fed pools” of vendors that have been pre-vetted for certain project types.
“Your competitors are all in these pools,” he said. “You’ve got to be available for us to get to you.”
State Pension IT Leaders Talk Future, Stumbling Blocks
What to Know:
- Officials from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and State Teachers’ Retirement System shared their priorities during an exclusive briefing Thursday.
- Both agencies are working to modernize and perfect critical systems, while keeping an eye on where new technologies can be integrated.
- Officials say they need vendor partners who understand the mission and the security sensitivity surrounding their work.
