A COMMENDATION

In the Year of our Lord Two Thousand and Seventeen

NEW HAMPSHIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM 50^TH ANNIVERSARY

WHEREAS, the New Hampshire Retirement System, which was created by legislation as a consolidation of separate retirement systems for state employees, teachers, police officers, and firefighters, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding this year; and

WHEREAS, the New Hampshire Retirement System is a component unit of state government, governed by statute and overseen by a Board of Trustees consisting of members, employers, public members, and the state Treasurer, all of whom are fiduciaries bound by law to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the pension plan; and

WHEREAS, the New Hampshire Retirement System provides pension, disability, and death benefits for the full-time employees of more than 475 public employers and has paid out more than $670 million dollars in pension benefits in fiscal year 2016 to over 31,000 retirees and beneficiaries, most of whom continue to reside in New Hampshire; and

WHEREAS, the New Hampshire Retirement System has a large membership equating to 92,158 members in 2016, and its pension trust fund has grown to eight billion dollars, most of which comes from investment income; and

WHEREAS, the New Hampshire Retirement System provides stable, secure pension benefits to those who serve the citizens of New Hampshire;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTOPHER T. SUNUNU, GOVERNOR of the State of New Hampshire, do hereby commend the NEW HAMPSHIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM on celebrating its 50^th Anniversary and wish you all the best in the future.