Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL)

In 1936, amidst the economic uncertainty of the Great Depression, Louisiana took a foundational step to secure the future of its educators. While the colorful politician Huey P. Long had championed pensions, it was Governor Richard W. Leche who signed Act 83 into law, a bill introduced by Representatives Lether E. Frazar and Charles A. Riddle. This act created the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, or TRSL, establishing a public trust to provide retirement benefits for the state's public school teachers. The model was a defined-benefit plan, where retirement income is based on a formula of service years and salary, not just market returns. It operates on three funding streams: contributions from employees, contributions from employers, and earnings from investments. Today, TRSL serves over 180,000 members and is the state's largest public retirement system. A significant event in its journey was the 1987 constitutional amendment that required the state to fully fund its retirement systems. This addressed a major challenge: the initial unfunded accrued liability, a debt incurred from years of underfunding prior to 1988. Another key development occurred on July 1, 1983, when the School Lunch Employees' Retirement System merged with TRSL, expanding its membership and responsibilities. Overseen by a board of trustees, TRSL manages billions in assets, dedicated to a single purpose: providing a reliable source of income for Louisiana's educators in their retirement.