CalPERS Story
CalPERS is about people. It's about the dedicated individuals who serve, or have served, California at the state, regional, and local level through a career in public service. For more than nine decades, CalPERS has built retirement and health security for these public servants. As the nation’s largest public pension fund, our Mission & Vision ensure that our members' benefits and earned retirements are as enduring as the state they maintain.
To support our members, we also invest in the health and infrastructure of the Golden State itself – building portfolios that bolster local business and funding enterprises that directly influence and stimulate our economy. We have an unwavering commitment to financial security in retirement. The long-term nature of our benefits reflects our long-term investing horizon and our commitment to generations of public employees.
Our pension fund serves more than 2 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.5 million members and their families in our health program.
In 1932, the nation was in the grips of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was elected to the first of his four terms as President of the United States, Babe Ruth roamed the outfield for the world champion New York Yankees, and a retirement system for state employees was established in California. The retirement system grew into what is now the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).
- 1932 – CalPERS was established as the "State Employees' Retirement System" (SERS).
- 1939 – The State Legislature passed a bill that allowed counties, cities, and school districts to participate in SERS.
- 1962 – Health insurance began for SERS members with the passage of a law that was later amended to become the "Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act."
- 1986 – The headquarters building now called "Lincoln Plaza North" was completed in Sacramento.
- 1992 – To avoid confusion with retirement systems in other states, the organization's name was changed to "California Public Employees' Retirement System" (CalPERS).
- 2005 – CalPERS expanded its headquarters to include the Lincoln Plaza East and West buildings, which achieved a Gold LEED rating.
- 2011 – Launched the myCalPERS website, which consolidated 109 systems into one information system
- 2013 – CalPERS Board adopted set of Investment Beliefs to help guide investment strategy.
- 2014 – CalPERS surpassed $300 billion in total fund market value.
- 2014 – CalPERS Board adopted set of Pension Beliefs to guide pension fund practices and decisions.
- 2015 – Launched new and improved, user-centric CalPERS website
CalPERS Goes Green
We take sustainability seriously at CalPERS. It's woven into the fabric of everything we do, whether it's in our business practices or in our investment strategy. Explore the full list of our Green Building Accomplishments & Sustainability Initiatives, which show our commitment to being a leader in sustainable business operations.
The CalPERS Headquarters is also home to the Sacramento Regional Office. The headquarters complex includes four buildings: Lincoln Plaza North, Lincoln Plaza East, Lincoln Plaza West, and Lincoln Plaza South. Visit Headquarters & Regional Offices for more information, including a map, building guide, and parking details.
The designs of Lincoln Plaza buildings feature an innovative blend of architecture and landscaping.
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Read about the building, design, and construction facts about our headquarters buildings, Lincoln Plaza North and Lincoln Plaza East & West.
