A defined benefit pension trust for all City employees was instituted by City of Miami Ordinance No. 5624, effective July 1, 1956. Pursuant to the final judgment entered on May 23, 1985, in the matter of Leonard Gates, et al vs. City of Miami (the “Gates Agreement”), the City of Miami General Employees’ and Sanitation Employees’ Retirement Trust was established by Ordinance No. 10002 effective June 13, 1985, to serve permanent employees other than firefighters and police officers. The Gates Agreement separated the GESE Trust from the Firefighters and Police Officers’ Trust and set individual pension Board guidelines and funding requirements. A nine member Board of Trustees, who are considered fiduciaries, govern the Trust.

The Board meets at least once every two months as required by City ordinance. Trustees are selected as follows: one trustee selected by the City Manager, two trustees selected by the general employees, two trustees selected by the sanitation employees, and four independent trustees selected by the City Commission from a list from each union of six non-employee nominees. As fiduciaries of the Trusts, the Board performs their duties and responsibilities solely in the interest of members of the retirement plan. In order to achieve their goals, the Board has employed the services of support staff including a Pension Administrator to perform daily functions. Services provided by support staff include accounting and financial reporting, member and employer contributions processing, retiree benefits calculations, and monthly disbursement of benefits to retirees or beneficiaries. The Board employs the services of a consulting actuary, a custodial bank, an investment consultant and several investment managers. An actuarial valuation for each plan is performed by the actuary on an annual basis to determine the amount of the City’s annual contribution.