ERS Director Plans to Step Down After 2015 Session

Ann Bishop will step down as executive director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas after the next legislative session, ending what will be more than a decade at the helm of the state agency.

According to ERS, a transition plan has been in the works since late last summer, when Bishop let the board know she anticipated retiring in the next year or two. The plan has since been firmed up, and the intent is to have Bishop work through next year's session alongside her successor.

The board plans to look for a search firm soon that will handle a national search for Bishop's successor.

Bishop's work in state government includes a stint as deputy comptroller as well as serving as the first executive director of the Department of Information Resources. She started at ERS in summer 2004. Her time at ERS was also punctuated by a three-month interruption when she was asked to serve as Gov. Rick Perry's chief of staff, from late 2012 into early 2013.

ERS administers retirement and other benefits for more than 225,000 state employees and retirees. According to the agency, it oversees an investment portfolio of $25.3 billion. In addition, it manages a health care program that covers more than 500,000 state and higher education employees and their families.