Lawmakers Urge Investment Board to Delay Action on Bonuses

(Photo by Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two state lawmakers have raised concerns to the State Investment Board that the $1.3 million in bonuses slated to go to the Retirement and Investment Office employees may be a violation of state law.

Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, in a letter to board members said that the bonuses are required by law to be based on the performance of investment money the state manages internally. Cleary said that instead, it appears that bonuses for 2025 were calculated based on the performance of funds mostly managed by outside firms.

State data indicates only a fraction of the four funds was invested by in-house employees during the period of time the bonuses cover, Cleary wrote.

The goal of the bonuses is to encourage the agency’s employees to bring in more money from state investment funds. According to State Investment Board policy, the incentive pay is awarded if the state’s top four funds outperform the market. Those four funds are the Legacy Fund, the Public Employees Retirement System, the Teachers Fund for Retirement and Workforce Safety and Insurance.