On Thursday, the TRS Board of Trustees convened in Austin for a special meeting to undergo its annual fiduciary training to ensure the board is both responsible and transparent in its dealings with the pension fund.
The board also discussed the staffing shortages and turnover at the agency the past year—with departures outpacing new hires. The primary reasons for departure cited by employees were that salaries were too low and the workload was too high. TRS staff explained that the high workload that has pushed many employees to leave increases staffing shortages and in turn leads to even higher workloads. The TRS customer service department has seen especially high workloads with non-stop customer service calls leading to long wait and hold times for members.