Retirement Board
The Retirement Board of Allegheny County (RBAC) provides direction for the retirement system in accordance with Pennsylvania law (PA Second Class County Code(PDF, 206KB) , Section 4703), as follows:
The retirement system shall be under the sole direction of a board, which shall consist of the county chief executive; one member, who shall be a member of the retirement system, appointed by the chief executive with the consent of county council; one member, who shall be a member of the retirement system, appointed by county council; the controller; the treasurer; and two persons elected by ballot from among the members of the retirement system. The terms of such members shall be four years.
Leadership
Walter Szymanski, Manager
Walter began his career with Allegheny County in November 2002 when he accepted a position as an Auditor with the Controller's Office. In December of 2006, he was appointed as the Finance Manager in the Office of District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. In March 2012, he joined the office of County Council as the Director of Budget & Administration. As council's Director of Budget and Administration, he was responsible for assisting council in the development of the annual Operating, Capital, Grants, and Special Accounts Budgets for Allegheny County. In March 2017, Walter was appointed by the Retirement Board of Allegheny County to serve as the Manager for the Allegheny County Retirement Office.
The Manager serves as the administrative officer of the System. The position reports directly to the seven-member Board of Trustees. The position plans, organizes, directs, and controls the overall management functions and day-to-day administration of the System in accordance with Pennsylvania statute and policies established by the Board of Trustees. The Allegheny County Employees' Retirement System provides retirement, disability, and death benefits for employees and their beneficiaries and has nearly 12,000 active and retired members. Plan assets total more than $1 billion.
Walter is a 1997 graduate of Central Catholic High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Management from LaRoche College in 2002. A lifelong resident of Allegheny County, Walter resides in Allison Park with his wife Heather.
Board Members
Erica Rocchi Brusselars, Board President & Treasurer
Term expires December 31, 2027
Erica Rocchi Brusselars, Allegheny County Treasurer, is the first outsider elected to the office in over 50 years. Bringing experience as a private-sector actuary, foster parent, yogi, abolitionist court watch organizer, schoolteacher, and community activist, she is committed to running the Treasurer’s Office with a focus on transparency, modernization, and collaboration across County government to improve services and save taxpayer money. Erica began her career as a middle-school math teacher in an under-resourced public school before her 14-year career as an actuary in pensions at the global firm which is now Willis Towers Watson.
Erica earned a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University (BS in Mathematics with a minor in Gender Studies) and a master’s degree from University of Mississippi (MA in Curriculum & Instruction). Erica is a 20-year resident of the East Allegheny neighborhood of Pittsburgh’s Northside.
Elected President of the Retirement Board of Allegheny County in February 2024, Erica will be focusing on board education, including a wholistic understanding of the plan’s funded status, ensuring the plan is following best practices for contracting vendor services, and proactively exploring options for increasing and stabilizing the plan’s funded status.
Erica’s commitment to transparency includes ensuring verbatim transcriptions and video feeds and recordings of the Retirement Board meetings are available going forward. Additionally, we will be making Board meeting materials available to the public on a more timely basis. Everyone is welcome to attend our monthly Board meetings which are the third Thursday of every month, posted on our central website, at noon in the Gold Room on the fourth floor of the County Courthouse.
Ted Puzak, Board Vice President
Term expires June 30, 2024
Ted Puzak is a veteran of the USMC (1963 - 1967), completing one tour in Vietnam with India Co. 3rd Bat. 3rd Marines. In 1973, utilizing the GI Bill, Ted received a BS from the University of Pittsburgh. He then went on to earn a Master's of Education from Duquesne University in 1978.
Ted retired from Allegheny County as a Probation officer in March of 2001 after 29 years of service. Ted has always maintained a position of "doing what's best for both the active and retired members of the Plan." This has included lobbying Harrisburg on behalf of Allegheny County Veterans in order to institute policies to make military service credit more cost-effective.
In addition to his work with Allegheny County, Ted has served as an associate professor for six years at the University of Pittsburgh in the Health and Physical Activity department.
Since retirement, Ted has maintained membership in the Allegheny County Retirement Association (ACRA) and served as Vice President for two years. In addition, Ted is actively involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for research and patients. Ted is married and has four children and five grandchildren. He is a parish member of St. Elizabeth Church.
Other RBAC Members
Contact
Questions? Call the Retirement Office at 412-350-4674.