Texas / Employees Retirement System

Agency file

Employees Retirement System

Source file: Texas — State Employee Salaries (Texas Tribune) / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Employees Retirement System is a government agency that delivers public services and programs within its jurisdiction.

In 2026, this agency had 427 employees with median total compensation of $95,800; the highest distinct record was $469,428.

Year: 2026
Total payroll: $51.1M
Employees: 427
Median total: $95,800
Highest record: $469,428

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$48,290$349,820+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2026 total compensation is spread across the 427 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($95,800) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $119,789 (100%)
Overtime — $0 (0%)
Other — $0 (0%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$63,708

$72,356

$95,800

$137,000

$220,000

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $220,000 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $63,708. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Retire Systems Benefits Specialist II

43 · $64,264

Retire Systems Benefits Specialist III

17 · $72,000

Manager V

16 · $125,054

Portfolio Manager V

15 · $267,000

Portfolio Manager IV

9 · $230,000

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2025	$49.8M —	424 —	$94,834 —
2026	$51.1M ▲ 2.6%	427 ▲ 0.7%	$95,800 ▲ 1.0%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Chineque Sterns

Director VI/Employees Retirement System

2025 total comp

$198,835

Base pay: $198,835
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $198,835
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1625
Hire Date: Jul 25, 1994
Monthly Pay: $16,570
State Employee Number: 81396

Chineque Sterns is a Director VI at Employees Retirement System. They work crf - classified regular full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $198,835.

Michael Mccrary

Portfolio Manager III/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$198,000

Base pay: $198,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $198,000
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: C

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1142
Hire Date: Aug 12, 2013
Monthly Pay: $16,500
State Employee Number: 342082

Michael Mccrary holds the role of Portfolio Manager III at Employees Retirement System. Their status is crf - classified regular full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $198,000.

Margaret Baker

General Counsel IV/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$196,630

Base pay: $196,630
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $196,630
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: E

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 3524
Hire Date: Mar 1, 2022
Monthly Pay: $16,386
State Employee Number: 77176

Margaret Baker holds the role of General Counsel IV at Employees Retirement System. Their status is crf - classified regular full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $196,630.

Joseph Knight

Portfolio Manager III/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$196,000

Base pay: $196,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $196,000
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1142
Hire Date: Jan 8, 2007
Monthly Pay: $16,333
State Employee Number: 73407

Joseph Knight is a Portfolio Manager III at Employees Retirement System. They work crf - classified regular full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $196,000.

Kenneth Mcdowell

Portfolio Manager III/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$196,000

Base pay: $196,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $196,000
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: N

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1142
Hire Date: Feb 4, 2013
Monthly Pay: $16,333
State Employee Number: 340678

Kenneth Mcdowell works as a Portfolio Manager III for Employees Retirement System. Their status is crf - classified regular full-time. Kenneth earned $196,000 in 2026.

James Gassman

Portfolio Manager III/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$196,000

Base pay: $196,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $196,000
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: C

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1142
Hire Date: Jun 15, 2020
Monthly Pay: $16,333
State Employee Number: 1268923

At Employees Retirement System, James Gassman serves as a Portfolio Manager III. They work crf - classified regular full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $196,000.

Andre Minassian

Portfolio Manager III/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$196,000

Base pay: $196,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $196,000
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1142
Hire Date: Feb 11, 2026
Monthly Pay: $16,333
State Employee Number: 1834440

At Employees Retirement System, Andre Minassian serves as a Portfolio Manager III. They work crf - classified regular full-time. Their 2026 pay totaled $196,000.

David Destefano

Portfolio Manager III/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$196,000

Base pay: $196,000
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $196,000
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: R

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1142
Hire Date: Feb 11, 2026
Monthly Pay: $16,333
State Employee Number: 23615

David Destefano works as a Portfolio Manager III for Employees Retirement System. Their status is crf - classified regular full-time. David earned $196,000 in 2026.

Brendi Romick

Investment Analyst V/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$191,698

Base pay: $191,698
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $191,698
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: L

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1134
Hire Date: Dec 1, 2022
Monthly Pay: $15,975
State Employee Number: 208179

Brendi Romick is a Investment Analyst V at Employees Retirement System. They work crf - classified regular full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $191,698.

Yanqin Xu

Investment Analyst V/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$191,698

Base pay: $191,698
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $191,698
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1134
Hire Date: Mar 15, 2021
Monthly Pay: $15,975
State Employee Number: 1397973

Yanqin Xu holds the role of Investment Analyst V at Employees Retirement System. Their status is crf - classified regular full-time. In 2026, their total compensation was $191,698.

Bernie Hajovsky

Director VI/Employees Retirement System

2026 total comp

$188,464

Base pay: $188,464
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $188,464
Employment type: Crf - Classified Regular Full-Time
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Class Code: 1625
Hire Date: Jun 6, 2005
Monthly Pay: $15,705
State Employee Number: 35930

Bernie Hajovsky is a Director VI at Employees Retirement System. They work crf - classified regular full-time. 2026 total compensation came to $188,464.