State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. will visit Chattanooga at the invitation of Rep. Mike Carter to speak to members of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga Hamilton Place on Wednesday at noon.
Treasurer Lillard said he looks forward to the opportunity to update the Rotarians on the Tennessee Treasury Department and discuss why Tennessee is recognized as one of the top financially-managed states in the nation.
Later that same afternoon, he will join Rep. Carter for a chance to address civic and business leaders from across Hamilton County. That conversation is Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel law firm.
The state treasurer is a constitutional officer elected every two years in a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Treasury Department is responsible for receiving, investing and disbursing public funds, and managing all state investments, including the pension fund.
Officials said, "While many other state pensions are in critical condition, the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) has been ranked one of the top-five public pensions in the country. Solid management and the fully-funded status of TCRS was cited as a major contributing factor to Tennessee’s recent AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s, giving Tennessee highest possible rating from all three of the major bond ratings agencies."
The Tennessee Treasury Department also directs multiple state programs with an emphasis on improving the financial well-being of Tennesseans, such as the TNStars College Savings 529 Program, the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission, RetireReadyTN, and most recently, ABLE TN. ABLE TN, Tennessee’s own Achieving A Better Life Experience program, is a new program launched in June 2016 to help individuals with disabilities plan and save for the future.