Fund leadership reflected on 100 years of empowering women through financial security.
Barbara Glass, Investment Commitee chair, and Elliott Buchholz, CEO
2025 marks the centennial of the YWCA Retirement Fund and with it, a chance to celebrate both our legacy as one of the oldest pension plans for women and our vital supporting role in the YWCA’s mission.
As the September 1 milestone approaches, Elliott Buchholz, CEO, and Barbara Glass, Investment Committee chair, shared with Pensions & Investments the ways in which the Fund has both endured and pivoted over the past 100 years, and retained overfunded status throughout.
"We didn't want to put the associations in a position where they needed to increase contributions to make up a deficit in the funds," Glass explains. "We intentionally stay well above the funded level; we like to be at least 120% to ensure there is always enough."
Mr. Buchholz noted that while the Fund has increased portability over the years, it remains competitive with the for-profit sector: “It used to be very traditional, where participants’ accounts were locked in. Once you had a certain balance, at least half had to be taken as a pension. You could take some money as a distribution, but a pension was locked in. There was a decision at the time to move away from that. We still offer a valuable pension that we believe is better than what they could buy on the market, but the money becomes fully portable at whatever point in time you stop working.”
While the past century has seen significant changes, the YWCA Retirement Fund's purpose remains clear: "With our plan, people can make a career at the YWCA and retire comfortably with a benefit that will provide a level of safety and dignity as they age,” Buchholz says. “That's our primary driver. That hasn't changed in 100 years, and we don't expect that it will ever change."
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