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Patrick McClain has been appointed by CMERS Annuity & Pension Board to the position of Executive Director & Secretary, to succeed the long serving incumbent, Jerry Allen, upon his planned retirement on January 1, 2026. Patrick is a highly adaptable organizational leader and seasoned public pension attorney, combining over 15 years of experience as a distinguished military commander and CMERS General Counsel. In addition to earning a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University in 2007 and a Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School in 2011, Patrick has attended the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (2008), Naval Justice School (2012), and U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College (2024). Patrick began his career in the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office in 2015. In that role, he managed all legal matters for the $6 billion CMERS pension system, advising the Annuity and Pension Board on fiduciary governance, regulatory compliance, benefit administration, and litigation. He played a key role in drafting authoritative legal opinions, guiding legislative changes—including 2023 Wisconsin Act 12—and protecting ERS interests during one of the most significant legislative plan overhauls in decades. Simultaneously, Patrick served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 2024 as a Civil Affairs Officer with the rank of Major. He led international humanitarian and civic assistance missions, coordinating directly with local leaders to aid civilian populations and strengthen U.S. partnerships. Patrick’s career reflects a rare blend of legal expertise, executive leadership, and operational resilience. He looks forward to leveraging this dual-track experience to promote continued pension plan stability and fiduciary excellence for CMERS members and beneficiaries. CMERS Board of Trustees and staff congratulate Patrick on his promotion and are confident he will succeed in his new role.
The City of Milwaukee Pension Fund reported a return of 12.9%, net of fees, in 2025. This return underperformed the Fund’s blended benchmark by -1.1%. Stocks extended a bull market, with international stocks strongly outperforming domestic. Interest rates trended down, which helped fixed income returns. The Fund’s public equity allocation had a return of 21.5%, net of fees, for the full year. Fixed income was up 8.3%, net of fees. Absolute return was up 10.6%, net of fees. Private equity and real assets, which both report returns on a 1-quarter lag, had returns of 8.5% net of fees, and 6.5% net of fees, respectively. The value of the Fund on December 31, 2025, totaled approximately $6.38 billion.
If you have not received your 1099-R for 2025, please contact the pension office so we can mail you a new form. You will need this form for filing your income tax return for 2025. Do not wait until the last minute! Replacement forms will be issued free-of-charge through April 15, 2026. Any request for a replacement after that date will be filled only upon receipt of a $15.00 processing fee. You can also view or print your 1099-R free of charge on our website at www.cmers.com by following the instructions on our homepage. If you receive a Duty Disability benefit from the ERS, you will not receive a 1099-R, because this benefit is not taxable or reportable to the IRS.
If you are a recent retiree and you received a GPS lump-sum bonus during 2025 and elected to roll over all or part of your GPS lump sum bonus, you should have received a separate 1099-R for your GPS lump sum bonus rollover. If you elected to receive all or part of the GPS lump sum bonus in cash, the payment you received in cash was included with the 1099-R containing your monthly annuity payments.
If you receive multiple benefits from the ERS (e.g., your own benefit as well as a survivorship benefit from the account of your deceased spouse), you should have received a separate 1099-R for each benefit you received in 2025.
The ERS staff is not allowed to give tax advice or answer specific tax questions. We cannot recommend how much you should have withheld or tell you if you need to file a tax return. Please consult the applicable IRS instructions or a tax professional.
If you would like to change your tax withholding for federal or WI taxes, you may download the tax withholding form from our website at: www.cmers.com under “Forms” “Other” “Tax withholding”. If you do not have internet access, you may contact the ERS office and we will mail you the required form.
Retired members can view their current 1099-R data as well as past 1099-R data on our Member Self Service Site. Instructions for creating a secure login can be found on our website under “ERS Member Self Service.”
You are a member of the ERS, and membership has its privileges. One of those privileges is access to the portion of our website that is all about you. We call it ERS Member Self Service. Click here for more details.
Other recent news can be found on the most recent newsletter.
Other important information can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Last Update: 2/23/2026