Former PERAC Director Uniquely Qualified
Mass Retirees Treasurer Joseph Connarton has announced his candidacy for the state’s Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board. The 9-member board, chaired by State Treasurer and Receiver General Deb Goldberg, includes two elected members of the State Retirement System and two elected members of the Teachers’ Retirement System.
The PRIM Board manages the pension assets of the Pension Reserves Investment Trust (PRIT) Fund, which includes the State and Teacher Retirement Systems along with most of the state’s 102 local retirement systems that have chosen to invest some, if not all local retirement funds through PRIT.
Connarton, who retired as the Executive Director of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC), seeks to fill the open seat previously held by the Association’s Executive Vice President Paul Shanley, who passed away earlier this year after a long battle with cancer. Shanley, who was a retired Deputy Treasurer, succeeded Mass Retirees founder and former president Ralph White who was a founding member of PRIM, serving on the board for more than 20 years.
As a Cambridge native and former city clerk, Connarton served on the Cambridge Retirement Board for nearly 25 years. He went on to successfully lead PERAC for more than 20 years, helping the agency to become a national model for proper pension system oversight and regulation.
“Given Joe Connarton’s background and years of experience, he is uniquely qualified to represent state retirees and employees on the PRIM Board. We cannot overstate how important the success of the PRIT Fund is to public retirees. Joe will be a true asset from day one and will continue the long tradition of an experienced senior Mass Retirees officer holding this critical seat. I urge state retirees and employees to please vote to elect Joe Connarton to the PRIM Board,” comments Mass Retirees President Frank Valeri, who is an elected member of the State Retirement Board.
“I am well aware of the tremendous importance of a strong and fully funded pension system. The only way to fully fund our pension system is to maintain a strong, consistent, and diverse investment strategy as has been consistently demonstrated by the PRIM Board for decades. This strategy is focused on maintaining the highest quality of investments, while developing a conservative approach for a down market,” said Connarton. “The continued success of PRIM is not only critical to peace-of-mind for retirees, but also in terms of the ability to improve COLA benefits. I’m ready to continue the good work of my predecessor, Paul Shanley, and respectfully ask for your vote.
Ballots will be mailed in late March 2026 to all eligible voters from the State Retirement System.