Active and Retired Members of the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island: As directed by the General Assembly and required by Rhode Island Law, the General Treasurer has convened a Pension Advisory Working Group to assess the impacts of the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011. The Advisory Working Group is scheduled to meet six times over the next four months, beginning Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. All meetings will be open to the public and livestreamed by CapitolTV. ERSRI members are encouraged to submit written testimony to gentreasurer@treasury.ri.gov, or through the online submission form. More information concerning the scheduled meeting dates and the members of the Advisory Working Group can be found here.
About The Office Mission The mission of the Office of the General Treasurer is to promote economic growth and financial security for all Rhode Islanders. The Office works to protect the State’s assets with sound investments and strengthen the State’s financial position. The Office operates with greater transparency and accountability, and ensures that Rhode Islanders benefit from exceptional performance through all the programs the Office manages. BankLocal BankLocal, which was launched in 2017, has helped over 350 small businesses in Rhode Island get the loans they need to expand and hire, by moving more than $47 million of the State’s cash to local banks and credit unions. Loans made to first-time business owners, and business owners who are veterans, women, and people of color are eligible for a 2-to-1 matching deposit, with approximately 1/3 of current BankLocal-backed loans qualifying for the match. Unclaimed Property Each year, the Treasurer’s office receives millions of dollars of Rhode Islanders’ missing money, and the Treasurer’s office works to reunite this money with its rightful owner. The Treasurer has returned $73 million of Unclaimed Property to nearly 100,000 Rhode Islanders. Crime Victim Compensation Program If you or a loved one has been a victim of violent crime in Rhode Island and you need assistance, the Crime Victim Compensation Program may be able to help. The program received over 1,000 claims in 2020, including 234 claims for children who need mental health services after witnessing acts of domestic violence. CollegeBound Saver CollegeBound Saver, Rhode Island’s 529 tuition savings plan, has emerged as a nationally recognized program to help families save for the cost of education. Since 2020, CollegeBound accounts can now be used to pay for apprenticeship programs, which are valuable for workers who are at the beginning of their career or are considering a career change. Financial Empowerment Roundtable Members of the Financial Empowerment Roundtable are working to guarantee that all Rhode Islanders have access to financial education and safe, affordable financial services. The Treasurer leads the advocacy efforts to ensure all Rhode Island high school students will receive personal finance education before they graduate. Affirmative Action Plan The Office of the General Treasurer supports affirmative action and equal opportunity and will post all vacancies, including transfers, and will recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job classifications without regard to race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Our Affirmative Action Plan can be downloaded below. Affirmative Action Plan PDF file, about 5mbmegabytes