2026 Annual Report President and CEO Message

As President and CEO of the YMCA Retirement Fund, it is my privilege to present the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Report, and what a year it has been! Even after more than 100 years of service to the YMCA Movement — which celebrates its 175th anniversary in America in 2026 — Y Retirement continues to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of Y staff.

Momentum and Milestones: Advancing Our Strategic Plan

In FY 2026, progress took center stage at Y Retirement as we continued executing against the five themes set forth in our strategic plan, hitting several major milestones:

• Served more than 130,000 people across 730+ YMCAs and Alliances, including approximately 17,000 retirees who received guaranteed monthly lifetime income payments
• Surpassed $10B in assets and achieved a funding level of 119% thanks to a deliberate and diversified long-term investment and risk management approach  
• Announced an increased annuity conversion rate, effective July 1, 2026, on new contributions and interest, a result of our asset and funding level growth
• Launched a completely redesigned public-facing website, the final piece of our brand transformation that began in FY 2024
• Expanded the reach of our educational materials by directly providing them to YMCAs and opening the Y Retirement Learning Center to all Y staff regardless of Plan enrollment
• Explored and implemented initiatives leveraging artificial intelligence (A.I.) to improve operational efficiencies with the goal of delivering an optimal experience to the Y Movement

To read about these accomplishments and more, I invite you to read the Report from the COO and CAO, and the Report from the CIO.

Recognizing Outstanding Trustee Service

This year brought significant and impactful changes to our Board of Trustees, including the election of Patricia Haverland as our new Board Chairperson, following the conclusion of Bill Rueckert’s tenure. Pat has served on our Board for six years, including three as Vice Chair. As the first female Board Chair for Y Retirement, she brings invaluable expertise, experience, and a steady presence to the team. 

We also welcomed one new Trustee to the Board, Jeff Gatto, Chief Investment Officer, Institute for Advanced Study. Jeff quickly became a valuable and insightful contributor, especially as a member of the Investment Committee. At the end of 2026, two Trustees, Mark Baumgartner who presently serves as Chair of the Investment Committee as well as a member of Executive and Compensation Committees, and Steve Ives who is Chair of the Compensation Committee as well as a member of the Executive and Investment Committees, will finish their terms after 12 years of service. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Mark and Steve for their leadership and service, as their contributions to Y Retirement will continue to be felt for decades to come. 

Partnership at the Heart of Progress

As you can see, FY 2026 reflected broad progress for Y Retirement, and we’re excited to continue this momentum in years to come. However, before I close, I want to make one thing very clear — none of it would be possible without your support and partnership!

The last several years have seen great change, not only at Y Retirement, but at YMCAs, in our country, and in the world at large. It takes a special kind of trust and resilience to not only survive the last few years since COVID, but to truly thrive in that type of environment and that is exactly what we’ve been able to do as partners. With my sincerest thanks, we look forward to many more.