DeSantis Nominates Budget Director Chris Spencer as New State Board of Administration Director

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Friday morning Governor Ron DeSantis nominated his long-time aide and Budget Director to become the next Executive Director of the State Board of Administration, which oversees Florida's struggling pension plans.

Chris Spencer, the Director of Policy and Budget for the Governor, will go before the State Board of Administration's (SBA) trustees—Attorney General Ashley Moody, CFO Jimmy Patronis, and DeSantis—for them to consider his nomination next week.

Spencer has been involved with developing and implementing the state's budget, and has overseen the Governor's plan to reduce Florida's debt by more than 25%. As of June, the state's debt was $16.3 billion, an $800 million decrease from the prior fiscal year.

According to Florida Tax Watch, "this continues a downward trend that began in Fiscal Year 2011, totaling an $11.9 billion reduction, or 42 percent of the total outstanding debt."

Spencer has served in various roles in the public and private sector in economic and insurance policy, including several years in the Florida Senate. This economic background brought him to his soon-to-be new role as SBA Director, where he will oversee the  the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Plan Fund.

The SBA manages $228 billion, with its largest fund under supervision being the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Plan Fund, which currently holds around $180 billion—a remarkable decrease from the 2022 fiscal year, in which over $202 billion was present.

According to the Department of Management Service's 2023 financial report, the FRS experienced not only a notable net income loss, but a membership decrease.

According to the Capitolist, the report asserts that the FRS Pension Plan "is not on a sustainable path and will not maintain solvency in the long-term.

Because the SBA is responsible for investing and managing the FSR's funds, new leadership appears to be a welcome sight.