On April 5, the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS) appointed Allison Woods, the pension fund’s deputy director, as its interim executive director.
Woods has served as the deputy director at the retirement system since November 2020 and has worked at the system for more than 17 years. She previously served as the system’s director of benefits administration.
Woods is filling in for Duncan Baird, who served as executive director of APERS since 2019. Last month, he announced that on April 8 he would step down from his role to take up an opportunity in the private sector. Baird will become a senior manager of benefit services for Walmart and will be responsible for administering the retail giant’s 401(k) plan, which covers 1.6 million U.S. associates.
APERS is the state’s second-largest retirement system, with assets valued at more than $11 billion. The pension fund is conducting a search for a permanent replacement. Interested applicants ma