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American Samoa

The American Samoa Government Employees' Retirement Fund covers most employees of the territory of American Samoa. As of 2012, there are 4,579 active members of the system and 1,762 beneficiaries. 
 

Board Composition

Plan

Board Size

Appointed

Elected

Plan Members

Ex Officio

ASGERF

7

7

0

4

0

As passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor on April 12, 2013: Effective June 4, 2013, Amending Chapter 14 Section 7.1410, American Samoa Code Annotated (House Bill 33-3):

Increases the number of trustees of the Fund (ASGERF) from five to seven, increases the number of trustees appointed by the Governor who must be members of the Fund with a minimum of five years of service from three to four, and increases the number of trustees appointed by the Governor who may not be members of the Fund from two to three and specifies that at least two must have experience in the private sector business community.

Further, the term of any incumbent member shall continue after its expiration except he shall be deemed resigned from the board and shall no longer serve if he, or his replacement, is not appointed and submitted by the Governor to the Legislature prior to the adjournment of any session during which the term expired, or if the term expires after adjournment of that session, then prior to the adjournment of the next session of the Legislature, regular or special.


Population (2010) 55,519

The U.S. Census Bureau does not track public pension statistics for American Samoa.

More Data


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Becoming a member of NASRA offers a unique opportunity to join a community committed to the sound, efficient, and innovative stewardship of public retirement systems. Membership connects you with a network of professionals and experts, providing valuable insights into managing public retirement systems with a focus on sustainability and risk-averse strategies.

By joining NASRA, you gain the tools and resources to enhance the management of public retirement systems, ensuring their long-term success and reliability for generations to come.

What's New at NASRA: Government Spending Issue Brief

NASRA’s March 2026 update on government spending makes a basic but important point: public pension benefits are not paid out of a government’s day-to-day operating budget. They are paid from trust funds that employees and employers contribute to during an employee’s working years. Those trusts distribute more than $400 billion each year to retirees and beneficiaries in communities across the country. On a national basis, employer contributions to pension trusts in FY 2023 equaled 5.16 percent of direct general spending by state and local governments, which shows that pension contributions remain a limited share of overall public spending even though the level varies from one state to another. 
The brief also shows that pension costs should be viewed in the context of the changes governments have made over the past 15 years to strengthen plan funding. Following the 2008–09 market decline, nearly every state and many local governments adjusted contributions, benefits, or both to improve pension sustainability. More recent data show that employer contributions increased from FY 2022 to FY 2023, but pension spending as a share of total government spending remained broadly stable. The updated brief provides FY 2023 figures and also projects the aggregate pension spending rate for FY 2024, offering a useful snapshot of both current costs and the longer funding trend.