Iowa's retirement program for public employees must be maintained. That's the message State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald gave to about a hundred people in Shenandoah Wednesday afternoon regarding the status of the Iowa Public Employees System, or IPERS. Fitzgerald is the current chair of the IPERS investment board, and has served as an IPERS trustee and custodian for 35 years. Fitzgerald tells KMA News the meeting's purpose was to inform current and former public employees about the program's future. Currently, he says the program is "strong, sustainable and secure." "In Page County, we have 828 people that are retired, and last year, they received almost $13 million in benefits," said Fitzgerald. "That's important to the community. It's important to these folks. It's a good system, and I want to see it continue on."