Y Retirement

Legal name: Young Men's Christian Association Retirement Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
135562401
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6464582400
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Pension and Retirement Funds
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$649,289,748
Expenses
$663,098,781
Assets
$10,272,785,034
Liabilities
$9,206,393,075

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DERRICK STEWART (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER)
  • MICHAEL CEFOLE (PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL CEFOLE (PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $2,445,462 total reported compensation
  • HUNTER REISNER (CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER): $1,909,350 total reported compensation
  • MARK SINNI (DEPUTY CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER): $1,383,614 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the YMCA Retirement Fund is to partner with YMCAs to help those who serve others build a foundation for financial security in retirement. Our Mission To partner with YMCAs to help those who serve others build a foundation for financial security in retirement. A Legacy of Service to Others As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, we’re proud of our commitment to serve and support those in need in our Y community. In 2025 alone, the 34th Annual Harold C. Smith Fundraiser (named for Y Retirement’s 4th CEO) raised over $300,000 to fund a variety of important causes throughout the Y Movement including the Retiree Emergency Assistance Program, the Armed Services YMCA, and more. Ready to learn more?

What it reported doing in 2024

The ymca retirement fund provided monthly annuity payments to approximately 17,421 retired ymca employees with an average annual annuity of approximately $20,882. During the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025, the ymca retirement fund provided benefits (including death and disability benefits) in excess of $591,157,000. The following bundled benefits are provided to all participating ymca's: retirement plan: a defined contribution money purchase church pension plan that is intended to satisfy the qualification requirements of section 401(a) of the internal revenue code (code). Tax-deferred savings plan: a retirement income account plan as defined in section 403(b)(9) of the code. Life annuities to retirees: the ymca retirement fund provides annuities based upon accumulated account balances in the retirement plan and tax-deferred savings plan to participants of retirement age. Death and disability benefits: retirement death and disability benefits are provided to participants or their beneficiaries upon death or permanent total disability.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 75% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Member-benefit provider. The nonprofit used 92% of its reported program spending for member benefits.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 96.9%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 81.2%; rating input score 81; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.49; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $642.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2.4M · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $10.6M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 745 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.