PERA provides a retirement plan to the employees of more than 400 government agencies and public entities in the state of Colorado. PERA is the 23rd largest public pension plan in the United States.
Why Should We All Help Secure PERA?
Here in Colorado, 9% of our citizens—474,000 people—either today or in the future, will rely on a PERA pension for their retirement. PERA members include teachers, highway workers, department of corrections workers, state patrol officers, as well as other local, special district, and state employees.
Current Lawsuits Against PERA
Senate Bill 1 – COLA Lawsuit SB -1 was passed by the Colorado Legislature signed into law by then Governor Bill Ritter in late February 2010. One of the provisions of the law eliminated the annual benefit increase for 2010 and effectively limited future annual increases to 2%. Within days of the Governor’s signing, a [...]
Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution Plans
This terminology is critical to understand. If you really stop to think about the terms, they reveal exactly what they mean. Retirement plans may be classified as defined benefit or defined contribution according to how the value of the investments or the future benefits is determined. Defined Benefit–This is what PERA and most statewide public [...]
Retirement benefits are funded in two ways
81% comes from employee contributions and PERA’s investment income. Only 19% is paid for by the employers and often, the employer contribution comes out of the same pot of money which would have funded employee raises.
PERA is an economic generator
In 2010, PERA provided over $3 billion in benefit payments to more than 93,000 PERA members. (Of that, $2.7 billion goes to Colorado residents.) Retirees spend those benefit payments in every community in our state, representing a steady stream of income for local businesses, as well as tax revenue for all levels of government.
Retirement Security
Michelle is the 2010 teacher of the year. Teachers are members of PERA.
Current economic conditions have 8 out of 10 people concerned about their retirement. Learn more about why retirement security is so important here.