Colorado PERA, the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association administers most of the public employee retirement plans in the state. Because the Treasurer serves on the board, this is a significant focus for the State Treasurer. 

The legislature has the ultimate responsibility for establishing the policies for PERA, and I expect there will be a great deal of discussion about PERA in the 2018 session, for it is well known that the defined contribution plans are significantly underfunded for the long term health of the fund. Estimates range from $32 billion to as high as $80 billion underfunded.

This must be addressed to insure two primary objectives: 1. the funding for current retirees and state workers who are soon to retire must be confident that the fund will be there for their benefits for the rest of their lives. 2. the taxpayers of Colorado and the school districts and other government jurisdictions under the PERA system cannot be held liable for ever increasing costs for their retirement systems.

Given the current position of PERA these objectives are tall orders, but, for the well being of state employees and taxpayers, we must put in place significant changes to fix the problems with PERA. 

The State Treasurer is the People’s voice on the PERA board and should help guide this massive arm of government to a permanent and safe harbor.