PERA Update: According to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the 2012 PERA investment returns were 12.9 percent, well above the investment return assumption of 8 percent. “Due to the strength of PERA’s investment return in 2012, $4.6 billion in asset value was added to the trusts, which was $1.8 billion more than our anticipated return,” said Gregory W. Smith, PERA’s Executive Director. “Not only is this good news for the Colorado economy, it shows the importance of the reforms in 2010’s Senate Bill 1 that were recommended by the Board of Trustees and adopted in a bipartisan effort of the Colorado General Assembly in response to the economic downturn.” In an era when most pension plans are underfunded, Colorado PERA was the first state pension plan in the nation to take the necessary steps to enact pension reform legislation - reforms that were enacted in 2010 with SB 10-001. Actuarial reports for 2010 through 2012 show that these reforms are working for the state of Colorado. To their credit, the majority of Colorado legislators and other state officials are committed to the full implementation of this landmark legislation. However, PERA is not resting on its laurels. In this era of diminished retirement security, it is critical for all Colorado citizens to understand what PERA does and to know about the value of PERA statewide. To this end, PERA adopted a 3-fold communications strategy in 2012: 1. Use social media to engage public employees with issues relevant to their financial and retirement security. 2. Reach out to PERA employers to foster communications and understanding. 3. Educate the statewide business community on the importance of PERA to every city and county across Colorado. In 2012, PERA paid out more than $3.6 Billion in benefits to retirees and beneficiaries. Almost 90% of those benefits were paid to Colorado residents. The economists Pacey and McNulty estimate that the benefits paid out by PERA created or maintained over 24,000 Colorado jobs. PERA is proud of the public servants it serves. The staff and Board of Trustees of Colorado PERA will continue to work for all of the public employees across the state and provide a plan that benefits everyone-not only for today’s retirees, but also those just starting careers in public service, and those yet to be hired. PERA plans to be around for a long, long time. As we move forward with the reforms implemented in 2010, we need the support of Governor John Hickenlooper. The Governor needs to hear from you so that he knows supporting public workers and PERA is a very important issue. The Colorado Coalition for Retirement Security (CCRS) is asking all PERA members and retirees to contact Governor Hickenlooper and let him know why PERA is important to you and ask for his support of SB 10-001. The following link will take you to the Govenor’s "Share Your Opinion" form. colorado.gov/govhdir/requests/opinion.html. Let the Governor know why PERA is so important and ask him to support the shared sacrifice we agreed to in 2010. Suggestions: under Jurisdiction – enter “State Personnel” skip the “topic” section for the subject – enter “PERA” in the Explanation box put your comments – they can be as simple as “PERA works for the state of Colorado. Support the reforms enacted with SB-1 in 2010 -- Give it time to work!!”
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 05:03:50 +0000
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