I just contacted my Colorado state representatives to ask them to consider running a couple of bills in the upcoming session of the legislature (beginning in January). Both bills regard provisions of Colorado PERA, and both would benefit PERA members without costing the state or PERA employers anything, nor would they impact PERA's funded status. … Continue reading Two Colorado PERA Bill Proposals: An Open Letter to My State Representatives
Tag: PERA
Colorado Teachers Just Got a Big Raise: Now What?
First, I need to apologize, because not every Colorado teacher just got a big raise. But due to a confluence of circumstances, quite a few did. These circumstances include: The state legislature having surplus dollars and finally deciding to try to make up for the years of underfunding of K-12 education (known, I kid you … Continue reading Colorado Teachers Just Got a Big Raise: Now What?
Colorado PERA’s Funded Status, the Signal Light Report, and the AAP
One of the most talked about - and often least understood - aspects of any pension plan is its "funded status," the percent of future liabilities that is currently funded (or, actually, projected to be funded) by current assets. This is certainly true of Colorado PERA, which will be the focus of this post. By … Continue reading Colorado PERA’s Funded Status, the Signal Light Report, and the AAP
Some Nuances of the WEP and GPO
Update 12-20-24: The WEP and the GPO have been repealed. I wrote previously about the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and how unlike many of my colleagues I actually think the intent is good, although the formula used to compute them is a very blunt instrument and could be improved. … Continue reading Some Nuances of the WEP and GPO
More on Purchasing Service Credit
I’ve written before about purchasing service credit, but I wanted to dive in a bit more here. Note that the following is specific to Colorado PERA and uses Littleton Public Schools’ 2021-22 salary schedule for reference. Having said that, the same logic will generally apply to almost all pension systems, although the details will be … Continue reading More on Purchasing Service Credit
401ks and 403bs and 457bs, Oh My!
The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is well-named. (Technically, the 'A' actually stands for "arrangement", not account, but everyone just says account.) It describes really well what the account is for (although the details around it can still be confusing), and people quickly grasp the concept. The same can't be said, unfortunately, about employer-sponsored retirement plans. … Continue reading 401ks and 403bs and 457bs, Oh My!
Fisch Financial 