The Colorado PERA Board of Trustees met in Denver on Friday, November 21 for its final regularly scheduled meeting of the year.
Trustees voted to approve PERA’s 2026 operating budget, set the interest rate for member accounts, discussed the upcoming legislative session, and more. Additional details, including meeting materials and a recording of the livestream, are available on the Board Meeting Archive page.
Investment consultant decision
Earlier this year, the Board directed staff to request proposals from investment consulting firms as part of its regular review of third-party service providers. The Board’s Investment Committee interviewed three firms and the full Board voted to retain Aon, its current investment consultant.
The Board is responsible for overseeing PERA’s investment program and utilizes an investment consultant to provide research, analysis, and advice in areas such as investment strategy, asset allocation, and fund performance. The investment consultant also conducts periodic asset/liability analysis that informs PERA’s strategic asset allocation, performance benchmarks, and assumed rate of return.
Strategic plan update
PERA CEO/Executive Director Andrew Roth and Director of Strategy Annalise Anderson provided an update to the Board on the organization’s three-year strategic plan. As the first year under the plan winds down, Roth and Anderson said they expect to complete 100% of the plan’s measures and targets for 2025.
One of the main goals included in the plan is improving the customer and stakeholder experience, and Roth detailed much of the work he’s done over the past year, including meeting with lawmakers, holding in-person Town Halls to connect with members and retirees in Fort Collins and Pueblo, and increasing outreach to PERA-affiliated employers.
Leaders will begin working on an implementation plan for year two to help guide staff’s work throughout 2026, with regular updates continuing at future Board meetings.
Upcoming legislative session
Director of Public and Government Affairs Michael Steppat joined Roth to discuss the 2026 legislative session and some of the issues they expect state lawmakers to tackle.
Similar to the 2025 session, legislators will face the challenging task of cutting hundreds of millions in state spending to pass a balanced budget. While that won’t happen until the spring, Gov. Jared Polis has already submitted his proposed budget. The governor’s proposal calls for privatizing the state’s worker compensation insurance provider, Pinnacol Assurance, and reducing the amortization equalization disbursement (AED), a contribution that employers make to PERA, for employers in the State Division.
If Pinnacol were to become a private entity, it would have to disaffiliate from PERA and pay its portion of DB Plan liabilities, which are estimated to be approximately $300 million.
The proposed 1% reduction in the AED is estimated to reduce contributions to PERA by about $40 million over the next two years, adding up to about $180 million by the time PERA reaches full funding in 2048.
Steppat and Roth also discussed two legislative proposals that, if introduced and passed, could help reduce the likelihood of triggering automatic adjustments to PERA contributions and retiree annual increases in future years under the Automatic Adjustment Provision. Those proposals include providing PERA flexibility to allocate the State’s annual $225 million direct distribution to whichever division trust funds would help minimize the likelihood of triggering automatic adjustments and reallocating a portion of employers’ health care trust fund contributions to help pay off pension liabilities.
The 2026 legislative session begins on January 14, and PERA On The Issues will be closely tracking all PERA-related bills throughout the session.
2026 Board election
Two seats on the Board will be up for election in 2026: A School Division seat and a State Division seat to be filled by an employee of an institution of higher education.
Candidacy for the two open seats will open in early January, and active members in the School and State divisions will receive ballots in May.
Member contribution interest rate
Each November, the Board is responsible for setting the interest rate that applies to PERA DB Plan accounts for the upcoming year. If a PERA member leaves PERA-covered employment and requests a refund of their DB Plan account, they receive their contributions, the interest earned on that balance (compounded annually), and any applicable employer match. If that member keeps their account with PERA, the balance will continue to accrue interest and the member has multiple options upon reaching retirement eligibility, including choosing a lifetime monthly benefit.
The Board’s policy evaluates the interest rate as a component of members’ overall retirement benefit. After discussing the issue, Trustees voted to keep the interest rate at 3 percent for 2026.
2026 actuarial audit
In 2026, the Board will hire an outside firm to conduct its periodic actuarial audit. Such audits have been part of the Board’s governance practices since the 1980s, with audits taking place every four or five years. With the passage of Senate Bill 28 in 2025, the Board is now required by law to conduct actuarial audits every four years. The last audit took place in 2022.
The goal of the actuarial audit is to receive an independent assessment of PERA’s actuarial methods and assumptions and attempt to replicate the calculations of the Board’s actuarial consultant, Segal.
Staff will conduct a search for a third-party firm to conduct the audit in early 2026, with results expected by the Board’s November 2026 meeting.
2026 meeting dates
The Board concluded its business with a look at 2026’s meeting calendar. The following Board meetings are scheduled for the year:
- September 23-26 (planning session and meeting)
For more information on Board meetings, including recordings and meeting materials, visit the Board and Leadership page.
