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PERA
News Archives (former
Latest News items for 2005)
Proposed Colorado PERA
Legislation for the 2006 Session
The Colorado PERA Board of Trustees has
directed PERA staff to seek legislative sponsorship for several
proposals for the 2006 legislative session.
Proposed
Legislation for the 2006 Session
PlanSponsor Magazine
Article on Trustee Travel
Colorado PERA Trustee travel was the subject
of extensive media coverage earlier this year. The story below
ran in the November 2005 issue of PlanSponsor magazine and was critical of the negative
coverage PERA received on the topic.
Public Fund Trustee Education: Damned if
They Do, Damned if They Don't
By Elayne Demby
In the late 1980s, the Jacksonville Police and
Fire Pension Fund in Jacksonville, Florida, invested in a real
estate investment fund managed by a bank. In 1990, however,
board members became concerned about the investment after
attending a conference in Canada sponsored by the International
Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Conference speakers stated
that real estate fund managers often inflated underlying real
estate values to inflate fees. Speakers impressed on trustees
the need to monitor real estate portfolios closely, and warned
of a potential crisis in the American banking industry, says
John Keane, executive director/administrator for the
Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund, who was at one time a
trustee to the plan. Later in 1990, Jacksonville board members
heard the same warnings when they attended a National Conference
of Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) conference.
The warnings led to a board review of the
investment that led to a vote to withdraw from the fund, says
Keane. Good thing. The board had invested $18 million, got back
$24 million, and almost immediately after Jacksonville exited,
the real estate fund went illiquid. Had it not been for board
members attending conferences, says Keane, the fund would have
lost $18 million. Furthermore, this was not the only time
Jacksonville pension fund assets were saved due to trustee
conference attendance. "There have been other investment losses
we avoided based on information we learned at conferences," says
Keane.
While it would seem that public fund trustees
attending educational conferences would be a good thing, the
practice is receiving a growing amount of negative press. On
August 15, 2005, the Rocky Mountain News ran a story
criticizing the 16-member board of trustees of the Colorado
Public Employees' Retirement Association (COPERA). Stating that
COPERA board members lived the "life of a jet-setting retiree,"
it implied that the cash-strapped fund was in trouble, in part,
because board members attended conferences in places like New
Orleans, San Francisco, Miami Beach, and Honolulu, as well as
international destinations such as Madrid, China, Spain, and
Paris. The article also stated that trustees typically stayed in
hotel rooms costing $200 to $300 a night. The criticisms over
this spending seem to be predicated, at least in part, on the
fact that the fund currently is experiencing shortfalls. Last
July, COPERA reported that its funding ratio had slipped from
105.2% in 2000 to 70%. Nor is COPERA’s situation unique.
Trustees of Pennsylvania’s employee pension fund recently also
came under scrutiny. The Patriot News of Harrisburg reported
just last month that trustees had spent more than $207,000 over
a seven-year period traveling to out of state conferences.
As often happens in journalism, the
accusations were more spin than truth. “People who are critics
of these programs lose sight of the fact that trustees are
fiduciaries, and it is their responsibility to keep up with
what’s going on,” says Keane. The Rocky Mountain News
article noted that the fund spent a total of $350,000 over the
four-year period of 2000 to 2004 on educational conferences and
programs—which breaks down to $5,468.75 per trustee per year.
“$350,000 over four years for 16 members is not high, it’s
peanuts,” says Fred Nesbitt, executive director and legislative
counsel at the NCPERS. Attendance at an NCPERS educational
conference can easily hit $2,000 to $2,500 per conferee, he
says, and the NCPERS conferences are some of the least expensive
around. When you look at what COPERA spent on trustee education,
versus the $33 billion in assets the trustees are responsible
for investing, $350,000 is not extravagant, he says.
Furthermore, public fund trustees—who are not
compensated for their service—actually have continuing education
requirements. Most states have statutes requiring public fund
trustees and senior staff to attend conferences for continuing
education credits. For example, in Colorado, trustees with two
or more years of service must undergo 24 hours of continuing
education every two years.
Even if not required by statute, pension
trustees and senior staff at every public fund in the country
are required to participate in continuing education as an
essential element of their fiduciary responsibility, says Robert
D Klausner, an attorney with Klausner & Kaufman, PA, in
Plantation, Florida. Klausner’s law firm puts on an annual
educational conference for public fund trustees and staff.
“If you have investments in Europe, sometimes
you have to go see them; it’s part of a trustee’s fiduciary
duty,” says Klausner. “If you buy timber in British Columbia,
you better go see it to make sure the trees are actually there.
Sometimes trustees have to put their feet on the ground at the
location and eyeball the project or investment themselves.” Even
though it may sound extravagant, going to China to learn
firsthand about investment opportunities in the world’s fastest
growing economy can actually be prudent, he adds. Moreover, if a
fund has direct ownership in any real estate, fund trustees have
an obligation to go and physically see that investment. Klausner
says that, in the past, there have been frauds that have
occurred when trustees did not go to make sure that what they
invested in was really there. Nor can this obligation be avoided
by simply avoiding these types of assets. Klausner says that, in
today’s economic environment, stocks and bonds alone do not
return enough money to meet the funds’ actuarial needs.
“These people are responsible for billions of
dollars in pension assets. Do you really want someone managing
billions in assets not getting continuing education?” asks
Nesbitt. Furthermore, like Keane, Nesbitt says that many
trustees apply what they learned at conferences. “I often heard
‘We learned this and then went back and applied it, and we saved
the pension fund $1 million,’” he says.
As to the “exotic” locales of the conferences,
conference organizers argue that they simply go where the
conference facilities are located. Conference locations tend to
be in tourist-friendly places because that is where the hotel
space to house the conferees is generally located. “You can’t
organize a conference for a large group of people unless there’s
enough hotel space,” Klausner points out. “The fact that
conferences are held in ‘glitzy’ cities is because they are the
ones that have the facilities to have conferences,” agrees
Nesbitt. Nesbitt and Klausner also both point out that it is
generally easier and less expensive to fly to large cities or
tourist-friendly destinations.
However, all agree that the educational
content of some conferences is suspect. “Are some of these
things junkets versus legitimate education? There are some
conferences that are questionable,” says Klausner. “Many are
nothing more than marketing devices for money managers. They’re
just vendor showcases, just one money manager after another
hawking their wares,” says Edward Siedle, president of the
Benchmark Companies in Ocean Ridge, Florida. “[NCPERS]
conferences are educational as opposed to some of the for-profit
conferences that are more geared to marketing,” says Nesbitt,
who, however, defends the marketing seminars. “Trustees still
have to hear what’s going on, and keep up with the latest
financial products.”
Public funds generally take steps to make sure
that the money is spent wisely, Nesbitt says. Public funds
should have procedures in place to approve which conferences
trustees attend, education budgets to which trustees must
adhere, and procedures to evaluate the educational value of
conferences. Every public fund should have board policies in
place on trustee education. The educational policy should
encourage trustees to seek out continuing education and go to
conferences, Nesbitt says. However, the educational policies
should not be a license to travel at will. Trustees should be
required to report on what they learned at the conference, he
says, and policies should detail what is an appropriate
educational expenditure and what is not.
Most public funds do have educational
policies, and most must approve conferences that trustees
attend. Funds do this in different ways, Klausner says. Some
funds review and approve every conference prior to a trustee
attending, while others publish lists of acceptable and
unacceptable conferences. Others have restrictions on how many
conferences trustees can attend, or limits on what can be spent.
Other funds limit international travel.
For example, the Jacksonville fund has a list
of conferences that meet the fund’s business objectives, says
Keane. Conferences are approved a long time in advance,
sometimes six to seven months. “We monitor course content for
its value to our ongoing program,” says Keane. The fund has
5,000 members and retirees. COPERA maintains a database of
conferences to see if they are worth the fund’s time and expense
for trustees to attend, says a spokesperson. When trustees
return from a conference, they also have to complete an
evaluation form of the conference for the fund. COPERA trustees
must rate conferences for educational value, and the fund has
dropped conferences from its approved list that were judged to
be more vendor-oriented than educational.
Funds also should set strict budgets for
trustee educational expenses, says Nesbitt. For example, COPERA
allows board members to spend up to $15,000 for travel and
conferences in the first two years on the board, and $12,000
every two years after that. Jacksonville has budgeted $70,000
for conferences for the 2005-2006 plan year for its five
trustees and seven-member pension advisory committee and staff.
In the end, say the experts, the funding
problems public funds are experiencing have nothing to do with
trustees attending conferences, though they may well be
contributing to the public concern about such expenses. “Where
we get problems is not because trustees have been derelict in
their duties, it’s because employers have not made contributions
to the plans or increased pension benefits without increasing
pension funds, or they allow other abuses to go on like
spiking,” says Nesbitt. “Much of this issue about trustee
attendance at conferences is a tempest in a teapot,” says
Klausner. “The real problem is trustees accepting gifts,
creating the perception of impropriety.”
Colorado PERA
Announces Settlement of Royal Ahold N.V. Securities Litigation
Royal Ahold N.V. (Ahold) has agreed to pay a
total of $1.1 billion to settle all securities law claims
asserted against Ahold and certain other defendants in the
securities litigation pending in the United States District
Court for the District of Maryland, Gregory W. Smith, General
Counsel of Lead Plaintiff, the Public Employees’ Retirement
Association of Colorado (Colorado PERA) announced today. The
settlement resolves all securities law claims against Ahold, and
all other defendants, other than Deloitte & Touche entities. The
settlement is global in nature and is designed to provide a
recovery to all persons who purchased Ahold common stock and/or
American Depository Receipts from July 30, 1999, through
February 23, 2003, regardless of where such persons live or
purchased their Ahold shares.
“This settlement is an extraordinary recovery
for Ahold shareholders, and a good result for the company. We
are extremely pleased that the settlement will provide a
recovery for persons in the United States as well as in Europe
and in other areas outside the United States. The result that we
have achieved in this litigation underscores the importance of
having institutional investors like Colorado PERA lead
securities class actions while working side-by-side with their
selected Lead Counsel, Entwistle & Cappucci, LLP. We look
forward to presenting the settlement to the Court for the
Court’s consideration and approval,” said Gregory W. Smith,
Colorado PERA’s General Counsel.
Lead Plaintiffs will seek the Court’s
preliminary approval of the settlement in January 2006. If the
Court grants preliminary approval, Lead Plaintiffs will
disseminate a Court-approved form of notice to all persons who
purchased Ahold common stock and/or American Depository Receipts
from July 30, 1999, through February 23, 2003 (the “Class”),
regardless of where such persons live or purchased their Ahold
shares. The notice documents approved by the Court and sent to
Class members will include all documents that must be reviewed
and completed by persons who wish to participate in the
settlement. These documents will also be available at
www.royalaholdsecuritieslitigation.com, and at Lead
Counsel’s website,
www.entwistle-law.com.
Ahold will fund two-thirds of the $1.1 billon
settlement amount upon the Court’s preliminary approval of the
settlement, and Ahold will fund the remaining one-third of the
settlement amount within six months of the Court’s final
approval of the settlement. Interest will be earned on the
settlement proceeds immediately upon funding. Lead Plaintiffs
anticipate obtaining the Court’s final approval of the
settlement approximately 120 days after the Court’s preliminary
approval of the settlement. Distributions of the settlement
amount will be made pursuant to a Court-approved plan of
allocation of settlement proceeds. The amount of the settlement
fund available for distribution will exclude fees, costs, and
expenses incurred in prosecuting this litigation. Distributions
to members of the Class will be made approximately 12 months
after the Court’s final approval of the settlement.
Colorado PERA and Generic Trading of
Philadelphia, LLC, are the Court-appointed Lead Plaintiffs in
the consolidated securities class action, In re Royal Ahold N.V.
Securities & ERISA Litigation, which is pending before Judge
Catherine C. Blake in Federal Court in Maryland. This settlement
was arrived at after extensive negotiation between the parties
under the supervision of retired United States District Court
Judge, Nicholas Politan.
Colorado PERA and the investor class are
represented by the law firm of Entwistle & Cappucci, LLP, which
was appointed as Lead Counsel by Judge Blake in November 2003.
Colorado PERA’s role as Lead Plaintiff was endorsed by the
District of Columbia Retirement Board, the City of Philadelphia
Board of Pensions and Retirement, the State Retirement and
Pension System of Maryland, the Office of the Maryland Attorney
General, and the State Universities Retirement System of
Illinois.
If you wish to receive a direct mailing (or
e-mail) of the materials needed to make a claim, please e-mail
your contact information to Lead Counsel at:
Royalaholdclaims@entwistle-law.com. Please direct all such
inquiries to Lead Counsel.
Colorado PERA
Concludes "Shareholder" Meetings
More than 1,000 Colorado PERA members and
retirees attended one of the 27 PERA Shareholder meetings held
around the state this fall. If you were unable to attend one of
the meetings, you can view the presentation given by PERA at
these meetings.
2005 Shareholders' Presentation
Colorado PERA and Denver
Public Schools Retirement System Merger Called Off
Colorado PERA is disappointed that the Denver
Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education voted earlier today to
terminate the proposed merger of the DPS Retirement System (DPSRS)
into Colorado PERA. The legislation passed during the 2005
Legislative Session that enabled the merger of the two
retirement systems would ensure that the members of both systems
would be protected through a cost-neutral combining of the two
plans. The legislation also provided a framework for a workable
actuarial methodology guaranteeing that Colorado PERA members
and benefit recipients would not subsidize the absorption of
DPSRS.
Colorado PERA appreciates the diligent efforts
by all parties involved; the Boards of DPS and DPSRS, as well as
the consultants and actuaries, who all worked hard toward the
goal of uniting all school districts under one retirement system
in Colorado.
Work Continues on Proposed
DPSRS / PERA Merger
The Denver Public Schools (DPS), the Denver
Public Schools Retirement System (DPSRS), and the Colorado
Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA), as the three
parties to the proposed merger of DPSRS into PERA, are
continuing to work on finalizing a revised Merger Agreement as
directed by the merger legislation (SB 05-171).
The legislation sets a target date of October
1, 2005, for the execution of the revised Merger Agreement and
allows for termination of the merger by any party by October 15,
2005, if the Agreement is not executed. At this time, it is
highly unlikely that the parties will be able to meet the
October 1, 2005, target date for executing the revised Merger
Agreement.
The parties agree that the legislation
provides a period of time between October 1 and October 15
during which the parties may continue working on a revised
Agreement without forfeiting any rights to termination. The
parties believe that a revised Merger Agreement can be presented
to the governing boards of each party in time for consideration
and action within the next week.
401(k) Plan Investment Fund
Update–GMO Fund
The GMO Growth Fund has been purchased, along
with its investment history by John Hancock. This means that on
September 16, 2005, all shares of the GMO Growth Fund Class M
were exchanged for shares of the new GMO U.S. Growth Fund, a
newly created series of the GMO Trust. Colorado PERA 401(k) Plan
participants who previously were invested in the GMO Growth Fund
were automatically transferred to the new fund.
The new fund’s objective and investment
philosophy will remain the same as the old fund: to pursue
long-term growth of capital. However, the ticker symbol has
changed. The new fund does not have any performance history of
its own as a newly created fund, but will be based on the former
GMO Growth Fund. This change also reduced the expense ratio from
0.78 percent to 0.76 percent.
Treasurer's Commission Report
Released
The Commission created by former State
Treasurer Mike Coffman released its
report
on Wednesday, September 14. The Board of Trustees will be
reviewing the report in the days to come. PERA will communicate
the Board's position on the recommendations contained within the
report after fully analyzing the contents. Any changes to PERA's
governance or benefit structure would have to be accomplished
through the legislative process when the Colorado General
Assembly convenes in January of 2006.
Colorado PERA “Shareholder”
Meetings Scheduled
Whether you're a teacher, a wildlife officer,
or maintain Colorado's roads, as a PERA member you are also a
"shareholder" of PERA, which means you need to know about the
state of your retirement plan. To help you learn and understand
more about your retirement plan, PERA will again travel
throughout Colorado this fall to inform the membership about
some of the issues facing PERA.
PERA members and retirees are encouraged to
attend and hear firsthand information about recent legislation
and PERA's financial condition as well as the legislative
landscape heading into the 2006 session.
Schedule of “Shareholder” meetings
Saturday Drop Off for
Service Credit Purchase Documentation
| Date: |
October 1, 2005 |
| Time:
|
8:00 a.m. to Noon |
| Locations: |
PERA Main Office, 1300 Logan Street, Denver
PERA North Office (The Pointe), 1120 W. 122nd Avenue,
Westminster |
PERA staff will be available to review and
accept documentation for purchase of service credit on Saturday,
October 1, 2005, from 8:00 a.m. until noon. No appointment is
necessary. Members may drop off documentation in order to qualify for
service credit purchase
rates that are in effect until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, October 31. PERA staff will review applications for completeness, but will
be unable to generate new Purchase Agreements or provide
individual member counseling during this time.
On November 1, 2005, the cost to purchase
service credit will increase to the actuarial cost, or the cost
to PERA of adding this time to a member’s service credit. To
purchase service credit under the provisions in effect before
November 1, 2005, a member must be eligible to purchase service
credit and must provide a complete Service Credit Purchase
Application and supporting documentation on or before close of
business at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, October 31, 2005. All required
documentation must be received at PERA by 4:30 p.m. on October
31, 2005. A postmark of October 31 is not sufficient.
Results of the Colorado PERA
Performance Audit
Read the performance audit report and PERA's responses.
Colorado PERA's Personnel
Policies
The series of articles that have been written
in a Denver newspaper about Colorado PERA’s personnel policies
have presented the “perks” and “payouts” Colorado PERA employees
have received in the past. The articles are a resurrection of
old items previously addressed by the Board of Trustees in 2003
and 2004. Appropriate actions have occurred. It is important to
note that all the policies mentioned in the articles related to
PERA’s employees were addressed and modified before the articles
were published. New policies exist for leave accumulation and
payout, executive automobile allowances and longevity payments.
Health care payments to retired former executives will be
terminated with the beginning of the next plan year in 2006.
The stories used comments that were taken out
of context and placed in the articles where they would enhance
the reporter’s opinion. Additionally, the e-mail sent to
Trustees as a reminder of Board policy on official
communications was sent for the benefit of the five new Trustees
on the Board, and not as a discouragement to talk to any
reporter. It is curious that the e-mail was not directly sent to
the reporter, and yet it was published in its original format.
Colorado PERA remains a bargain for the
state’s taxpayers. Investments fund the majority of benefits
provided to members (65 cents on the dollar), and the remaining
35 cents comes from employer and member contributions. The
benefits paid (nearly $2 billion in 2004) create an economic
boost to the Colorado economy since almost 90 percent of all
retirees and benefit recipients reside in Colorado. In fact, in
2004, Colorado PERA paid $3.43 in retirement benefits for every
dollar of employer (taxpayer) contributions. Colorado PERA also
invests in Colorado businesses and owns Colorado real estate.
When you consider the alternative–member dollars going to
private investment companies with higher fee structures that are
headquartered in other states–the importance of the state’s
largest financial institution is obvious.
Colorado PERA has 232 employees who invest
money and deliver benefits on the behalf of over 360,000 former
and current public employees. That’s the same number of
employees PERA had three years ago, even as the assets these
employees manage and the number of members they serve has grown.
PERA is able to do more with less because of its employees. They
are the essential element in PERA’s business. In addition to the
retirement benefit program, PERA employees also administer a $1
billion 401(k) plan, a health care program for members and
benefit recipients, and other insurance programs. Comparisons to
other governmental entities do not take into consideration the
complex and varied programs offered to the Colorado PERA
membership.
The stories in the newspaper have tried to
frame PERA as a wasteful organization that has squandered its
members’ retirements and will have to depend on the taxpayers of
Colorado for a “bailout.” The fact is that PERA has evolved, and
is still evolving, to survive in a competitive environment in
which circumstances are very different than they were just five
years ago. The articles reference policies that were in place at
a very different time, and highlight PERA current and former
employees unjustly. To aggregate costs over 10 years and suggest
that there is largess or mismanagement is dishonest and
disingenuous. We all know things have changed since the 1990s,
and PERA’s Board of Trustees and staff continue to work to
address PERA compensation practices and policies, along with the
funded status of the plan.
Briefly, the Board and senior management at
PERA have implemented policies that cut in half the amount of
accrued leave employees are allowed to save and the way in which
leave is accumulated. They have eliminated the vehicles used by
senior management, and the longevity pay program for the three
remaining eligible members of this group will end in mid-2006.
Retired executives will begin paying for their health care in
2006. These are changes that reflect the current environment in
which PERA operates and the desire for PERA to be transparent.
In 2004, outside human resources consultants
reviewed PERA’s compensation policies and recommended changes to
ensure PERA’s competitiveness in the market place. These
adjustments were implemented starting in 2005. The PERA Board
and staff will continue to review and evaluate PERA’s personnel
policies to ensure that they are competitive and attract and
retain the very best talent available in the market place.
Facts Omitted from the Articles
 |
PERA is a low-cost provider of an excellent array of
retirement and ancillary benefits. |
|
|
Administrative expenses in 2004 totaled $33,483,000. |
|
|
Per member cost is $93 a year, or $7.78 a month, or 0.1%
(one-tenth of one percent), equaling 10 cents for every
$100 under management. |
|
|
Investment expenses in 2004 were
$126,320,000. |
|
|
Investment costs are 0.39% of assets
of $32,286,110,000, or 39 cents for every $100 under
management. (Vanguard, which is considered one of the
lowest cost investment companies, has indexed funds
which have fees of 0.40 percent, or 40 cents for every
$100 invested.) |
|
|
PERA is an extremely efficient
operation – even with the addition of over 60,000
members in the last three years, PERA has 232 employees,
the same number of staff that it had three years ago. |
|
|
PERA is committed to providing
unrivaled customer service. |
|
|
PERA is never satisfied with status
quo, and is in a mode of constant evaluation of its
operations. PERA continues to make changes to its
processes where necessary to gain additional
efficiencies. |
|
|
PERA is unique in the public pension
arena when the variety of benefit plan offerings are
considered, the manner in which investments are made,
and the way in which fiduciary oversight is provided by
an elected Board and the Legislature. |
Colorado PERA Board of Trustees Information
The PERA Board of
Trustees are fiduciaries to PERA’s members and beneficiaries. A
fiduciary is a person, company, or association holding assets in
trust for a beneficiary. The Colorado PERA Board of Trustees is
responsible for the management of over $32 billion in trust fund
monies on behalf of 360,000 current and future public sector
retirees in the state of Colorado. Colorado law requires PERA
Trustees to act with care, skill, prudence, loyalty, and
diligence in light of the circumstances that a prudent person
acting in similar circumstances would use. This standard of
conduct requires that PERA Trustees act in the best interest of
the entire PERA membership regardless of the Division from which
the Trustee is elected.
The Board is
composed of 16 members. Fourteen of those members are elected by
the PERA membership, and two serve as ex-officio members with
voting privileges. The two ex-officio members are the State
Treasurer and the State Auditor. Trustees serve four-year terms
and are not compensated for their service on the Board. For
details on the current PERA Board, see the
Board Directory page.
Trustees come from
a variety of employers and have a range of management and
financial experience. The Board’s 14 elected Trustees hold a
total of 26 degrees with eight earning master’s degrees, two
with Ph.D.’s, and two more having law degrees. Half of the
Trustees hold degrees in economics, finance, or mathematics. In
addition to this formal education, Trustees have additional
real-world work experience through serving on credit union
boards and faculty committees at Colorado’s colleges and
universities. Some Trustees possess relevant work experience in
jobs such as business officer, cash manager, and computer
information officer. One Trustee is a Colorado Appellate Court
judge and another is the City Attorney of one of Colorado’s
largest cities.
Because Trustees
come from many backgrounds, the Board has a policy that was
adopted in 2001 and revised in 2003 that outlines the importance
of evaluating and addressing the specific educational
requirements of Board members.
Board
Education Policy
In order to fulfill
the mandate for understanding their fiduciary responsibilities,
Trustees are required to obtain education that includes new
Trustee orientation and attendance at approved
industry-recognized workshops and training programs. Within two
years of their election or appointment to the Board, Trustees
are also required to attend the Pension Fund and Investment
Management program at the Wharton School of Business at the
University of Pennsylvania. In addition to external training,
internal workshops and formal education sessions are
periodically provided to the Trustees on topics ranging from
fiduciary responsibility, to actuarial principles, to investment
risk management. The minimum threshold for continuing education
for Trustees is also outlined in the Board Education Policy.
Oversight of these educational requirements is provided by the
Board’s Audit Committee.
A mechanism is in
place for Trustees to evaluate educational programs they have
attended. This information is a valuable resource for other
Trustees seeking to fulfill their educational requirements as
fiduciaries.
Each Trustee is
given a two-year budget so that they may attend educational
workshops. The Board recognizes that newer Trustees may require
more education than those Trustees with longer tenure, and the
budget amounts for new Trustees are higher than those budgets
for experienced Trustees. The current educational two-year
budget for a new Trustee is $15,000. Trustees with more tenure
on the Board have a $12,000 two-year budget for educational
purposes.
The guidelines for
reimbursement for the costs associated with the conduct of
official duties as a Trustee are outlined in the
Board Expense
Reimbursement Policy. This policy, adopted in 2001,
details what expenses are reimbursable. This policy includes
reimbursement requirements for transportation, food,
accommodations, parking, and other travel-related expenses. The
policy also includes items that are non-reimbursable such as
personal travel expenses, entertainment expenses, athletic and
exercise facility costs, and alcohol. Requests for reimbursement
must be submitted to PERA’s administration with supporting
receipts within 30 days.
Colorado PERA
believes it is important for Trustees to seek and obtain the
best education available so that they can perform their duties
as fiduciaries. Both the Board Education Policy and the Board
Expense Reimbursement Policy provide a framework to achieve this
goal and are contained in the Board’s
Governance Manual.
A Message from Colorado PERA's
Executive Director
Divide and Conquer
Those of you who have read my articles in
Colorado PERA publications and on the Web site over the past
five years since I became the Executive Director know that I am
a big fan of public service. You know that I believe in letting
our members and benefit recipients know the facts behind stories
that have appeared in the media about PERA’s funded status,
sometimes in person as I travel around our great state. You also
know that the PERA Board of Trustees and PERA staff have worked
diligently to ensure the stability of the PERA trust funds and
to deliver exceptional customer service and retirement benefits
to our membership.
On August 1, Colorado PERA celebrated its 74th
birthday. As I reflect on PERA’s history, I am honored to work
at the helm of the largest financial institution in Colorado,
overseeing the management of $33 billion (that’s billion with a
“b”) invested on behalf of over 365,000 of Colorado’s current
and former public employees. I am proud that we excelled at
delivering nearly $2 billion in benefits to retirees last
year–efficiently, accurately, and on time. I cannot stress more
that this would not have been possible without the dedication of PERA employees who give you their best every day. PERA has a
culture of continuous process improvement that permeates your
retirement system, from the person who assists you when you call
in, to those who manage your money, to senior management, and
finally, to the Board of Trustees.
The reason that I am lauding the efforts of
the PERA Board and staff is because we have come under attack.
In the past few months, we have received and responded to over
two dozen requests for information from one reporter at a Denver
newspaper. We have delivered salary and benefit information on
current and former PERA employees. We have explained our leave policies, our
incentive pay system, provided information on PERA’s vehicles
used for business purposes, handed over credit card and expense
reports for staff and Trustees, given photos, explained
purchased service credit, detailed administrative expenses, and
outlined hiring practices for senior management. We have
participated in interviews, and responded to additional
seemingly endless follow-up questions to provide accuracy and
clarity related to PERA’s business decisions for this reporter.
We know that this reporter has contacted other
state retirement systems and requested information about their
compensation practices and Board structure. We welcome the
comparisons. We know we are efficient and cost-effective. The
trouble is that your retirement system is unique among its
peers. Colorado PERA, in addition to investing billions of
dollars using internal staff, also has a $1 billion 401(k) Plan
and administers a health care program, PERACare. I know of no
other public pension system that is structured like PERA, let
alone one that provides the products and services that PERA
does.
It is because of this uniqueness that I have
written about before, that PERA contracted with external human
resource consultants to make sure that PERA is a competitive
employer. We want to continue to be the best, and attract and
retain the most important element of our success–our employees.
In the days to come, you may read or hear
about PERA employee compensation that is deemed excessive. You
may also hear about the Trustees’ pursuit of education to
fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. These stories may be
framed in terms that are designed to provoke PERA members and
benefit recipients into questioning the reasonableness of these
practices. These stories may call in to question the trust you
have for Colorado PERA. These news articles and editorials could
call for change–in how PERA is governed, managed, and even
question the existence of your earned retirement benefit.
I urge you to view this information through
the lenses of reality and reasonableness. Is it important that
PERA’s staff is paid competitively to manage your retirement
investments and deliver your benefit? Is it reasonable to want
to attract and retain the very best employees when the fact is
PERA competes for employees with the private sector? Is it
critical that Trustees seek education to further their knowledge
of investments to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to
PERA’s membership? I think reasonable people would say, “Yes.”
The environment in which we all work as public
servants has changed. We know that some may believe that your
retirement plan ought to be a 401(k) with Social Security. The fact remains, Colorado PERA provides Colorado’s
public employers and their employees retirement and health care
benefits at a low cost to the Colorado taxpayer.
I wanted you to know that Colorado PERA is
committed to providing retirement benefits for Colorado’s public
employees. Do not let those who are envious of the structure of
your retirement system diminish the trust you have placed in
Colorado PERA. Do not let them divide and conquer.
As these stories are published in the days
ahead, please check the Latest News link for more information.
–Meredith Williams
Colorado PERA’s Funded Status in the News
As a result of Colorado PERA’s presentation to
the Legislative Audit Committee (LAC) on Tuesday, July 26,
Colorado media have reported about the funded status of the
plan. PERA meets every year with the LAC, as we do with other
entities of the General Assembly such as the Joint Budget
Committee and the House and Senate Finance Committees.
The meeting with the LAC is the Legislature’s
annual review of PERA’s financial statements and financial
audit. As a Colorado PERA member or benefit recipient, you
received a summary of PERA’s annual report earlier this month.
The
summary is also available on the Web site. The entire
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2004 is also
available on the Web site.
The facts remain:
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PERA paid nearly $2 billion in benefits to retirees last
year |
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With $33 billion in assets, even if PERA received no
investment return or contributions from employers or
members, benefits could be paid for 15 years |
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Of course, members and employers will continue to
contribute to PERA, which means benefits can be paid for
several decades |
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Increasing the member contribution rate, as suggested by
Senator Anderson, has been researched by PERA’s
actuaries and reviewed by PERA’s Board and staff. An
increase in the amount members pay may subject PERA to
legal challenges for increasing the amount members
contribute without improving benefits |
Regarding the audit recommendation that PERA
perform employee background checks, PERA’s response to the audit
is below. PERA agreed to bring this to the Board’s attention and
potentially seek legislative action to allow this.
PERA’s response to the audit recommendation:
PERA agrees that it would be beneficial to
obtain criminal histories on potential employees at the time of
hire. However, the associated risk of having the information in
light of the clear language of C.R.S. 24- 5-101 outweighs the
potential benefits. PERA believes that under the current
statutory language, the risk is best managed, with regard to
internal employees, through the procedures currently in place.
It should be noted that in addition to the procedures outlined,
PERA also obtains driving records of all persons authorized to
operate PERA motor vehicles on an annual basis. Further, the
employment application required from every applicant for
employment requires an affirmative representation as to whether
he or she has any felony convictions which can form the basis
for termination of employment if not answered honestly.
Unquestionably, “an applicant’s prior felony
conviction for identity theft would be important for a
prospective employer that handles sensitive financial
information to be aware of and consider when making an
employment decision.” However, the statutory language prohibits
PERA from considering that type of information under
circumstances where the applicant is otherwise qualified to be
hired. Review of the legislative history of this statute reveals
that in an earlier version, language was included that would
allow consideration of an applicant’s criminal history where it
related to the particular position in question and that language
was deleted by the legislature. In considering this
recommendation, the question arises regarding how PERA would
prepare a policy for the official use of these criminal
histories that does not evidence a violation of C.R.S. 24-5-101.
To be of any use the policy would have to identify certain types
of convictions that either disqualify the applicant (which
violates the statute) or it would have to provide a process
whereby an applicant found to have a criminal history would be
scrutinized differently than other applicants for the purpose of
finding some other pretence on which to base a decision not to
hire (likely an actionable violation of the statute). PERA
believes that a statutory change would be required to alleviate
the associated risk presented by this issue and will present the
matter to the Board to develop a legislative position this fall.
View the entire
Legislative Audit Committee Report on PERA.
Colorado PERA Hires Baillie
Gifford
Colorado PERA has hired Baillie Gifford to
manage an emerging markets portfolio with assets totaling
roughly 4 percent of PERA’s $5.1 billion international equity
portfolio.
Baillie Gifford is the UK’s largest
independent asset management company structured as a partnership
and is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The funding of this
portfolio came from PERA’s cash holdings. Investment consultant
Ennis Knupp assisted PERA with the search.
Colorado PERA Wins 2nd Place in
National Communications Competition
The National Association of Government
Communicators (NAGC) awarded Colorado PERA their 2nd Place Blue
Pencil prize for an article entitled “Colorado PERA’s Funded
Status Continues to Make News” that appeared in the October 2004
Retiree Report and the January 2005 Member Report. Colorado
PERA’s Communications staff entered the article for
consideration in the 2005 competition that took place in Austin,
Texas, in May. NAGC received over 600 entries in 30 categories
from communication professionals at all levels of government.
Previously, Colorado PERA received an
Honorable Mention from NAGC for the revamped Colorado Investment
Report in the Most Improved Publication category in 2002.
Electronic Delivery of PERA
Publications
Colorado PERA members and benefit recipients
are now able to select to receive PERA newsletters via e-mail rather
than the printed versions that are mailed to your home address.
You’ll get your PERA news faster than if we mailed it to you,
and you’ll be helping PERA reduce the operating costs associated
with printing and mailing.
To sign up for this feature, go to
Account
Access. After entering your Social Security number and PERA
PIN, select Electronic Delivery from the Online Services
drop-down menu. Under User Settings, you will need to verify the
information listed is correct and make sure to enter your e-mail
address. Next, select which publications you’d like to receive
electronically and then Submit your request.
You will receive your specified publications
by e-mail the next time they are distributed. The CAFR
Summary is published in late June; the Member Report
newsletters are published three times a year—January, May, and
September; the Retiree Report newsletters are published
twice a year—October and April; and the Retiree Update is
published in December.
If you later decide that you prefer to receive
your copies of these PERA publications in the mail, you would
follow the same steps listed above, except uncheck the boxes
next to the publication names you originally selected to receive
via e-mail.
Colorado PERA is committed to protecting your
privacy—we will not provide your e-mail address to any other
person or company.
Please inform Colorado PERA any time your
e-mail address changes to ensure you continue receiving these
publications electronically. Updates to your e-mail address may
only be made online by logging on to the secured pages of PERA’s
Web site using your Social Security number and PERA PIN.
CitiStreet to Conduct 401(k) Plan
Survey
CitiStreet, the service provider for Colorado
PERA's 401(k) Plan, will be conducting a survey to gauge
participant satisfaction with the 401(k) Plan. Beginning in late
June, you may be contacted by TNS Intersearch, an independent
research firm, hired to collect and measure feedback regarding
your satisfaction with the services provided by CitiStreet. The
phone interviews will be brief and calls will be directed to
your home phone number, occurring in the evening or on Saturday.
CitiStreet values your feedback and encourages you to respond to
this confidential and important survey.
If you have any questions about the survey or
your 401(k) account, please contact the 401(k) Plan by calling
1-800-759-7372 and selecting the 401(k) option.
Colorado PERA Board Election
Results Announced
Colorado PERA members elected incumbent Scott
Noller, Susan Beeman, and Scott Murphy to the three School
Category seats, and Maryann Motza to the State Category seat of
the 16-member Board of Trustees. Retirees elected Carole Wright
to the Retiree seat on the Board.
All the newly elected Trustees will serve
four-year terms except Murphy who will serve for one year,
filling a Board vacancy. A recount was performed between School
Category candidates Beeman and Murphy as required by election
rules because the margin between the two candidates was less
than 1 percent of the total votes cast. The recount confirmed
that Beeman would serve the four-year term and Murphy would
serve the one-year term.
In the School Category, a total of 35,005
votes were cast. Noller received 8,317 or 23.76 percent of the
votes, Beeman had 8,129 or 23.22 percent, and Murphy received
8,084 or 23.09 percent.
In the State Category, a total of 6,249 votes
were cast. Motza received 2,755 or 44.09 percent of votes.
Runner-up incumbent Douglas Windes received 2,282 votes, or
36.52 percent of votes cast.
Of the 15,831 votes cast for the Retiree seat,
Wright received 6,469 or 40.86 percent of votes. Runner-up
Richard Lansford, the incumbent, received 5,268 votes, or 33.28
percent of votes cast.
Noller is a Business/Computer Education
teacher in School District 11 in Colorado Springs. He has served
on the Colorado PERA Board of Trustees since 2001. Beeman is a
teacher on special assignment for Exceptional Student Services
and the coach for school-wide Positive Behavior Supports for
School District 60. Murphy is the Assistant Superintendent of
Business Services/Chief Financial Officer with Littleton Public
Schools.
Motza is the Social Security Administrator for
the State.
Wright is a retired teacher from Aurora Public
Schools. She previously served on the PERA Board from 1993-2000.
By state law, the management of the Public
Employees’ retirement Association is vested in the Board of
Trustees. The Board is composed of 16 Trustees, including the
State Auditor and the State Treasurer who serve as voting
ex-officio members of the Board. Fourteen Trustees are elected
by mail ballot by their respective Division/Category members and
serve on the Board for four-year terms. Five members are elected
from the School Category and four from the State Category in the
State and School Division, two from the Municipal Division, and
one from the Judicial Division. Two members are elected by
retirees.
Colorado PERA Election Update
PERA Members and Retirees:
Members and retirees are currently voting
for candidates to fill five seats on the PERA Board of
Trustees. The mail ballot process will continue through May. Once again, the PERA Board has hired an independent certified
public accounting firm to oversee the entire balloting process,
including the tabulation of the ballots.
Several members have contacted PERA this
week to indicate that they received unsolicited campaign phone
messages on their home phones during the weekend of May 7-8. Those contacting PERA were quite concerned that PERA had made
their home phone numbers available to one or more candidates. Moreover, in at least one instance, the member’s "Caller ID"
equipment identified the campaign message as coming from “PERA.”
Colorado law provides for the
confidentiality of individual PERA records. The PERA Board and
staff take this obligation very seriously. Additionally, the
Board and staff are committed to the sanctity of the Board
election process. PERA staff are not permitted to assist or
facilitate the campaign of any Board candidate.
PERA has very sophisticated software to track
and maintain member records and transactions. We have determined
that neither the campaign calls nor the home phone number lists
originated with PERA. A total of 292 phone transactions passed
through the PERA phone system for the 48-hour period ending at
midnight, Sunday, May 8, 2005. The vast majority of those calls,
211, were incoming calls or faxes. Three calls were interoffice
calls from one PERA location to another. Seventy-eight calls or
faxes originated in the PERA offices. We have researched the
destination of each of the outgoing calls and determined that
none of them were directed to those PERA members or retirees
reporting that they had received the campaign phone message.
I am confident that PERA records have not
been compromised and I am confident that PERA staff have not
been inappropriately participating in the election process. Your trust is one of PERA’s most valued assets. Please let me
know if you have any further questions or thoughts on this
matter.
--Meredith Williams, Colorado PERA
Executive Director
Election Ballots Mailed
Ballots
for the 2005 Colorado PERA Board of Trustees election were
mailed on May 2, 2005, to active PERA members working for School
and State employers as well as School, Municipal, and Judicial
retirees.
If you
have lost or not received a ballot, the deadline for requesting
a duplicate ballot is May 23, 2005. Such requests must be in
writing and directed to the Colorado PERA Internal Auditor at
1300 Logan Street, Denver, CO 80203. Written requests must
include name, address, Social Security number, and reason for
the request.
Ballots
must be postmarked by May 31, 2005.
Life Insurance Program Open
Enrollment Starts April 1
Open
enrollment for the Colorado PERA life insurance program is April
1, 2005, through May 31, 2005. The PERA Board of Trustees
selected UnumProvident as the new vendor for the PERA life
insurance program effective April 1, 2005. PERA members may
enroll in group life insurance and accidental death and
dismemberment coverages without evidence of insurability during
this enrollment period. (More
information about the PERA life insurance program.)
Colorado PERA
Recognized for Commitment to Accurate Financial Reporting
In recognition of dedication to accurate financial reporting,
the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (Colorado
PERA) has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for
Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance
Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for
its 2003 comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).
PERA also received the GFOA Award for Outstanding Achievement
in Popular Annual Financial Reporting for its 2003 popular
annual financial report (PAFR), a summary of the CAFR that is
mailed to members and benefit recipients. To receive the award
for the PAFR, the content had to meet program standards of
creativity, presentation, understandability, and reader appeal.
This is the 19th straight year PERA has won the award for its
CAFR. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of
recognition in the area of public employee retirement system
accounting and financial reporting.
Meredith Williams, Colorado PERA’s executive director who
accepted the award, said “The Certificate of Achievement
acknowledges PERA’s continued pursuit of excellence in financial
reporting. The organization’s steadfast commitment to
accountability illustrates its dedication to excellence in all
aspects of serving our membership. It is just one of the many
reasons that we have been able to provide such comprehensive
benefits to our members.”
In order to win the award for its CAFR, PERA’s 2003 report
was judged by an impartial panel and found to meet the high
standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive
“spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial
story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the
CAFR.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving
approximately 14,000 government finance professionals with
offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C.
News Release (PDF)
Information About Your Retirement Fund
Operating a public
pension fund is a complicated process. Colorado PERA is
entrusted with an investment portfolio in excess of $32 billion
to provide benefits to over 360,000 participants. PERA employs a
qualified, professional staff of 232 individuals and deals on a
daily basis with difficult issues. The staff is mindful of
minimizing the operational costs of PERA as indicated by its
long-standing commitment to internal management of assets,
development of information systems, and delivery of benefits.
The PERA staff is very
mindful of minimizing the total costs of operation at PERA. In
the last four years, the total membership in PERA grew by 60,000
people, while at the same time, the total staff size
administering the plan stayed constant at 232. We believe this
demonstrates the effectiveness of productivity improvements that
have been implemented over time. The level of service delivered
by PERA employees has improved in all areas of customer contact,
employer relations, and communication. The PERA staff is doing
more with less, as we know many of our public sector members
are. PERA continues to evaluate other areas for future
efficiency improvements.
Recent media stories
have covered many areas of PERA's business operations.
Information on policies related to each of the areas that have
been reported on is included below.
Incentive Pay
PERA uses a
comprehensive compensation plan that is a pay-for-performance
system. Over the past four years, incentive pay has ranged from
5.9 percent to 7.5 percent of total compensation. PERA incentive
pay for 2004 performance represents 6.6 percent of salaries
paid. These incentives are paid when performance benchmarks in
all areas of PERA’s operation are met. PERA believes that it is
important to attract and retain the best employees and this
philosophy is not based solely on the investment returns to the
PERA portfolio, but rather on the job market in which PERA
competes for employees.
PERA remains the low
cost provider of retirement services in Colorado and the
surrounding region. (Less than one-tenth of one percent of
assets is used for administrative costs, which is far lower than
private sector mutual funds.)
Note: A $100
incentive paid to a PERA employee who managed a stock portfolio
generated an additional $250,000 for the PERA trust funds.
Alcohol Expenses
In the
past, Board members have been honored with retirement dinners as
an expression of appreciation for dedicated service as volunteer
Trustees. Alcohol was offered at these dinners. However, that
policy has evolved over time to eliminate alcohol. PERA has also
discontinued the practice of having retirement dinners for
staff. These changes were made far in advance of any media
inquiries about PERA's expenditures.
Hotel Expenses
Because PERA has investments around the world, PERA staff
members are required to attend conferences and industry seminars
around the country, and to travel on business outside the United
States. It would not be prudent to restrict travel for PERA
staff who perform “due diligence” for investments made on behalf
of PERA’s membership.
When PERA staff does
choose lodging, the costs are reasonable for the market. For
example, Field Education staff, when conducting PERA business
around the state, routinely stay at La Quinta Inns, the Hampton
Inn, Best Western Inns, Microtel, Holiday Inn Express, and Sleep
Inns.
Use of PR
Consultant
Colorado
PERA uses consultants in a variety of areas, not just public
relations. Consultants provide alternative viewpoints that are
valuable when making decisions about the administration of PERA.
Working Lunch
Expenses
Business
lunches are often with external vendors who perform various
services for PERA. The meal is not the reason for the meeting
and is incidental to the work performed during that time.
Sometimes, the noon hour is the only time to get people
together. PERA pays for these lunches so as to avoid the notion
that vendors are purchasing PERA's "favor."
Comparing PERA to
Social Security
References
and comparisons of PERA to Social Security are careless, and are
designed to liken PERA to a system that is widely regarded as
one in "crisis." PERA is not in a crisis, and to suggest that
the two systems are even remotely similar, either in the
benefits they provide or in their financial situations, is
irresponsible.
Some facts about
Social Security and PERA:
|
Solvency |
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Social Security - 2003 |
PERA
-2003 |
|
Assets (Government Securities): $1.5 trillion
(The securities earn a government bond rate) |
|
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Assets (Diversified Portfolio): $30.6 billion
(The portfolio has earned over 10 percent on
average for the last 25 years and is projected
to earn 8.5 percent in the future) |
|
|
Actuarial Liabilities: $5.2 trillion |
|
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Actuarial Liabilities: $40.5 billion |
|
|
|
|
|
Benefits and Payouts |
|
Social Security |
PERA |
|
Average benefit in 2005 is $955 and maximum
retiree benefit is $1,939. |
|
|
Average benefit in 2004 is $2,260 per month. |
|
|
2003 Total annual benefits: $470 billion |
|
|
2003 Total annual benefits, refunds, payments:
$1.8 billion |
|
|
Ratio of assets to annual benefits: 3 |
|
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Ratio of assets to annual benefits: 17 |
|
Audits
The State
Auditor’s Office currently conducts an annual audit of Colorado
PERA. These audits have always proven helpful in PERA’s
continuing effort to improve its operations. Should the
Legislative Audit Committee and the State Auditor’s Office
direct an expansion in the scope of the current audit engagement
or undertake a new audit, the PERA Board and staff will do
everything possible to facilitate the conduct of the audit work.
PERA will wait for the results of this audit and take timely and
appropriate action regarding their findings and recommendations.
Annual presentations
of the audit results have been made, and will continue to be
made, to the PERA Board of Trustees Audit Committee and the
Legislative Audit Committee. The management letter accompanying
these reports contains recommendations made by the auditors to
improve PERA's systems of internal controls. PERA has
consistently implemented all suggestions made over multiple
decades and plans to continue the effort to improve when issues
are noted.
Working After Retirement Legislation
Legislation has been
introduced that would change the working after retirement
restrictions. Senate Bill 05-73, Work After Retirement by PERA
Retirees for PERA Employers, is sponsored by Sen. Dave Owen
(Greeley) and Rep. Cheri Jahn (Wheat Ridge). It was amended by
the Senate Finance Committee on February 8. The Committee
deleted the provision that would have added the member rate to
the rate that employers will contribute beginning this July on
salaries paid to PERA retirees. The bill now has three
provisions:
-
Apply the AED
(employer contribution increases) on contributions paid by
PERA employers on salaries paid to PERA retirees
-
Require each
PERA employer to provide PERA a copy of any agreement,
contract, letter of understanding, or other arrangement
whereby the employer will receive services in any form
-
Count work
after retirement for a PERA employer under any arrangement
toward the 110 day per calendar year limit, as well as for
employer contributions. This would make it clear that work
by a PERA retiree for a PERA employer as an independent
contractor would count, and so would work for any entity
owned or operated by the retiree or an affiliated party, if
engaged by a PERA employer. Employment for a company not
owned or operated by the retiree or an affiliated party
would not be subject to the 110 day limit or employer
contributions.
The Senate passed SB
73 unanimously on February 12, and the bill has been referred to
the House Finance Committee.
Employers will begin
paying the employer contribution on salaries paid to retirees
beginning on July 1, 2005, under legislation that was passed
last year.
For more information
on working after retirement, please review the
Working After Retirement
brochure.
Additional information
on the bills that PERA is monitoring can be found
here.
Colorado PERA Mails 1099-Rs
Colorado PERA mailed
1099-Rs to benefit recipients and to those individuals who
withdrew their PERA accounts in 2004 on January 26. Our
Understanding Your 1099-R
overview can help you to better understand the information on
your 1099-R.
Board of Trustees Election Slated - Candidates Sought
In May 2005, Colorado
PERA will hold an election for seats on the Board of Trustees
for the following positions:
Three School Category
positions
One State Category
position
One Retiree position
(According to state law, both retiree positions on the Board
cannot be held by retirees who retired from the same category of
employer. The 2005 retiree vacancy can only be filled by a
retiree who retired from a School, Judicial, or Municipal
employer.)
PERA members and
retirees from a School, Judicial or Municipal employer will be
sent ballots in early May to elect representatives in the above
categories.
Terms expire on June
30, 2005, for School Category Trustees Scott Noller, Gloria
Santistevan-Feeback, and David Williamson; State Category
Trustee Douglas Windes; and Retiree Trustee Richard Lansford.
Any PERA member who
works for an employer in the State or School Category is
eligible to run for a Trustee position on the Board if he or she
completes a candidacy packet. Any retiree, except those retired
from a State Category employer, may run for the Retiree
position. Incumbents may run for re-election.
To be placed on the
ballot, a candidate must fulfill the requirements explained in
the candidacy packet, including the submission of a petition
form signed by 100 PERA members, or 50 retirees for those
seeking the Retiree seat, along with a biographical sketch that
must be returned to PERA by March 1, 2005.
Candidacy packets will
be available January 3, 2005, by writing to:
Deputy Executive
Director, Support Services
Colorado PERA
1300 Logan Street
Denver, CO 80203-2386
Candidacy packet
requests should include the name, Social Security number, PERA
Category/Division, mailing address, daytime telephone number,
and signature of the candidate.
The Board of Trustees
meets monthly (except in May, August, and December in 2005) and
is responsible for adopting the rules and policies for the
administration of PERA. Board members serve without pay, but are
reimbursed for necessary expenses.
News Release (PDF)
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