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Don’t Lose Track of Your PERA Retirement Income

September 2024

Did you know that your PERA account is earning interest—currently 3%—even though you no longer work for a PERA-covered employer? When you keep your account with PERA, this interest increases the amount of your retirement savings. Your lifetime PERA retirement benefit, which can be a stable source of retirement income, is waiting for you!  

Here’s why it makes financial sense to leave your account with PERA:

  • Continue building your benefit
    If you return to a job with a PERA-covered employer at any point in the future, you will continue building your benefit as if you never left, as long as you didn’t roll over or refund your account balance. If you never return to PERA-covered work, you will still be eligible for a lifetime monthly benefit when retirement-eligible.
  • Receive a monthly check
    When you retire, you will receive a monthly check from PERA for the rest of your life. Please contact us if you are ready to retire.
  • Plan for others
    There are also options to select a lower monthly benefit for your lifetime if you plan to have someone else (a cobeneficiary) receive a lifetime benefit when you pass away. 
  • Keep your survivor benefits
    If you earned five years of PERA service credit at your job before you terminated, you get an additional benefit: survivor benefits. If you were to pass away, PERA would provide a monthly benefit to your spouse when you would have been eligible, or a lump sum to your beneficiary(ies).

Act Now to Keep Your Benefit

Every year thousands of PERA members reach the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age, which is currently age 73. Typically, if you have not begun taking a distribution from your retirement accounts, the IRS allows you to delay taking the first RMD until April 1 of the following year.

PERA uses the State of Colorado’s Unclaimed Property Fund, also known as the Great Colorado Payback (GCP), to ensure compliance with RMD rules. In October of the year an inactive member (a member who no longer works for a PERA employer but left their account with PERA) who has not earned five years of service credit reaches RMD age, PERA will transfer accounts to the GCP.

To prevent this transfer, a member should apply to begin a monthly benefit or refund their account before they reach the RMD age. Once an account is transferred to the GCP, members lose the ability to receive a PERA lifetime monthly benefit and may have to claim the distribution on their tax filing.

If you are approaching the Unclaimed Property transfer, PERA has contacted you. Please review the information carefully to avoid having your account transferred to the GCP.

Log in to learn more

One of the best things you can do to understand more about retirement income from PERA is to set up online access to your PERA account:

  • Log in to your secure account or register as a new user. Click “Termination Options” on your account dashboard to see when you are eligible to begin drawing your retirement income and get a benefit estimate. If you have never logged in before, this video may help with setting up your account.
  • Download our free mobile app from the App Store (iOS) and Google Play Store (Android) to make it easy to manage your PERA account on the go.

Use an online calculator

When you’re logged in to your account, you can calculate the amount of your monthly retirement benefit, which automatically uses your actual employment and salary history for the most accurate results.

Attend an informational webinar

Even if retirement is still far away, consider attending a Benefit Information Webinar (live or on demand). It gives a broad overview of the benefits you’ll receive in retirement. These webinars are held several times each month and take less than an hour.

Get in touch

  • Call our Customer Service Center at 800-759-7372.
  • Connect with PERA news and information by subscribing to our blog, PERA On The Issues, and following us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
  • Be sure to update your preferred postal and email addresses on file to stay in touch with PERA and receive your retirement news.
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