On Friday, June 22, the Colorado PERA Board of Trustees announced that PERA’s funded ratio had increased to 61 percent from 58 percent as a result of changes included in Senate Bill 18-200 and 2017 investment returns. The announcement came as part of the release of PERA’s 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

In addition, the time-frame for reaching full funding improved significantly for each of PERA’s five divisions, dropping to 30 years or less based upon actuarial projections, while unfunded liabilities were reduced by $3.4 billion. PERA’s diversified investment portfolio returned 18.1 percent in 2017, outperforming its policy benchmark by more than 2 percent.

“With the modifications contained in SB 200, PERA will continue to provide 587,000 members and retirees with a secure benefit,” said PERA Board of Trustees Chairman Timothy M. O’Brien. “We know that the changes in SB 200 impact all segments of the PERA membership, but it is through this shared responsibility that PERA’s risk profile was significantly reduced and PERA was strengthened,” O’Brien concluded.

PERA’s annualized, net of fees, time-weighted rate of return for the last three years is 8.8 percent, the five-year return is 9.5 percent, and the 10-year return is 6.0 percent.

“While I want to recognize the strength of this year’s investment performance, it is important to remember that PERA is a long-term investor,” said Ron Baker, PERA Interim Executive Director. “Necessary changes were made to the plan to better weather the inevitable ebbs and flows of the market. The provisions of SB 200, particularly the automatic adjustment mechanism, are designed to do that,” Baker added.

Amortization Period for Each Division

Division	Period of Time to Reach Full Funding
State	27 years
School	30 years
Local Government	15 years
Judicial	15 years
Denver Public Schools (DPS)	17 years

For an overview of the CAFR, see the PERA Financial Snapshot.