The PERA Board of Trustees met on Friday, June 16 to take action on a number of important items, including releasing PERA’s 2022 Annual Report and announcing results of the recent Board election.

Board election

The Board held elections for three open seats this year. One new Trustee was elected to the Board, two Trustees were reelected, and one Trustee was reappointed:

• Eunice Botchway was elected by School Division members
• Trina Ruhland was reelected by Local Government Division members
• Timothy M. O’Brien was reelected by retired members of the State, Local Government, and Judicial Divisions
• Judge Rebecca R. Freyre was reappointed to the Judicial Division seat

Botchway, a special education teacher at Aurora Public Schools, fills a seat currently held by JB Phillips, who was appointed to the Board in 2022. Botchway was elected to a two-year term.

Ruhland, a deputy county attorney with the Boulder County Attorney’s Office, was elected to the seat to which she was appointed in 2022.

O’Brien, the auditor for the City and County of Denver, has served on the PERA Board since 2011.

In addition to the election results, Judge Rebecca R. Freyre was the sole candidate for the Judicial Division seat and was reappointed to the Board in March.

Ruhland, O’Brien, and Freyre will serve four-year terms beginning July 1, 2023.

Learn more about the PERA Board of Trustees at copera.org.

Financial results and Annual Report release

A key action the Board takes every year at its June meeting is receiving the results of its annual actuarial valuations and approving the release of PERA’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). The 2022 ACFR contains detailed information about PERA’s finances, investment performance, and funded status for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022.

FULL ARTICLE: PERA Board Releases 2022 Annual Report

Legislative update

The Board also received an update on the recently concluded 2023 legislative session. Legislators passed three bills this year that affect PERA, and Gov. Jared Polis has signed all three into law.

One of the bills allocates additional funding to recompense PERA for the state’s missed 2020 direct distribution. Another requires PERA to include a description of climate-related investment risks, impacts and strategies in its annual Investment Stewardship Report, and the third bill reclassifies wildlife officers and parks and recreation officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife as safety officers for determining their PERA benefits.

READ MORE: Colorado Legislators Pass Three PERA-Related Bills During 2023 Legislative Session

The Board also received an update on legislative activity PERA staff will be involved in over the coming months before the next session begins in January. That includes regularly scheduled hearings before the Pension Review Commission, Pension Review Subcommittee, and Legislative Audit Committee this summer, the Joint Budget Committee in the fall, and the Joint Finance Committee in the winter.

In addition, the Board discussed the history of 2018’s Senate Bill 200. That bill, which is now part of state statute, included a number of major reforms that improved PERA’s financial status and established guardrails to ensure PERA is on a path to full funding by the end of 2047. Click here for details.

Executive director search

The Board has begun the process of searching for PERA’s next executive director and is actively seeking an executive search firm to assist in that process. Click here for more information on the Board’s Request for Information from qualified firms.

Throughout this year, the Board has been working to develop its next five-year strategic plan. Since Trustees would like PERA’s next executive director to be involved in that process, the Board decided to extend the existing strategic plan through the end of 2024.

The Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is the September planning session from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22.