The Colorado PERA Board of Trustees met on Thursday, June 25 for its third regular meeting of the year. The Board released PERA’s annual financial reports, announced the results of Trustee elections, and more.

Staff compensation review

At the Board’s Compensation and Budget Committee meeting, CEO/Executive Director Andrew Roth and Director of Human Resources Rebecca Harren discussed PERA’s total compensation philosophy and investment compensation philosophy, which have been under review since last year.

Roth said incentive pay for investment staff is meant to attract and retain talent, motivate and incentivize performance, and maintain competitiveness in the market. That program is under review to ensure PERA is not an outlier among public pension peers, Roth said. Staff will present any proposed adjustments to the Board at its September planning session.

Annual Comprehensive Financial Report

At its June meeting every year, the PERA Board approves the release of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the previous calendar year. The report contains detailed information on PERA’s financial health, operations, and membership.

As of December 31, 2025, PERA manages an investment portfolio of $75.1 billion for the defined benefit trust funds. The portfolio ended the year with a return of 14.1% net-of-fees. Over the past 30 years, the portfolio has earned an annualized return of 8.1%. As of the end of the year, the combined funded ratio for the defined benefit trust funds was 69.1%.

RELATED: Understanding PERA’s Unfunded Liability

Based on 2025’s financial results, adjustments via the Automatic Adjustment Provision will not be needed in 2027. That means there will be no adjustments to contribution rates and all eligible benefit recipients will receive a 1.0% increase this July and most, if not all, will receive 1.0% in July 2027.

Visit copera.org/snapshot for an interactive look at ACFR highlights. You can also read the full ACFR or its shorter version, the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR).

Investment and market updates

Chief Investment Officer/Chief Operating Officer Amy C. McGarrity and the Board’s investment consultant, Aon, discussed investment performance and market conditions in 2025 and so far in 2026.

Aon said PERA’s investment portfolio continues to perform well relative to other public pension funds over short- and long-term time periods. PERA’s 2025 return of 14.1% was in the top 35% of the peer group of public funds, Aon said, and the 10-year annualized return of 9.5% is in the top 4%.

McGarrity addressed the recent SpaceX initial public offering (IPO), which drew widespread attention due to its record-breaking valuation and questions around corporate governance. McGarrity said PERA did not directly participate in the IPO, but she expects PERA to gain exposure to SpaceX stock through index investments. Other large players in the artificial intelligence field, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are also preparing for significant IPOs.

Board election results

Another important item the Board completes at its June meeting is releasing the results of Trustee elections. This year, elections were held to fill two seats on the Board:

• School Division: Tonya J. Thompson was reelected to a 4-year term.
• State Division: Chad Marturano was elected to a 4-year term.

Thompson is the General Counsel for Harrison School District 2 and has been on the PERA Board since July 2025.

Marturano is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the University of Colorado System. He fills a seat held by Lisa Landis, whose term expired June 30.

Trustee terms began July 1.

Legislative update

Director of Public and Government Affairs Michael Steppat joined CEO/Executive Director Andrew Roth to discuss the recently concluded legislative session.

Legislators passed six PERA-related bills this session, covering topics such as purchasing service credit, access to the PERAPlus 401(k) and 457 plans, and giving PERA flexibility in allocating the State’s annual $225 million direct distribution.

READ MORE: Legislature Passes Six PERA-Related Bills During 2026 Session

Steppat also briefed the Trustees on upcoming legislative hearings that PERA staff will attend as part of the State’s regular review and oversight of PERA. While the Pension Review Commission and Pension Review Subcommittee won’t be meeting for the second summer in a row due to legislative cost-cutting measures, PERA staff will appear before the Legislative Audit Committee in August and the Joint Budget Committee sometime in the fall.

Modernization update

Director of Modernization Faheem Naushad provided the Trustees with an update on the long-term project to upgrade and replace many of the technology systems the enable the daily work of administering PERA benefits, collectively known as PRISM (Pension Resource & Information Services Manager).

The project, which is expected to take years to complete, is still in an early stage. Current work includes establishing the project roadmap, phases, milestones, and long-term budget needs.

Staff will continue to provide updates at future Board meetings.

What’s next?

The PERA Board plans to hold two more regularly scheduled meetings in 2026. Those dates are:

• September 23 to 25 (planning session and meeting)
• November 20

For more information on Board meetings, including recordings and meeting materials, visit the Board and Leadership page.