PERA Executives Give Updates, Take Questions at 2025 Town Halls

PERA’s executive leadership team hosted two Town Halls on Tuesday, July 1 to provide updates on PERA and take questions from members and retirees.

CEO/Executive Director Andrew Roth was joined by Chief Investment Officer/Chief Operating Officer Amy C. McGarrity, Chief Benefits Officer Patrick Lane, and Chief Administrative Officer Jeremy Hill.

Below are clips of some of the executives’ answers to participant questions.

Full recordings of each Town Hall are available at copera.org/townhall.

How did PERA’s investment portfolio perform in 2024?

McGarrity highlighted PERA’s financial results from 2024, as reported in the recently released 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

“For the year ended December 31, 2024, PERA’s investment portfolio earned a return of 10.8% net-of-fees,” McGarrity said. “The value of the total defined benefit fund was $66.7 billion and our funded status was 69.2%.”

Based on 2024’s financial results, PERA remains on track to meet its funding goals. 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 2026.

View more highlights from the 2024 ACFR at copera.org/snapshot.

If PERA’s investments earned positive returns in 2024, why aren’t retirees getting a bigger Annual Increase?

Roth acknowledged that the 1% Annual Increase retirees have received in recent years has been a challenge and reiterated that while PERA has unfunded liabilities, the Annual Increase is limited under state law to keep the plan on track to full funding.

“The good news is because we’re having strong investment returns, there is no decrease to the Annual Increase,” Roth said.

What will happen to my PERA benefits if there’s a recession?

“First and foremost, nothing happens to the benefits that are being paid,” McGarrity said, affirming that PERA would continue to pay earned benefits if there were a downturn in the economy.

As far as PERA’s portfolio is concerned, McGarrity said that because PERA is invested in the markets, it would likely experience the effects of a recession. However, the Board’s focus is on achieving returns over the course of decades, regardless of what happens in any one year.

“That’s really why the Board underscores a strategic approach and remains invested in the asset classes across the markets through various environments in order to achieve our very long-term objectives,” she said.

Does the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset through the Social Security Fairness Act mean PERA members have to start contributing to Social Security?

“The short answer is no changes that resulted from the Social Security Fairness Act will impact PERA members with regard to their contributions,” Roth said, adding that PERA serves as a substitute for Social Security for most members, and a person’s PERA benefit is never affected by any other benefit they may receive.

PERA members who were previously affected by WEP or GPO will no longer see reductions in their Social Security benefits since those two provisions have been repealed.

For more information on the Social Security Fairness Act, visit ssa.gov.

What can retirees expect for PERACare plans in 2026?

“We will continue to offer the same plans and carriers for our Medicare and pre-Medicare offerings in the 2026 plan year,” Lane said. “We’re still in the process of finalizing premium information, but we do expect premiums to go up across the board next year, so I want to be very transparent about that.”

Lane added that while PERA does its best to negotiate competitive rates with PERACare carriers, there are many factors that affect premiums and other health plan costs, such as rising costs for services and prescription drugs and regulatory changes at the federal level.

We’ll have more information on 2026 PERACare premiums in the fall.

How do I know when I can retire and how much my monthly benefit will be?

“The PERA mobile app is a really valuable tool to help you through this process,” Lane said. “It has calculators, it can help you determine your dates for eligibility to receive benefits, and it can help you go through some hypothetical scenarios that would help you gain a better understanding of your retirement.”

Lane also pointed out other tools and resources that are available on PERA’s website, including highest average salary tables, webinars, and educational videos.

Town Hall recordings

For full recordings of both Town Halls, visit copera.org/townhall.