In this story:

• Four PERA Trustees were reelected to the Board
• The Board will also gain a new Trustee, Ashley M. Smith
• The 2020 Annual Report was approved and released by the Board
• Investment returns topped 17% last year, exceeding the fund’s benchmark
• The Annual Report announced that the automatic adjustment provision will go into effect in 2022

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PERA’s Board met on June 18. The meeting included the announcement of results from the recent Board election as well as the approval and release of the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Annual Report).

Board Election Results

Four PERA Trustees have been reelected to PERA’s Board. PERA’s Board announced the following results at their meeting on June 18:

• Suzanne E. Kubec was reelected to represent the State Division
• Tina Mueh and Marcus A. Pennell were reelected to represent the School Division
• Julie Friedemann was reelected to represent retirees in the School, Local Government, and Judicial Division

Each Trustee was elected to serve a four-year term, ending in June 2025.

In addition to the above results, Ashley M. Smith was appointed to represent the State Division. Smith fills the seat vacated by Dave Hall’s departure from the Board.

Annual Report Released

Every year, the Board releases a report that summarizes PERA’s investment performance, funded status and membership information for the year before. The Annual Report the Board released last week covers the 2020 calendar year.

The Annual Report showed that PERA had a strong investment year, returning 17.4%, net of fees. This beat the fund’s benchmark of 14.1%. The total fund was valued at $58.3 billion, up from $51.7 billion at the end of 2019.

The Annual Report also announced that the automatic adjustment provision will go into effect in July 2022. While 2020’s investment returns were positive, it is one of many factors used to calculate a plan’s funded status. Changes to PERA’s actuarial assumptions and the impact of the pandemic on PERA’s membership increased PERA’s liabilities.

You can read more about the Annual Report here.

Other Updates

• The Board elected Suzanne E. Kubec to serve as Vice Chair, filling the seat vacated by David Hall following his departure from the Board.
• The following updated membership statistics were shared with the Board: