Dedicated to serving the PERA membership

Seeking Candidates for 2018 Board Election

The Board of Trustees of Colorado PERA is a group of 16 professionals who are responsible for overseeing PERA’s investment program and the administration of PERA’s benefits. (However, the Colorado General Assembly, with the approval of the Governor, has responsibility for changing PERA benefits or contributions.) All Trustees serve as fiduciaries and as such must act in the best interest of all members and retirees.

State law describes the responsibilities of the Board and the process for Trustees to be selected.

Twelve Trustees are elected by PERA members and retirees, three Trustees are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate, and the State Treasurer serves as an ex officio Trustee. The Board of Trustees meets at least five times per year and is responsible for adopting the rules and policies for the administration of PERA. Elected Board members serve without pay, but are reimbursed for necessary expenses.

In May 2018, Colorado PERA will hold an election for the following seats on the Board of Trustees:

• One School Division position
• One State Division position (must work for a higher education employer)
• One Local Government position

Candidacy packets may be obtained January 2, 2018, through February 28, 2018, by sending an email to election@copera.org or by writing to:

Colorado PERA
Internal Audit Division
1301 Pennsylvania Street
Denver, CO  80203-5011

To be placed on the ballot, a candidate must fulfill the requirements explained in the candidacy packet. Requests for candidacy packets should include the candidate’s name, PERA Division of membership, mailing address, email address, and daytime telephone number. Candidates will be subject to a background check. State Division members must also indicate whether they are a participant in the PERA Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution Plan and for which higher education employer they work.

More information on serving as a Trustee.

Details on current Trustees may be viewed here.

Defined benefitAlso known as a pension, this is a type of pooled retirement plan in which the plan promises to pay a lifetime benefit to the employee at retirement. The plan manages investments on behalf of members, and the retirement benefit is based on factors such as age at retirement, years of employment and salary history.Defined contributionA type of individual retirement plan in which an employee saves a portion of each paycheck (along with a potential employer match) and invests that money. The employee’s retirement benefit is based on their account balance at retirement. A 401(k) is a type of defined contribution plan.