2022 is winding down and a new year approaches. As we look ahead to 2023, we’re also taking a look back at the topics that resonated with PERA On The Issues readers this year. We saw a sizeable increase in readers in 2022, with articles related to policy and legislation receiving the most views.
Here are the most-read articles of 2022:
News You Should Know: Medicare Part B Premium Reduction Scheduled For 2023
In today’s environment of rising health care costs, the announcement of a reduction in Medicare Part B premiums for 2023 was welcome news for retirees. The reduction is due to a previous overestimate of the cost of covering an expensive new Alzheimer’s drug.
2022 Proposed Legislation Status
Colorado lawmakers introduced four PERA-related bills during the 2022 legislative session, all of which were signed into law. The bills pertained to working after retirement limits, special district directors, and making up the state’s missed 2020 direct payment to PERA.
What’s the Latest on Federal WEP/GPO Legislation?
Social Security reform is a perennial issue in Washington, DC, and 2022 was no different. There were several bills making their way through Congress that would either modify or repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which can reduce Social Security benefits for public employees. While one of those bills, the Social Security Fairness Act, gained support in Congress and earned the approval of a key committee, lawmakers haven’t taken any further action.
IRS to Begin Using Updated Form W-4P and New Form W-4R in 2023
In recent years, the Internal Revenue Service has been making changes to tax policy in an effort to ensure workers have a more accurate amount of tax taken out of their paychecks. Those changes also apply to retirees who receive income from retirement plans like Colorado PERA. For 2023, there is a new version of the W-4P form for pension and annuity accounts and a new form, W-4R, for one-time distributions.
PERA’s Investment Stewardship Report Turns Five Years Old
2022 marked the fifth year that PERA has published its annual Investment Stewardship Report, which provides important information about how PERA staff invest funds on behalf of our members. In this article, we covered how the Report has evolved over the years to provide additional transparency and emphasize PERA’s focus on financial sustainability.
Thank you to everyone who read PERA On The Issues and subscribed to our newsletter this year. We’ll continue following and unpacking the issues that matter to PERA’s many stakeholders in 2023. See you then!
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PERA retirees need a higher COLA than we are receiving. Is anything being done to address this issue?
Hi Jennifer, the amount of PERA’s annual increase is set in statute and adjusts up or down based on PERA’s funding progress, along with member and employer contributions. These provisions are part of Senate Bill 200, passed in 2018, which ensures that PERA reaches full funding by the end of 2047. We know these changes are not easy, but they’re vital to helping us reach that funding goal and ensuring our retirees and members can continue to count on PERA to provide them with monthly income in retirement they cannot outlive.
It sure is nice to push it off on a Senate House Bill. I went to meetings over the years, while working as a future PERA retiree, and asked about PERA’s financials only to be told everything was fine. Now in retirement the message I hear is “there’s nothing we can do”. Maybe you could fight for us. You may lose. But it sure would be nice to see you put up a legitimate fight instead of just accepting a paycheck.
PERA was more than happy to go along with this, they lied to us. After this coming July who knows when we will ever see any cost of living again. It all depends on how they do in the stock market. Last year the stock market did good so we should see a micro cost of living increase in 2023. This year the stock market was a disaster so 2024 probably no cost of living increase. If every year they say the stock market was bad no cost of living increase. Even if the cost of living were to go up 50 percent PERA says none for you. I am very angry like most other PERA retires should be.
Will we be getting a COLA in 2023?
Hi Eleanor,
Most eligible benefit recipients will receive an annual increase of 1% in July 2023. We have more information online here: https://www.copera.org/annual-benefit-increases