The COVID-19 health and economic crisis is causing monster problems for Colorado’s public sector pension system, which funds, among other thing, the retirements of public educators.
Read this clear and sobering piece from the excellent Brian Eason in The Colorado Sun. It explains how the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERAS), faces trouble on multiple fronts:
- The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee has decided to forego next year’s $225 million payment to PERA as part of its budget-slashing nightmare.
- PERA’s investments are down so far this year by a staggering 8 percent. It’s hard to bounce back from that kind of loss, when the system counts on returns of 6 percent or more annually.
- Layoffs or furloughs of public-sector employees will further reduce payments to PERA.
Yikes.
