Regarding Brett Barkey’s four-step plan to save PERA (
Putting new state employees, teachers and other public workers in Colorado into a defined contribution 401(K)-type plan does not address existing liabilities and would actually substantially increase the unfunded liability of the PERA plan.
One of three independent studies conducted in 2015 by an independent actuarial firm at the behest of the Legislature and governor analyzed the switch of a state employee retirement plan from defined benefit to defined contribution.
This study, overseen by the state auditor, showed that converting PERA to a defined contribution plan would cost more for all and provide less to the public sector workforce. It’s regrettable that ideology overrules facts when it comes to the topic of PERA.
The Barkey “plan” does not ensure the retirement security of Colorado’s current and former public workers, whose services the state and its citizens depend on. It provides the opposite.
Cheryl Lynn
Durango
