Author Topic: Colorado PERA  (Read 2144 times)

FireDAD

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Colorado PERA
« on: June 22, 2016, 09:18:27 AM »
I have officially become a government employee and am required to participate in PERA pension plan. Basically I contribute 8% and the city puts in 13.7%. Does anyone have any experience with this system? It looks like I have no control over how it is invested and if I leave before retirement age I get whatever has been put in with a big ole 3% a year.

Marithe

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Re: Colorado PERA
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2018, 01:46:48 PM »
I know it's 2 years later, but in case you're still wondering about PERA... the good news is that if you leave your government job, you can leave your PERA account where it is until you're 65 (or whatever the current state retirement age is now). Then when you retire, you are eligible to get back what you put, what the state put in, and any interest PLUS double the whole amount. In some cases that might not be enough to brag about, but in others, it's a nice windfall when you go to collect. Also, you can opt to take it as a lifetime benefit, instead of a rollover or distribution. The lifetime option is guaranteed monthly income with periodic cost of living raises for the rest of your life. There is a health insurance benefit option, too, which may be useful.