Legislative Decision-Making and Colorado's Pension Plans (2013)

Like other states, Colorado offers retirement benefits to its employees through a variety of pension plans. The state's pension plans are established in law and include both employee and employer contributions, which are made in lieu of contributions to the federal Social Security program. The state's two public pension systems are the Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) and the Fire and Police Pension Association (FPPA). This issue brief provides information on the state's pension plans and discusses how decisions made by the General Assembly have addressed both challenges and opportunities in these plans and in the state's budget.