The mission of the Pennsylvania Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (PAPERS) shall be to encourage and facilitate the education of its membership in all matters related to their duties as fiduciaries overseeing the assets of the pension funds with which they have been entrusted.  It will be PAPERS' primary purpose to conduct an annual educational forum that provides the basis for improved financial and operational performance of the public employee retirement systems in the State. PAPERS will function as a central resource for educational purposes and act as a networking agent for all public plan staff and board members.

To learn more about PAPERS, please click here.

From the Desk of the Executive Director

The presentations  by the Senate Majority Leader from Centre County, Jake Corman,  and the remarks by the Democratic Appropriations Chair Joe Markosek form Allegheny County were enlightening and interesting. Their presentations were clearly what PAPERS is all about - a forum to provide information on topical matters.   As one of your Board members relayed to me during my interviews process, PAPERS  gathers information for others so they can make informed decisions.   To that end, stay tuned for more articles on the happenings around Harrisburg regarding pension legislation.  

Karen K Deklinski

kdeklinski@msn.com

717-979-5788

11th Annual PAPERS Fall Workshop

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh Downtown

1 Bigelow Square, Pittsburgh, PA

Click here for a fillable registration form

Click here for hotel reservation information and driving directions

Conference agenda coming soon!

!! Late Breaking News !!

An Update on Pension Reform Legislation

On Monday, June 12, 2017, Governor Tom Wolfe signed Senate Bill 1 into law  which made significant changes to the pension programs in state government.  The bill, which is aimed to slow the growth of pension liabilities, passed both the State Senate and the House of Representatives with bipartisan support.

The new law will give future Commonwealth employees three new public pension plans from which to choose. Each plan offers a defined contribution component, similar to a 401(k), that is typically offered to workers in the private sector.  The plans provide future employees, those hired in 2019 or after, retirement security and portability. Current employees will have the opportunity to opt in to a menu plan or continue in their current plan and retirees would not see any changes in their plan.

State employees who have been designated as hazardous duty employees such as state troopers, correction officers, state park rangers, game wardens and capital police for example are exempted from the plan and will remain in the Commonwealth's  current defined benefit plan that provides a guaranteed pension benefit. Legislators explain these individuals are exempt because they often have shorter careers in public service due to the hazardous nature of their jobs and, in the case of the State Police, they may not collect Social Security.

During the PAPERS conference in May at the Harrisburg Hilton we had an opportunity to hear from Senator Jake Corman as well as Representative  Joe Markosek on the pension issue.  It was very informative to have those conversations prior to the legislation becoming law.  We can look forward to more conversation regarding public pensions and PAPERS will be diligent in getting information out to you.  Please don't  hesitate to contact me if you have questions or need additional information. 

Thank you. 

Karen Deklinski

Executive Director

Click here to access the latest issue of the PAPERS e-newsletter

(Summer 2017)