Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
We fight for retirement security for Colorado educators.
Colorado educators often spend a lifetime serving students and families. We want to ensure that the retirement benefits promised to educators are there when they need it.
The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) is our state’s public pension system.
2023 PERA Board of Trustees Election
The Colorado Education Association has released its recommended candidate for the school division, Eunice Botchway.
Eunice Botchway is a Special Education teacher at Yale Elementary School with the Aurora Public School District and a member of the Aurora Education Association. She is on her school’s Equity, Instructional Leadership, and MTSS Teams. Eunice is currently working on her post-graduate degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Director of Special Education Leadership at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AK. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Special Education, a master’s degree in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE), an endorsement in Elementary Education, and a designation in READ Act. Over the years, Eunice Botchway has worked as an Early Childhood, READ Act, and CLDE teacher. She has a passion for students with Special needs and works to support them to succeed in school. She loves to advocate for quality education for all students and restore respect for the education profession.
Why is the PERA Board election important?
Tens of thousands of educators have spent their careers serving students in our public K-12 education system. The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) helps provide every educator retirement security and to retire with dignity.
The Defined-Benefit (DB) program or pension plan provided to vested educators and retirees offers a lifetime monthly benefit payment offering peace of mind for many retirees. The PERA Board is repeatedly under pressure and attack to work with some legislators in moving from a DB program to a Defined-Contribution (DC) program or 401k-style retirement benefit. For a DC benefit, the value in your account determines what you will have in retirement. With the PERA DC plan, the risk is real in outliving your retirement benefit.
It is also important that active School Division and Retiree members have seats on the PERA Board as fiduciaries to help ensure educator voice on PERA matters.
Did you know that there are other seats up for election?
This year PERA is holding an election for the following seats on the Board of Trustees:
- School Division—2-year term (to be filled by an active member [currently employed] at a public school, not including Denver Public Schools)
- Local Government Division—4-year term (to be filled by an active member [currently employed] at a Local Government Division employer)
- Judicial Division—4-year term (to be filled by an active member [currently employed] at a Judicial Division employer)
- Retiree Seat—4-year term (to be filled by a retired member from the State, Local Government, or Judicial Divisions)
Find out more about the candidates running for those seats here.
Don’t forget that your ballots will be mailed to you beginning this week and will need to be postmarked and returned by May 31st.