Title: Colorado | TeacherPensions.org
Headings: Colorado
Colorado
Last Updated:
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Snapshot of Te acher Retirement
How Do Teacher Pensions Work in Colorado?
How Are Teacher Pensions Calculated in Colorado?
Calculating Teacher Pension Wealth in Colorado
Who Qualifies for a Teacher Pension in Colorado?
How Much Does Colorado's Teacher Pension Plan Cost?
Glossary of Financial Terms

Content: In total, 31.97 percent of teacher salary was spent on Colorado's teacher pension fund. However, not all of that investment goes toward benefits. While the full 8.38 percent of salary contirbuted by individual teachers is for benefits, the state contributes only 3.62 percent. The remaining 19.97 percent state contribution is to pay down the pension fund's debt. Finally, in Colorado, as with most states, teacher pensions are not portable. This means that if a teacher leaves the PERA system, they can’t take their benefits with them, even if they continue working in the teaching profession. As a result, someone who leaves teaching or who moves across state lines might have two pensions, but the sum of those two pensions is likely to be worth less than if they remained in one system for her entire career. In other words, the lack of benefit portability will hurt the long-term retirement savings of any educator who leaves teaching altogether or who crosses state lines to work in another state. As with most state pension funds, Colorado’s teacher retirement system provides the greatest benefits to teachers who stay the longest, while leaving everyone else with inadequate benefits. With that in mind, new and current teachers in Colorado should think carefully about their career plans and how they interact with the state's retirement plan.