Our journey started in 1947, when New Mexico enacted legislation creating a public employee retirement system.
Seventy-five years later, we have 335 participating public employers, approximately 47,679 members & 42,743 retirees/beneficiaries and the PERA Trust Fund has a fund value of $17.6 Billion.
75th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Get information about our upcoming 75th Anniversary events.
MONTHLY WEBINAR SERIES
You can find all recorded webinars here.
New Mexico enacted legislation creating a public employee retirement system in 1947. New Mexico was the last state in the continental United States to establish a retirement system for its public employees. Under the newly enacted Public Employees Retirement Act, beginning on August 1, 1947, members were required to contribute 3.5% of their gross salary and their employers matched with an equal amount. The maximum annuity any member could expect to receive was $150 per month. There were no pre-retirement survivor benefits available.
The Act was amended in 1949, repealed in 1953, and a new Act was established. In 1955, PERA had 217 pension recipients who received an average annual pension of $1,161. In 1960, PERA recorded 593 pension recipients with an annual pension payroll of $717,200 averaging $1,209 per annuitant. In 1961, the plan was again improved to provide benefits of up to 50% of a member’s final average salary. The Law has been amended through the years to provide better coverage and benefits to all public employees.
Today, PERA is a 401(a) qualified governmental plan that is governed by the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Act and offers 31 different coverage plans. These plans currently cover state, municipal, and county employees, police, firefighters, judges, magistrates, legislators, and volunteer firefighters. We now have approximately 47,679 members and 42,743 retirees and beneficiaries. In 2021, the average annual pension was $30,708.
PERA is governed by a Board of Trustees, which consists of 12 members. The State Treasurer and Secretary of State are Ex-officio members. Eight members of the Board are elected by the active membership of PERA. Four of the eight members are Municipal members, at least one of whom is employed by a county. The remaining four are State members. Two members are PERA retirees elected to the Board by retired members. The Board appoints an Executive Director, who manages PERA’s agency operations. The Board of Trustees also has the fiduciary responsibility to oversee the Trust Fund investment growth while managing market risk. Currently, the PERA Trust Fund has a total fund value of $17.6 Billion.
2003-2004 Members of the PERA Board
A public employer affiliated with PERA must withhold employee contributions each pay period from the employee’s PERA-eligible salary, which are then paid into the PERA member contribution Fund. The employer also must pay employer contributions into the PERA employer’s accumulation Fund each pay period. There are currently 335 participating public employers.
PERA offers two Tiers of membership. All members are vested after 5 years of service. Once vested, members are entitled to a life-long monthly pension benefit after retirement when certain age and service credit eligibility requirements are met, regardless of the amount of member contributions paid into the plan. In addition, non-duty disability and survivor benefits are available to vested members.
As of June 30, 2021, PERA has a funded ratio of 71.4%, with an amortization period of 72 years. PERA investment activity during the fiscal year (FY) generated a rate of return of 24.02%. PERA continues to have an important economic impact to the State, as approximately 92% of the $1.33 billion in retirement benefits paid out in FY 2021 were paid to retirees living in New Mexico. Each July, PERA adjusts the gross pension benefits of all eligible retirees to include a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). The COLA is applicable to recipients of PERA, magistrate, or judicial retirement plan pension benefits.
Sharon is a recent retiree of the Albuquerque Police Department where she served 21 years as a Patrol Officer, Emergency Response Team Member, Field Training Officer, and Coordinator for the Citizens Police Academy, the Heroes Academy for children living with cancer, and the Junior Police Academy. In 2013, Sharon received the Outstanding Service Award and the Courage Under Fire Award for an incident where four officers were wounded in a shooting.
The City of Carlsbad is always eager to learn about the current PERA processes of reporting and retirement preparation on an annual basis because they know that it benefits their employees and their futures.
Amanda is a Business Operations Specialist in PERA’s Records Division where she plays a big role in processing records for members. Amanda is always a team player and goes above and beyond to help her PERA colleagues and members.
Alex is a Customer Service Representative who is a vital member of PERA’s Customer Service Division. Alex is known for his warm personality whether over the phone or in-person. Alex’s manager gets bombarded with excellent customer reviews of Alex on a weekly basis because of his willingness to help regardless of whether it’s part of his job or not.
Celebrate 75 years of PERA with the following activities.
