PA PSERS Board Announces Departure of Trustee Joe Torsella

 

Mr. Torsella submitted his resignation, effective April 1, 2023, to Gov. Josh Shapiro for personal reasons, Board Chairman Chris Santa Maria announced at PSERS public meeting on Friday.

 

Mr. Torsella served on the Board for more than five years, first as Pennsylvania’s elected Treasurer (January 17, 2017- January 19, 2021) and then as Gov. Tom Wolf’s Appointee (April 20, 2021-March 31, 2023). His term would have ended Jan. 1, 2024. 

 

Chairman Santa Maria said he and Mr. Torsella joined the board around the same time and thanked his colleague for his commitment to the System’s nearly 500,000 members and all citizens of the Commonwealth. Mr. Santa Maria then read Board Resolution 2023-15 honoring Mr. Torsella. It read in part:

 

“Whereas Mr. Torsella strongly advocated for aligning and improving Board direction, bylaws and policies, and prudently delegating and overseeing the System; and 

 

“… Whereas Mr. Torsella’s deep commitment to the citizens of Pennsylvania is not only reflective of his time on the Board it is a continuation of his public service legacy, which includes creating Treasury’s ABLE and Keystone Scholars and serving as U.S. Representative to the United Nations for U.S. Management and Reform, Chair of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, founding President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and a Deputy Mayor of Philadelphia.”

 

Gov. Shapiro has the authority to nominate Mr. Torsella’s replacement who then would stand for a confirmation vote in the state Senate. 

 

About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System

 

PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded upon the passage of Act 5 of 2017 to include oversight of two new benefit options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of Dec. 31, 2022, PSERS had total net assets of $69.1 billion and a membership of about 248,000 active, 243,000 retired school employees and 26,000 vested inactive members.

 

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