HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) published its 2021-22 Budget Hearing Book on its website for members, the public, General Assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf's Budget Office.
The online documents include a 155-page Budget Hearing Book and 16-page "PSERS on Point Budget Highlights" booklet. The documents include a wealth of narrative and statistical information explaining PSERS budgetary and fiduciary duties as an independent administrative board of the Commonwealth. PSERS Board of Trustees and staff are responsible for administering and investing a defined benefit plan for the sole benefit of 522,000 active, retired and vested-inactive public school employees. PSERS also operates two new hybrid options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan for public school employees hired since July 1, 2019.
The larger budget book conveniently compiles in one comprehensive document many of the same financial and investment reports that PSERS publishes monthly or quarterly on its website. The budget book's financial section includes actuarial data and a county-by-county breakdown of where benefits are distributed across the commonwealth. The investment section describes the Fund's diversified asset portfolio, and the reasons and costs of using internal and external managers to actively or passively invest assets.
The General Assembly must enact legislation to authorize PSERS budget. PSERS' FY 2021-22 budget submission contains an Administrative budget request of $52,906,000 and a Defined Contribution budget request of $955,000. PSERS also manages non-appropriated funds that cover Investment-Related Expenses, Health Insurance Account, Health Options Program, and Directed Commissions. PSERS' FY 2021-22 budgets, including non-appropriated funds. PSERS total proposed budget is $94,019,000, a 1.2% increase over the current enacted bdget.
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 hybrid options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of Dec. 31, 2020, PSERS had net assets of $64.2 billion and a membership of about 256,000 active, 240,000 retired school employees and 26,000 vested inactive members.