Table 5
Colorado local government workers shoulder most of their pension cost for meager benefits: Employee and employer costs for Colorado local government employee pension benefits, by plan, 2015–2019
| Union members? | Social Security participants? | Employer normal cost (% of pay) | Employee normal cost (% of pay) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Public Employee Retirement Association-Local Division | Few or none | Few or none | 2.7% | 8.2% |
| Colorado Public Employee Retirement Association-School Division | Some | Few or none | 3.7% | 8.8% |
| Colorado Public Employee Retirement Association-Denver Public Schools Division | Most or all | Few or none | 3.7% | 8.8% |
| Denver Employees Retirement Plan | Few or none | Most or all | 1.3% | 8.0% |
| Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado | Some | Some | 5.3% | 9.3% |
Sources: Source for union membership: Authors’ analysis of CPS microdata and other sources, including Kenney 2022; Gonzales and Meltzer 2022; Lombardi 2022; and various collective bargaining agreements with Denver Public Schools (2022) and Denver City and County (2022a, 2022b). Source for plan data and Social Security coverage: Public Plans Data (2015–2019). Data for the Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado are for 2016–2018 due to incomplete information for 2015 and 2019. Cost rates are averages for 2015–2019.
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