Public Employees’ Retirement Association also known as “PERA” is Colorado’s state pension fund and  it’s currently short about $26 billion in what it owes to over 500 thousand members across the state. 

The fund is expected to be fully funded in about 36 to 38 years assuming that its return on investments continues at 7.5 percent. PERA released a report last year assuring members of its progress toward closing its current deficit, but conservative law makers and even the state treasurer Walker Stapleton think the projections are overly optimistic.

For more we spoke to Peter Marcus, the Denver Bureau reporter for the Durango Herald. Click the audio player to hear more.