You are welcome to sign up to have SERS' press releases and board meeting agendas automatically emailed to you. If you are a member of the media working on a story, email your questions to phile@pa.gov or call our communications office at 717.787.9657. It's helpful to let us know if you're working on a deadline and which media outlet you represent.
10/30/2024
New & Updated Online Services Debuted Today
Earlier today, we updated services available in members’ online accounts.
If you are an active member currently working for a SERS employer or left state employment after qualifying for monthly pension payments but haven’t yet applied for them, you can now estimate your monthly pension reflecting a partial withdrawal of your contributions and interest.
If you are retired or receive payments from SERS as a beneficiary or survivor of a deceased SERS member, you can now produce a pension verification reflecting the payment data pulled from your member record. You also can now compare how changes to various fields on the new IRS W-4P form will impact the amount of money withheld from your payments for federal income tax purposes.
You’ll need to sign into your online account to use these new or updated services.
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement Board, meeting here today, received reports on investment performance as of June 30 and its annual stress testing and risk assessment of the Defined Benefit (pension) Plan.
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System today announced Empower as the winning bidder in its Board’s request for proposal (RFP) for a third-party administrator of the commonwealth’s restructured deferred compensation and defined contribution plans.
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement Board, meeting at the AFSCME Council 13 Conference Center today, approved a policy providing for public comments at board meetings.
06/24/2024
Penn SERS 2023 Financial Reports Available
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System today announced the release of its 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the calendar year ended Dec. 31, 2023.
06/18/2024
Penn SERS Board Receives First Quarter Investment Performance Reports, Accepts Independent Audits
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement Board, meeting here today, received a report on first quarter investment performance.
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement Board, in a special meeting here today, authorized staff to award a new contract for a third-party administrator of the deferred compensation and defined contribution plans it oversees.
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement Board, meeting here today, certified a lower employer contribution rate for the upcoming fiscal year, revised its proxy voting policy, updated its agreement with an investment manager, and continued working through its governance review, among other business.
4/23/24
State College Regional Office to Close Early this Friday
The State College Regional Office will be closed to in-person services beginning at noon on Fri. 4/26/2024. There will be no running water in the office due to routine maintenance in the area. Plan specialists will be available to assist members by phone and email.
4/19/24
Carefully Consider Any Unsolicited Offers (e.g., Phone Calls, Emails, Letters) to Help You Understand Your State Benefits!
SERS members have reported an increase in the number of unsolicited offers from businesses to help them understand how their state benefits, from retirement plans to life insurance, fit into their retirement planning. SERS will never leave a recorded message asking for personal information.
Be Wary
Please be wary of financial planners who present themselves as experts about your SERS retirement benefits. In many cases, their goal is to sell you an investment product.
Unless an e-mail comes from SERS or Empower, the third-party administrator of the Defined Contribution Plan and the Deferred Compensation Plan, be very wary.
Compare Fees
If you are considering an investment product, be sure to compare the fees for that product to those offered through the SERS Deferred Compensation Plan. In most cases, the deferred comp fees will be lower because they have been professionally negotiated for a large employer-based investment pool.
Retirement Plan Questions?
If you have questions about your SERS retirement plans, contact a plan specialist:
Defined Benefit Plan (pension) – ra-sersretc@pa.gov or 1.800.633.5461
Defined Contribution Plan (personally selected investments)-1-866-737-7457
Deferred Compensation Plan (voluntary, supplemental plan) - 1-866-737-7457
03/19/2024
Active Members: Your 2023 SERS Statement is in the Mail
Today, we mailed your 2023 statement directly from our print and mail vendor in Claysburg, PA and it will be available in your online member services account tomorrow.
Your statement provides a snapshot of all your SERS retirement plans as of December 31, 2023, whether you have one or multiple SERS retirement plans. The statement lists the number of beneficiaries you have on file for each plan. Beneficiaries are plan specific, so if you contribute to more than one SERS retirement plan, you will need to name beneficiaries for each plan.
Please review your annual statement for accuracy and keep it with your other important financial documents. Your combined statement will help you plan for your retirement.
If you do not receive your member statement by April 3, 2024, please contact a SERS plan specialist at ra-sersretc@pa.gov or 1.800.633.5461.
If you would like to receive member updates directly to your e-mail, sign up here.
HARRISBURG – The Board of the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System, meeting here today, announced earning 12.2% on investments for the Defined Benefit Plan in 2023.
02/21/2024
SERS 2024 Supplemental Budget Book Released
The budget book provides detailed information about the retirement plans SERS administered in 2023 and proposed budgets for commonwealth fiscal year 2024-25. Key data is provided in a budget handout that includes the budget highlights, snapshots of data for each SERS-administered retirement plan, and the 2023 Pension Payments By County map.
As in years past, the budget book includes investment performance, member demographics, actuarial information, and employer funding projections for the Defined Benefit (pension) Plan, and participant information, and investment options and performance information for both the Defined Contribution Plan and the supplemental, voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan. You’ll also find information on the Hybrid Plan that is the default plan for most state employees hired since 2019, in which a portion of the employee’s retirement benefit comes from the Defined Benefit (pension) Plan and a portion comes from the Defined Contribution (investment) Plan.
02/13/2024
Winter Weather Impacts Services at Regional Offices
The Bensalem, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, and State College regional offices will be closed to in-person services today. Plan specialists will be available by phone and email.
The Seneca, Pittsburgh, and Montoursville regional offices are operating as normal.
01/26/2024
Retirees: Your Annual Statement Is in the Mail
Today, we mailed your Personal Statement of Pension Payments, featuring the 2024 payment calendar, directly from our print and mail vendor in Claysburg, PA. A copy of your statement is available in your online member services account.
If you would like to receive retiree updates directly to your e-mail, sign up here.
01/19/2024
Winter Weather Impacts Services at Regional Offices
SERS Regional Offices are closed to in-person services today. Plan specialists are available by phone and email.
01/16/2024
Winter Weather Impacts Services at Regional Offices
The Bensalem, Harrisburg, Montoursville, and Seneca regional offices will operate on a 2-hour delay, opening to in-person services at 11:30 a.m.
The Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre regional offices will be closed to in-person services today. Plan specialists will be available by phone and email.
The State College regional office is operating as normal.
01/16/2024
1099-R Tax Documents Are in the Mail
Today we mailed your 1099-R tax documents directly from our print and mail vendor in Claysburg, PA. If you do not receive your 1099-R tax documents by January 26, 2024, please contact a SERS Defined Benefit Plan Specialist at 1.800.633.5461.
You can expect your account statement, featuring the 2024 payment calendar, in about a week. It, too, will be mailed from Claysburg.
01/12/2024
Update Regarding Online Member Services Outage
Our online member services were impacted by a server outage last week at the Office of Administration. Teams are working to restore the services as soon as possible.
We want our members to know their pension data remains secure. No pension or other retirement benefit data was impacted. Our online member services provide our members with a snapshot-in-time view of their pension benefit data pulled from our records here at SERS. It provides our members with a view of their pension benefit information, annual statements, tax documents, and it allows our active members to calculate pension estimates as they plan for retirement.
Please note that users will need to complete the online account verification and PIN selection process again to access their online account. In addition, members will need to recalculate any pension estimates that were saved in their online accounts. Such estimates are unofficial estimates. Actual pension benefits are calculated here at SERS by benefit specialists.
Please know that there has been no impact on your online Defined Contribution Plan account or Deferred Compensation Plan account, which are administered by our third-party administrator of those plans, Empower.
Again, no pension data has been lost, stolen, or inappropriately accessed. Your pension data remains secure.
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement Board held organizational meetings today. Board Chair Thall appointed Budget Secretary Uri Monson Assistant Board Chair.
01/09/2024
Winter Weather Closes Regional Offices
The State College regional office will be closed to in-person services today. Plan specialists will be available by phone and email.
The Seneca regional office will operate on a 3-hour delay, opening to in-person services at 11:30 a.m.
01/04/2024 SERS MES application is currently unavailable
Due to unforeseen commonwealth IT outages, the SERS MES application is currently unavailable. Technicians are working on the issues and hope to have the problem resolved soon. We apologize for any inconvenience to employers or members that might be affected.