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2001 On May 17, 2001, Governor Ridge signed Act 9 of 2001 into law. Among the provisions of this act affecting active members were:

  • A new Class T-D membership providing a multiplier of 2.5% in the basic benefit formula
  • Vesting requirement reduced from 10 years to 5 years
  • Multiple Service election window re-opened and expanded

Among the provisions of this act affecting retired members were:

  • Increase in Premium Assistance from $55.00/month to $100.00/month
  • Between July 1, 2001, and December 2001, retired members who return to service under the emergency provision of the Retirement Code were not subject to the 95-day limitation
  • Current retirees who return to active service will automatically be enrolled in Class T-D and must earn three subsequent years of service to have all prior service converted to the new class using the higher benefit formula

 Six interactive web applications became available on the PSERS Internet website.

  • Active members can print duplicate Statements of Account and produce a general retirement estimate on-line
  • Retired members can reprint 1099-R tax forms and access Income Verification information on-line
  • Employers may enroll new employees and update their contact staff for reporting, accounting, publications, etc., on-line

The Brookville Regional Office relocated to Franklin in April 2001. This move enabled the office to better serve the membership in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The PSERS Business Plan was established to improve member and stakeholder services and to improve the management of assets.  

2002 On April 23, 2002, Governor Schweiker signed Act 38 of 2002 into law.  Provisions of this act include:             

  • A two-part cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) beginning July 1, 2002.  Members were entitled to the COLA according to a specific schedule, the amount of which is payable upon the attainment of normal retirement age or superannuation.  The first part of the COLA was payable to eligible annuitants who retired prior to July 2, 1990, and the second part of the COLA was payable to those eligible annuitants who retired on or after July 2, 1990.     
  • A change in the valuation methodology of smoothing PSERS asset gains and losses from three years to five years.  This enabled the employer contribution rate to be decreased from the original 5.64% of payroll to 1.15% for the 2002-2003 school year.

The new Active Member Handbook, revised to include the provisions of Act 9 of 2001, was mailed to all active members in June 2002.

Employers can update members home addresses on-line. 

PSERS begins the development and implementation of a new fully integrated computer system for the administration of pension information.  In 2002, the New Pension Administration System (NPAS) was in the design phase and a team of PSERS staff was assigned to assist the agency in making this important and ongoing need a reality.  The project timeframe spans approximately 3 years from initial design to total implementation.

Governor Schweiker passed Act 2002-234 (commonly referred to as the Coaches Bill) on December 30, 2002.  This law allows school districts, intermediate units, area vocational schools, and charter schools to hire retirees for extracurricular activity positions without affecting their monthly benefit.  For detailed information, check out Act 2002-234 on the website.