Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

On December 8, 2006, we issued an unqualified opinion on the financial statements of the Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota (PERA) as of and for the year ended June 30, 2006.

This is a related report on internal controls over financial reporting and compliance with certain legal requirements.  It contains one finding concerning supplementary information in PERA’s 2006 financial report that was not presented in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. 

PERA administers four separate funds: the Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERF); the Public Employees Police and Fire Fund (PEPFF); the Public Employees Correctional Fund (PECF); and the Public Employees Defined Contribution Plan (PEDCP).  The PERF covers employees of counties, cities, and townships and employees of schools in non-certified positions.  The PEPFF covers police officers and fire fighters.  The PECF covers employees in county correctional institutions who have direct contact with inmates.  The PEDCP covers elected local government officials (except elected county sheriffs), emergency medical service personnel employed by or providing service to any of the participating ambulance services, and physicians employed at public facilities. 

PERA served approximately 2,000 units of government and had 378,174 members in its four funds as of June 30, 2006.  Its net assets totaled $16.7 billion at June 30, 2006.  For the year ended June 30, 2006, PERA received contributions of about $620 million and paid benefits and refunds of about $1.04 billion.