Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana

What Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana does

Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana (PERSLA) is a public defined benefit pension plan established by Act 205 of 1952 and operating pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:1901 through 2015. The system administers retirement allowances and ancillary benefits to employees of Louisiana civil parishes, excluding Orleans, East Baton Rouge, and Lafourche parishes. It operates two separate plans: Plan A, designed for employers out of Social Security, and Plan B, for employers remaining in Social Security. A 1980 statutory revision introduced this two-plan structure with differentiated contribution and benefit calculations.

The system's core product set includes normal retirement benefits, disability retirement, survivor death benefits, the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), direct deposit of retirement payments, and direct rollover services. Administrative operations are conducted from a single headquarters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, supported by a small staff of fewer than 10 employees including an Administrative Director & General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and specialized benefits, membership, and retirement analysts. Member and employer interactions are handled through direct administrative services, with forms, actuarial valuations, audit reports, GASB 68 reports, and board meeting materials published on the PERSLA website.

PERSLA operates as a government state entity, not a commercial enterprise. It is funded through mandated employer and employee contributions rather than market pricing, with no venture, private equity, or external ownership. Recent operational changes include a September 2024 Board mandate requiring direct deposit for all retirement benefit payments and a September 2025 discontinuation of FTP-based contribution reporting by employers. The system is not engaged in commercial marketing, geographic expansion, or product diversification beyond its statutory mandate.

Name

Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana

Legal name

Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana

Website

https://persla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PERSLA is a public defined benefit pension plan serving Louisiana parochial employees through Plan A and Plan B, providing retirement, disability, survivor, and DROP benefits under state law.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Baton Rouge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Employer and Employee Contributions: Public pension system funded through mandated contributions from parochial employers and their employees. The system operates pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:1901 through 2015. Contributions are reported by employers through contribution reporting forms for both Plan A and Plan B participants.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana (PERSLA) is a public defined benefit pension plan established by Act 205 of 1952 and operating pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:1901 through 2015. It provides retirement allowances, disability retirement, survivor benefits, and a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) to eligible employees of Louisiana civil parishes (excluding Orleans, East Baton Rouge, and Lafourche) through two separate plans—Plan A (for employers out of Social Security) and Plan B (for employers remaining in Social Security).

Product overview

The Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana (PERSLA) is a public defined benefit pension plan established by Act 205 of 1952, providing retirement allowances and other benefits pursuant to LSA R.S. 11:1901 through 2015. The system offers two distinct retirement plans: Plan A (for employers out of Social Security) and Plan B (for employers in Social Security). The core offerings include regular retirement benefits, disability retirement, DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) for accumulating lump-sum balances, survivor death benefits, direct deposit services, and direct rollover capabilities. The system serves civil parishes in Louisiana except Orleans, East Baton Rouge, and Lafourche, with various forms and application packets available for members, retirees, and employers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plan A Retirement
• Plan B Retirement
• DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan)
• Disability Retirement
• Survivor Death Benefits
• Direct Deposit Services
• Direct Rollover Services
• Refund of Contributions

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL): Louisiana's public pension system for K-12 and higher education public school employees, also a statutory defined benefit plan offering retirement, disability, and survivor benefits with DROP participation. Closely comparable to PERSLA in legal framework, product suite, and beneficiary base, though serving educators rather than parochial government workers.
• Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System (LSERS): Louisiana public pension system for non-teacher school employees, structurally and operationally very similar to PERSLA as a smaller state-level defined benefit plan covering a specific public employee segment. Closely matched in scale, plan design, and administrative intensity, making it one of PERSLA's most direct comparables.
• Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana: Louisiana public pension system for municipal employees outside of police and fire, offering defined benefit retirement and ancillary benefits. Shares PERSLA's structure, statutory framework, and small-to-mid scale Louisiana public employer focus, differing only by municipal versus parish employer coverage.
• Firefighters' Retirement System of Louisiana: Louisiana public pension system for municipal firefighters, providing defined benefit retirement and survivor benefits under parallel state statute. Comparable to PERSLA in mandate, governance, and operational profile, but serving a single public safety profession rather than general parish employees.
• Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana: Louisiana public pension system for municipal police officers, offering defined benefit retirement and disability benefits under a similar statutory framework. Directly comparable to PERSLA in scope, plan structure, and Louisiana-specific regulatory environment, though focused on a narrower public safety employee segment.
• Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (LASERS): Louisiana's statewide public defined benefit pension system for state government employees, governed under similar state statute and providing retirement, disability, survivor, and DROP benefits through comparable plan structures. Highly comparable to PERSLA in mandate, governance, and benefit design, but serving state rather than parish employees at significantly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Texas Teacher Retirement System (TRS): One of the largest U.S. public pension systems, providing defined benefit retirement and disability benefits for Texas public educators. Shares PERSLA's statutory defined benefit approach and DROP-equivalent retiree healthcare offerings, but serves a single profession at substantially greater AUM scale.
• CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System): The largest U.S. public pension fund, administering defined benefit retirement, health, and related benefits for California public employees. Comparable to PERSLA in core function and statutory defined benefit model, but operates at vastly greater scale with broader investment capabilities and a more complex governance structure.

Others

• National Institute on Retirement Security: A nonprofit research and education organization focused on the U.S. public and private retirement system landscape, providing benchmarking, policy analysis, and performance data used by funds like PERSLA. Not a direct competitor, but an adjacent ecosystem participant whose outputs inform PERSLA's governance and actuarial decision-making.

Regional players

• Louisiana Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund: A small Louisiana state-administered defined benefit retirement fund for clerks of court, structurally similar to PERSLA but covering a narrow judicial-sector employee group. Comparable as a same-state peer in plan type and regulatory framework, though meaningfully smaller in covered population.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parochial-employees-retirement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana