What Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System does

The Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (PennSERS or SERS) is a state-chartered pension system established by Act 331 (Public Law 858) on June 27, 1923, when Governor Gifford Pinchot signed the bill into law. Headquartered at 30 North 3rd Street, Suite 150, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it is one of the nation's oldest and largest statewide retirement plans for public employees. The organization administers retirement benefits for nearly 240,000 members across 99 participating employers — including Commonwealth agencies, the judicial system, the legislature, community colleges, and other public entities such as the Delaware River Port Authority. As of the 2025 actuarial valuation, more than 96,000 active employees were contributing to the system, nearly 136,000 retirees and beneficiaries were receiving monthly payments, and more than 7,000 inactive members were owed a pension, classifying SERS as a mature pension system (retirees surpassed active contributors in 2010).

SERS offers four core retirement products: a traditional Defined Benefit (DB) Plan providing guaranteed monthly payments for life, available to employees hired before January 1, 2019 (with carve-outs for certain law enforcement and security positions); a Defined Contribution (DC) Plan in which members self-direct investments and bear the risk, available to most post-2019 hires; a Hybrid Plan combining DB and DC components, set as the default for most employees hired after January 1, 2019; and a voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan (457(b)) providing tax-deferred supplemental savings. The DB plan is administered in-house; the DC and DCP plans are administered by Empower Retirement through a third-party platform at sers.empower-retirement.com. Member-facing technology consists of the SERS Online Member Services Portal (members.sers.pa.gov) — authenticated via Keystone ID and used for benefit estimates, beneficiary management, and tax-document retrieval — together with online calculators, on-demand webinars, a member e-newsletter, and toll-free phone support.

SERS does not operate as a commercial enterprise. As a defined benefit pension trust administered under the Pennsylvania Retirement Code, it is funded by employee contributions, employer (Commonwealth and participating-agency) contributions, and investment returns on plan assets. There are no consumer fees for participation. The system is governed by a Retirement Board (currently led by Executive Director Joe Torta) and, in May 2026, reported that the unfunded liability had decreased by more than half a billion dollars in the 2025 actuarial valuation. The Board maintains a 6.875% investment return assumption and has approved $100 million in new investments, distributing investment gains between the system and employing agencies under the shared-risk/shared-gain framework. Member service delivery relies on a small staff (101-250 employees) supported by regional counseling centers (including the Wilkes-Barre Region 5 office serving 10 northeastern Pennsylvania counties), the Empower platform for DC/DCP administration, and coordination with the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (PEBTF) for retiree health care benefits.

Name

Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System

Legal name

Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System

Website

https://sers.pa.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (PennSERS), established in 1923, administers four retirement plans — Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, Hybrid, and Deferred Compensation — for nearly 240,000 active employees, retirees, and beneficiaries across 99 Pennsylvania public employers including Commonwealth agencies, the legislature, and community colleges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Pension Administration

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110), Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Other Insurance Funds (525190)

akta.pro primary industry

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Taft-Hartley / Labor Union & Public Sector Retirement Systems (FSAAAGAK), Pension Master Trusts, Superannuation & Provident Funds (FSAAAGAB)

Keywords

• Public pension administration
• Defined benefit plans
• Defined contribution plans
• Retirement plan management
• Pension fund services

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SERS administers four retirement plan structures for Pennsylvania public employees: a Defined Benefit Plan providing guaranteed lifetime monthly pension payments, a Defined Contribution Plan and Hybrid Plan for newer hires with self-directed investment options, and a voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan (457(b)) for supplemental tax-deferred savings. The system is supported by an online member services portal, regional counseling offices, and pension estimate calculators, and serves nearly 240,000 members across 99 participating public employers.

Product overview

Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (PennSERS) is a comprehensive retirement benefits administration platform offering four distinct retirement plan options. The portfolio consists of: (1) the Defined Benefit Plan - a traditional pension providing guaranteed monthly payments for life; (2) the Defined Contribution Plan - a self-directed investment account where members choose their own investments; (3) the Hybrid Plan - combining elements of both DB and DC plans as the default for new hires; and (4) the Deferred Compensation Plan - a voluntary 457(b) supplemental retirement savings program. All plans are supported through online member services, calculators for retirement estimation, and counselor assistance. The Defined Contribution and Deferred Compensation plans are administered by third-party administrator Empower Retirement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Empower RetirementcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmpower Retirement serves as the third-party administrator for SERS Defined Contribution Plan and Deferred Compensation Plan, providing online account access, investment management, and participant services for DC and DCP plan members.
• Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (PEBTF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPEBTF administers health care benefits for retired state employees. SERS refers retirees to PEBTF for health care coverage information and coordinates with the trust for retiree benefits. The new Medicare open-access PPO plan through Aetna took effect January 1, 2020.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CalPERS: California Public Employees' Retirement System is the largest U.S. public pension fund. It is directly comparable as a state-level defined benefit retirement system for public employees with hybrid/DC plan options and similar governance structures.
• Florida State Board of Administration (SBA): Florida's investment and pension management entity administering the Florida Retirement System. Directly comparable as a state government entity managing DB pension assets for public employees.
• Texas Teachers Retirement System (TRS): Texas statewide public pension system. Directly comparable as a large state-level defined benefit retirement plan for public employees with hybrid/cash balance plan options for newer members.
• State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS): Illinois state university retirement system. Comparable as a public-sector pension plan offering DB and portable benefit structures to higher education employees, with similar governance and actuarial dynamics.
• New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits: New Jersey's statewide pension administrator for public employees. Directly comparable as a state government entity administering multiple DB and DC retirement plans for state and local public employees.
• Illinois State Board of Investment: Manages investment assets for Illinois state pension systems. Comparable as a state-level investment entity supporting DB pension funding for public employees, though it operates in a higher-pressure funding environment.
• CalSTRS: California State Teachers' Retirement System is a large statewide public pension plan. Directly comparable as a California state-level DB pension system serving public employees with defined benefit, defined contribution, and cash balance components.
• Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS): Ohio's statewide pension system for public employees. Directly comparable as a state-level public employee retirement system offering traditional DB, combined, and DC plan options to active and retired public workers.
• Washington State Department of Retirement Systems: Administers retirement benefits for Washington State public employees. Directly comparable as a state-level public pension system offering DB, DC, and hybrid plans to public sector workers.
• New York State Common Retirement Fund: Manages retirement benefits for New York State public employees. Directly comparable as a state-level public employee pension system with DB and DC plans serving a large member base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pennsers
• Facebookfacebook.com/PennSERS

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System