By Katie Kaufmanis
Special to The SUN
This week, Colorado PERA (Public Employees’ Retirement Association) released a report with updated economic impact figures which show that public retiree spending sustains almost 30,000 jobs statewide — that’s twice as many jobs as the entire agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries.
Additionally, the $3.5 billion in annual PERA retirement distributions to former teachers, snowplow drivers, state troopers and other public employees generates $5.2 billion in economic output to Colorado’s economy.
The updated report found:
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