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(Provided by Gigafact.)

No.

Although Colorado lawmakers are eligible for the same state retirement benefits as other state employees, their legislative paychecks stop when their terms end.

If state General Assembly members choose to pay into the Public Employees’ Retirement Association of Colorado, they can make contributions to a defined contribution program, like a 401k, or defined benefit program, like a pension. On retirement, defined contribution benefits depend on how much representatives made during their time in office. Defined benefits depend on how long employees worked in PERA-eligible positions, their PERA-eligible salary, and their retirement age.

Employees who complete eight years of service, the maximum consecutive term length for lawmakers, can collect up to 20% of their highest average salary after retirement. Legislators may accrue more years of service through other PERA-eligible work outside of the legislature. 

Lawmakers voted in 2024 to raise legislative salaries to $47,561 from $43,977.

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Sources

References:

Salaries for Legislators, Statewide Officials, and County Officers, Colorado General Assembly, accessed Dec. 1, 2025. Source link

House Bill 24-1059 Compensation for State Elected Officials, Colorado General Assembly, accessed Dec. 1, 2025. Source link

Colorado PERA Contribution Rates, Colorado PERA, June 2025. Source link

Highest Average Salary Tables, Colorado PERA, June 2025. Source link

How your PERA Benefit is Calculated, Colorado PERA, June 2025. Source link

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Cassis Tingley is a Denver-based freelance journalist. She’s spent the last three years covering topics ranging from political organizing and death doulas in the Denver community to academic freedom and administrative accountability at the...