MIDDLETOWN, PA – Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor today recognized Lower Swatara Township for having well-funded municipal pension plans, which ensures their employees have the benefits they deserve and lightens the financial burden on taxpaying citizens in the community.
“Lower Swatara Township is doing great work when it comes to managing their pension plans so those who are taking care of the community have the benefits they need in retirement,” Auditor General DeFoor said. “If municipalities do not make the required contributions to their pension plans, that burden falls to the taxpayers in the form of higher taxes or difficult choices in funding community projects and personnel. I’m pleased to see that the township is taking steps to make sure their employees and their community are financially stable.”
In the most recent audit of the Lower Swatara Township’s Non-Uniformed Pension Plan and the Lower Swatara’s Police Pension Plan, auditors found that the township’s pension plans are well-funded, comply with all laws and regulations, and that they have corrected any prior findings from previous audits.
Municipal pension plans are considered in some state of distress if they are less than 90 percent funded. Categories of distress include:
- Minimal distress- the municipal pension plan is funded 70-89%
- Moderate distress- the municipal pension plan is funded 50-69%
- Severe distress- the municipal pension plan is funded less than 50%
State aid for municipal pension plans is generated by a 2 percent tax on fire and casualty insurance policies sold in Pennsylvania by out-of-state companies. In 2023, the Department of the Auditor General distributed a total of $372.77 million in aid to 1,471 municipalities and regional departments to support pension plans covering police officers, paid firefighters and non-uniformed employees.
The department is required by law to audit municipal pension plans and volunteer fire relief associations that receive state aid from the department; liquid fuels tax usage by municipalities; various county offices and numerous other state government entities.
For more information about the Department of the Auditor General’s municipal pension audits, visit www.paauditor.gov and follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
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