This budget brief tracks General Fund surpluses and deficits since FY 2013-14. Excluding new revenue and spending policies proposed in the Executive Budget, the underlying structural deficit is projected to expand to $6.7 billion in FY 2026-27.
This report utilizes data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to display recent trends for the Pennsylvania and regional electricity markets. The report examines recent trends in prices, net generation and net exports.
This research brief was updated on March 11, 2026 to reflect new 2025 data for (1) electricity generation, consumption, and residential prices reported by the EIA and (2) the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.
The Commonwealth collected $3.94 billion in General Fund revenues for January, an increase of $11 million compared to January 2025.
The Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a mid-year revenue update for fiscal year 2025-26 and provided an advance look at revenue projections for the next fiscal year. The IFO will update the estimate in its next round of revenue projections released in late May.
The IFO published a new research brief that provides a summary of investment performance and funded status for the two state pension systems. The brief shows that SERS and PSERS have out-performed their investment return assumptions over 3-, 5- and 10-year periods and increased their respective funded status to nearly 70% (SERS) and 67% (PSERS). The document also provides an update on active membership by pension plan type following the enactment of Act 5 of 2017.
As required by statute, the IFO submitted an economic impact report for the Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championship in Dauphin County (January 2025) to the General Assembly. The analysis finds that economic activity related to the event generated $2.6 million in statewide spending and $102,000 in select state and local taxes.
The IFO published a budget brief that uses the latest SNAP benefits data for December 2025. For the second consecutive month, the data show that the number of enrollees declined by 160,000 (-8%) from the prior year as new work requirements took effect.
The IFO will present its mid-year revenue update for the Commonwealth on January 28th at 1:30 PM. The update will include a discussion of recent economic trends, an updated financial statement for FY 2025-26 and an advance look at General Fund revenues for FY 2026-27.
Tags: analysis
The IFO released a new research brief that uses data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment to compare median homestead school property taxes by county.
The Commonwealth collected $4.97 billion in General Fund revenues for December, an increase of $1.20 billion (+31.7%) compared to December 2024.