Pennsylvania transfers $317 million into rainy day fund, marks largest transfer in nearly 20 years

The state recently deposited $317 million into the commonwealth’s Rainy Day Fund, the largest funds transfer since the Great Recession in the early 2000s.

Last year the state made its first deposit into the fund in nearly 10 years. This week’s deposit brings the balance to $340 million.

The state used more than $755 million from the fund to compensate for a decrease in state revenue following 2008. The fund had $60,000 in it when Gov. Tom Wolf was elected in 2015.

“None of us has the luxury of knowing when the next economic downturn, or environmental crisis, or natural disaster will strike,” Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella said. “But we can take steps to better prepare ourselves to continue serving the people of this Commonwealth when it does and make sure that we don’t have to cut programs or raise revenue at the worst possible time. I commend Governor Wolf and the General Assembly for their continued commitment to shoring up the Rainy Day Fund and hope to see this continue far into the future.”

The fund helps build a safety net to combat unforeseen challenges, Wolf said, and ensures programs like education will not need to be cut if Pennsylvania faces an economic decline in the future.