Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an article we wrote? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact CalMatters with any commentary questions: commentary calmatters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in , at age 16, at the Humboldt Times More by Dan Walters. Eight years later, the housing market collapsed and the Great Recession set in, putting the pension fund in a deep hole.
The pension fund has not been able to catch up, even though financial markets eventually rebounded. Pay raises and extended lifespans have magnified the impact of the sweetened benefits. The warning made no discernible impression on the board, dominated by union leaders and their political allies. The greed was overwhelming.
The enhanced benefits stand in stark contrast to the financial insecurity facing most Americans in retirement. Union leaders say their generous pensions are preserving the middle-class dream of a comfortable retirement. CalPERS invests the money to cover future benefits. The employee contribution, typically determined through collective bargaining, remains fairly constant. To fund their more costly benefits, Highway Patrol officers contributed Separately, the state pays for lifetime health insurance for retirees who worked at least 20 years.
His predecessor, Gov. Wilson also reduced retirement benefits for new state employees, effectively creating a second class of state workers. In May , board members started work on what became SB The board invited a long list of union leaders to weigh in. Do you have a government-funded pension? What has been your experience? Picker suggested the board refrain from pushing for expanded benefits until Seeling, the CalPERS actuary, had come up with best- and worst-case scenarios for investments over the next decade.
Board chairman William Crist, an economics professor at Cal State Stanislaus and former president of the faculty union, interrupted with sarcasm. At a meeting of the CalPERS board, an aide to the state treasurer suggested that the board carefully consider how a plunge in the stock market would affect its investments.
In that case, even with improved pension benefits, the annual contribution required from taxpayers would actually go down. A second scenario showed what would happen if the investments earned Then Seeling turned to his most pessimistic assumption: investment growth of 4. Ronald Seeling, then chief actuary for CalPERS, warned about the potential cost to taxpayers of enhanced retirement benefits for state employees.
The discussion was over in a few minutes, and board members did not revisit the issue, according to meeting transcripts. That summer, they approved the benefits expansion, the legislature passed it by overwhelming margins in both houses and the governor signed the bill in September No less enthusiastic were unnamed state employees interviewed on-camera. There are fewer deductions taken. The following are examples of deductions that are NOT taken from retirement checks:.
Also, all voluntary deductions cease. This can include life insurance, long term care, credit unions, and charitable contributions.
Employees Eligible for Membership Full-time appointments that exceed six months. Half-time appointments 50 percent or more for one year or longer. Temporary faculty are required to enter CalPERS membership commencing with the third consecutive semester appointment at half time or more. Part time or intermittent employment is covered by CalPERS upon completion of days or 1, hours of service within a fiscal year. Exclusions Most student employment and instructors appointed to work in extension programs.
Retirement Benefits Service retirement is a lifetime benefit. State Safety Member Benefits. Social Security FAQ's. State Miscellaneous and Industrial Member Benefits.
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