Pension Costs Are Still Eating Government Budgets

By Edward Ring
12/01/2022
About 20 years ago, I read an ad in a local Sacramento newspaper that said “Get a government job and become an instant millionaire.” The ad went on to describe how public bureaucrats in California enjoyed benefits private sector employees can only dream of, including a guaranteed retirement pension worth the equivalent of millions of...

TAGS: California pension reform, California pensions, Edward Ring, public pensions, Social Security

California Supreme Court Finally Rules on Case Affecting Pensions

By Edward Ring
07/31/2020
On Thursday the California Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Association vs Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association. In plain English, this was a case where attorneys representing government unions were challenging pension reforms enacted by California’s state legislature in 2013. The ruling, which had the potential to empower dramatic changes...

TAGS: California pensions

Separating Good Bailouts from Bad Bailouts

By Edward Ring
05/14/2020
The pandemic shutdown is about to enter its third month, and economic repercussions have just begun. Too much has been shut down for too long. In California, the initial reopen is not going to include huge business sectors – theaters, concerts, conventions, sports, travel, hotels – and other sectors such as restaurants and retail establishments are going...

TAGS: California pensions, pension reform

Rates of Pay and Pension Debt in California’s Distressed Cities

By Edward Ring
04/29/2020
Nobody needs reminding that California’s cities, like every other going concern in America, are heading for tough economic times. As recently as two months ago, robust collections of sales taxes, utility taxes, transient occupancy taxes, property taxes and other sources of taxes and fees were pouring money into municipal coffers. Now, with the economy abruptly...

TAGS: California pensions, Edward Ring

California school district pension contributions on track to exceed $11 billion by 2023

By Marc Joffe
04/21/2017
C alifornia school and community college districts are contributing $5.6 billion to CalSTRS and CalPERS during the current school year.  These contributions will total $6.7 billion in the next school year, and, according to CPC’s analysis of actuarial projections, they will reach $11.3 billion in the 2022-2023 school year. In 2015-2016, CalPERS and CalSTRS collected...

TAGS: California pensions, CalPERS, CalSTRS

Democratic Attorneys General are the True Masters of Vote Suppression

By Steven Greenhut
04/11/2017
California Democrats have in recent years complained bitterly about alleged voter intimidation by Republicans and have even gone as far as opening a “voter intimidation hotline” before the Nov. 4 election. Staffed by attorneys, the hotline would answer legal questions by voters who believed that Donald Trump supporters were trying to squelch their vote. Evidence...

TAGS: California pensions

California Local Government Pension Burdens 2017 Update

By Marc Joffe
04/10/2017
CPC’s latest review of pension reports and local government financial documents reveals the following: In Fiscal Year 2017-2018, California local governments will pay about $5.3 billion to CalPERS. We project those CalPERS payments will rise to $9.8 billion in Fiscal 2022-2023 – an increase of 84%. In the coming fiscal year alone, California governments will pay...

TAGS: California pensions

California Fire Districts are Morphing into Retirement Plans

By Marc Joffe
03/07/2017
The East Contra Costa Fire District (ECCFD) has financial problems because it pays more for retirement benefits than it does in salaries to current employees. With most of its staff eligible to retire on the 3% at 50 formula and at least two current retirees receiving more than $100,000 annually, the district is functioning as...

TAGS: California pensions

Problems With California’s ‘Secure Choice’ Pension Plan

By Jon Coupal
03/05/2017
Editor’s Note: In this article, author Jon Coupal describes most of the problems with California’s “Secure Choice” pension plan for private sector workers, but he omits a big one: The plan is designed using realistic financial assumptions, i.e., relatively high contribution rates and relatively low rate-of-return assumptions, and a very modest retirement benefit formula. Put another...

TAGS: California pensions, Jon Coupal, pensions

Questions for Someone Who Supports Superior Benefits for Government Workers

By Edward Ring
01/31/2017
“Without disputing the figures, Monique Morrissey, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., said the findings are misleading because they do not compare specific classes of employees or account for differences in education levels and total hours worked.” California Is Golden State For Public Employees, by Michael Carroll, AMI Newswire, Jan. 31,...

TAGS: California pensions, Economic Policy Institute