PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
September 12, 2012 | 10:27 am

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday aimed at cutting costs of public pensions by billions of dollars in the coming decades to create “a more sustainable system,” but even some supporters say it falls short of what needs to be done to protect the retirement systems’ long-term solvency.

Brown signed the measure in Los Angeles surrounded by legislative leaders who scaled back the cost-cutting changes originally proposed by the governor last year.

“This is the biggest rollback to public pension benefits in the history of California pensions,” Brown said in a statement, adding benefits are being lowered “to what they were before I was governor the first time.”

The changes require public employees hired starting next year to work longer before they retire with full benefits, place a cap on their pension benefits and restrict what is counted to prevent abuses. Current employees will have to pay at least 50% of the contribution toward their retirement plan.

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