By Dan Walters | Feb. 21, 2018 | Commentary
The essence of California’s pension crisis was on display last week when the California Public Employees Retirement System made a relatively small change in its amortization policy.
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Archive for the ‘ Pension Funds ’ Category
By Ed Mendel
Monday, February 12, 2018
The use of the word “unsustainable” had a distant echo this month as the League of California Cities issued a study of CalPERS rates, a move to get stronger local options for controlling rising pension costs.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Dan Walters | Feb. 4, 2018 | Commentary
From one end of California to the other, hundreds of cities are facing a tsunami of pension costs that officials say is forcing them to reduce vital services and could drive some—perhaps many—into functional insolvency or even bankruptcy.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By John Myers
Feb. 1, 2018 - 3:53 p.m.
Citing limited options for raising local taxes, the association representing hundreds of California cities warned that rising public employee pension costs might mean fewer services and longer emergency response times over the next several years.
Filed under: CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Adam Ashton
[email protected]
January 12, 2018 12:25 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown this week predicted that his 2012 pension law will survive union challenges in court and blow a hole in the so-called “California rule” that has restricted changes to public employee retirement plans for half a century.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017 - 11:30 p.m.
It’s a not so Merry Christmas for the San Bernardino County, California pension system, which took another hit in its latest fiscal year.
The State Worker
Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers
By Adam Ashton
[email protected]
November 22, 2017 - 09:48 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown got most of what he wanted when he carried a proposal to shore up the state’s underfunded public employee pension plans by trimming benefits for new workers.
Filed under: Budget, Courts, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California, State Supreme Court, Unions
Ed Mendel
May 8, 2017
Long-delayed legislation is more than doubling the CalSTRS rates paid by school districts and the state. But even if the all-important pension fund investment earnings are on target, the huge CalSTRS debt is expected to continue to grow for another decade.
Observations on California and its politics
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
May 02, 2017 - 5:10 PM
Throughout California, local government and school district officials are writing new budgets and confronting rapidly rising costs of pensions.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Capitol Alert
By Adam Ashton
[email protected]
March 7, 2017 - 4:41 PM
For the second time in four months, CalPERS is preparing to slash benefits for a group of retirees whose former employer stopped cutting checks to fund their pensions.
Ed Mendel
February 27, 2017
Despite a low funding level little changed since massive investment losses nearly a decade go, CalPERS is focusing on avoiding another big loss, not risky attempts to maximize investment earnings.
Saturday, February 25, 2017 - 04:30 p.m.
The Trump stock market rally, which, according to the numbers, has added more that $2 trillion in value to market capitalization, is also helping the San Bernardino County, California pension fund.
Business & Real Estate
By Adam Ashton
[email protected]
February 1, 2017 - 5:50 PM
The fund that manages pensions for California teachers on Wednesday voted to lower its investment forecast by half a percentage point, a decision that will have many educators stepping up their payroll contributions for their retirement plans by several hundred dollars a year.
Filed under: Budget, CalSTRS, Education, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Ed Mendel
January 30, 3016
The two big state pension funds have been on very different paths since both had large surpluses in 2000. But they will have identical funding levels if CalSTRS, like CalPERS last month, adopts a recommended lower investment earnings forecast this week.
The Public Eye
By Brad Branan
[email protected]
January 21, 2017 - 1:17 PM
In South Lake Tahoe, roads are crumbling, and the city is struggling to find ways to repair years of damage caused by harsh weather and snowplows. Orangevale residents worry that fire crews won’t arrive quickly enough in an emergency after their local fire station was closed during the recession.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Ed Mendel
Monday, January 17, 2017
State payments to CalPERS next fiscal year are expected to total $6 billion, nearly double the $3.2 billion paid six years ago before a wave of employer rate increases.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By one estimate, CalPERS has missed out on $3 billion in financial returns by refusing to buy tobacco stocks. But the pension giant decided Monday to stick with the ban despite a recommendation from its staff that the ban be relaxed.
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
January 2, 2017 - 12:01 AM
It’s very rare, but always welcome, when reality intrudes on political decision making.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Pension costs for state and local government will begin to rise in 2017 after CalPERS officials voted to throttle back the expectations on profits earned from its $299 billion portfolio.
By John Myers
Dec. 21, 2016
In the four years since California’s largest pension fund recalibrated its investment projections, the annual contribution from state and local governments — in effect, the money paid by taxpayers — has slowly been on the rise.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Dale Kasler
Business & Real Estate
[email protected]
December 20, 2016 - 5:17 PM
The cost of that government pension is about to go up again, for California taxpayers as well as some public employees.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Monday, November 28, 2016 - 12:15 p.m.
The pension system for San Bernardino County, California, took another hit in its latest fiscal year.
Ed Mendel
November 21, 2016
The state’s two largest public pension systems never recovered from huge investment losses during the deep recession and stock market crash in 2008. CalPERS lost about $100 billion and CalSTRS about $68 billion.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Joseph Turner
Saturday, October 15, 2016 – 5:50 p.m.
Well, it is election season and that means one thing! You better have a solid pair of boots so you can wade through all the bullshit.
Supervisor Robert Lovingood mailed out a hit piece on Angela Valles today. It is filled with outright lies and distortions about her record. You can view the mailer here. Before I dissect it, it is worth pointing out one thing.
It is tough for Lovingood to run on a record that includes the sexual abuse and deaths of neglected children in the county foster system, the cover up of a prostitution scandal, and a pension system that is underfunded by $2 billion dollars. When you don’t have a record of accomplishment as an incumbent you have to lie about your opponent. It is pathetic.
John Myers
Sept. 20, 2016 - 2:47 p.m.
The retiring forecaster for California’s largest public employee pension fund offered some final advice on Tuesday: State and local governments should be required to pay more into the system as soon as next year.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
September 11, 2016 - 4:00 AM
The “unfunded liabilities” of state and local pension funds are California’s biggest unresolved political issue – at least in financial terms.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Ed Mendel
August 15, 2016
Two actuarial associations did not publish a controversial paper by their joint task force, reflecting a split in the profession over whether public pension debt should be measured with risk-free bonds or the earnings forecast for stock-laden investment funds.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
August 1, 2016 - 6:00 AM
- California’s state and local public employee pension systems are caught in a vicious circle of rising outlays to retirees, very low pension fund earnings, higher unfunded liabilities and rising demands for more tax dollars.
Ron Seeling, the California Public Employees Retirement System’s chief actuary, believed he was speaking to a closed-door seminar in 2009 when he warned that public employee pension costs were becoming “unsustainable.”
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Monday, August 1, 2016 - 11:00 a.m.
The pension fund for employees and retirees of San Bernardino County, California will post a negative return for it’s fiscal year just ended.
Filed under: Budget, County of San Bernardino, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds
By Ed Mendel
Monday, August 1, 2016
Twice in recent decades CalPERS fell below 100 percent of the funding needed for promised pensions, and twice CalPERS climbed back. But since a $100 billion investment loss in 2008, the CalPERS funding level has not recovered.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Investments, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
July 23, 2016 - 2:00 PM
- Pension problems stem from 1999 benefit boost
- Unemployment insurance ills rooted in 2003 benefit boost
- Stockton violates austerity budget to reopen library
One day last week, Daniel Borenstein, a columnist for newspapers in the Bay Area News Group, published a critical analysis of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s long-term finances.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, Politics, State of California
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
July 18, 2016 - 4:03 PM
- Big public employee pension fund gained just 0.61 percent last year
- With low earnings, its unfunded liability for benefits grows
- Maintaining 7.5 percent earnings assumption doesn’t make sense
You can smear lipstick on a pig, but that doesn’t change its innate porcinity.
Filed under: Budget, Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
July 18, 2016 - 9:11 AM
- Pension fund’s investment gains well below target
- Poor stock market showing drives weak results
CalPERS reported a 0.61 percent gain in investments in its latest fiscal year, the second straight year of subpar results for the big California pension fund.
Filed under: Budget, Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Ed Mendel
July 18, 2016
The two big California public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, are going opposite ways on a controversial investment strategy, hedge funds, that is under fire from a powerful teachers union.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
July 12, 2016 - 3:04 PM
- California Public Employees’ Retirement System lost money
- Fund is now well short of what’s required to cover pensions
- CalPERS demands more from governments to cover outlays
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System – the nation’s largest pension trust fund – took a beating during the Great Recession, dropping nearly $100 billion in value.
Filed under: Budget, Business, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Investments, Local Government, Pension Funds, State of California
By Teri Sforza / Staff Writer
July 12, 2016 - Updated 7:37 a.m.
Public workers are pumping more money into retirement funds. Public agencies are pumping more money into retirement funds.
Yet the market seems distinctly unimpressed.
Filed under: Budget, Business, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Investments, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 09:00 a.m.
San Bernardino County is set to approve a $203 million payment to its pension fund on Tuesday.
Surprisingly it’s an amount that’s lower than last year.
Filed under: Budget, County of San Bernardino, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions
Thursday, June 16, 2016 - 12:00 p.m.
You know things are getting tough when a pension fund starts mentioning its 30-year average average return in its investment reports.
By Ed Mendel
June 6, 2016
A former CalPERS chief executive officer, Fred Buenrostro, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison last week for taking bribes, including $200,000 in cash, from a former CalPERS board member, Alfred Villalobos, who collected about $50 million in fees from private equity firms for helping them get investments from the big pension fund.
The heaviest loads in Orange County are in older cities, such as Newport Beach, that have had their own in-house police and fire departments for decades. Public safety workers usually get the most expensive pensions. (Joshua Sudock - File Photo)
By Teri Sforza / Staff Columnist
[email protected]
May 23, 2016 - Updated: 6:36 a.m.
So if you don’t live in Irwindale, rejoice: There, even when you look at it through rose-colored glasses, public pension liabilities equal $32,447 for each and every household in the city.
Filed under: Budget, Cities, Finance, In the News, Irwindale, Newport Beach, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Ed Mendel
May 23, 2016
Annual rates paid by employers to CalPERS and CalSTRS are going up, pension funding levels haven’t recovered from a big drop during the recession, and Gov. Brown’s pension reform put a lid on pension increases.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California, Unions
San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood has developed a new penchant for deceiving voters.
Saturday, May 21, 2016 - 01:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, May 23, 2016 - 08:45 a.m.
Hats off to San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood for doubling-down on his fantasy pension crack down spin.
Thursday, May 19, 2016 - 08:45 a.m.
San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood is living in a fantasy land.
That’s at least when it comes to the county’s pension fund.
Monday, May 2 , 2016 - 12:00 p.m.
It’s time for the San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association (SBCERA) to face reality regarding what it will make on investments in the future.
Filed under: Budget, County of San Bernardino, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions
By Ed Mendel
May 2, 2016
After reaching agreements with all major creditors, San Bernardino is moving toward an exit from a four-year bankruptcy this fall without cutting public pensions, its largest and rapidly growing debt.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/29/16, 10:52 PM PDT |
Roughly 9,000 members and beneficiaries of the San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association have experienced a delay in receiving their April benefit payments due to a clerical error, the organization’s spokesman said Friday.
Pension fund says rate hike smaller than expected
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
April 20, 2016 - 5:18 PM
CalPERS approved another round of rate increases Thursday, requiring higher contributions from state agencies and school districts for the 2016-17 fiscal year.
Ed Mendel
April 14, 2016
CalPERS actuaries recommend that the annual state payment for state worker pensions increase $602 million in the new fiscal year to $5.35 billion, nearly doubling the $2.7 billion paid a decade ago before the recession and a huge investment loss.
Ed Mendel
April 11, 2016
Gov. Brown’s plan to reduce state worker retiree health care costs got only a small nod in a tentative CSU faculty contract agreement last week. But three unions have agreed to begin paying down one of the state’s fastest-growing costs and largest debts.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Finance, Healthcare, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
April 4, 2016 - 9:08 AM
- Decision to sell stocks in 2001 has cost $3 billion, consultant says
- Pension fund undertakes broader look at divestment policies
- Anti-smoking group criticizes potential move
It’s been a hallmark of CalPERS policy for 15 years: no tobacco stocks.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California
By Ed Mendel
March 28, 2016
Following new accounting rules, the annual state financial report issued this month shows a “net pension liability” of $63.7 billion, a dramatic increase from the $3.2 billion “net pension obligation” reported last year.
Chris Reed
March 28, 2016
Is the California Public Employees’ Retirement System about to make another big mistake with a mistimed investment strategy, this time in the industrial solar sector?
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
March 23, 2016 - 1:46 PM
- Company operates big solar facilities near Palm Springs
- Plants sell energy to utilities in California
CalPERS said Wednesday that it’s buying a significant stake in a solar energy company with operations near Palm Springs.
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
March 15, 2016 - 4:15 PM
- New accounting standards require pension debt to be listed
- Multibillion-dollar unfunded liabilities are emerging
- However, Fresno has state’s only pension fund surplus
Thanks to new accounting standards, California’s state and local governments are being forced to acknowledge tens of billions of dollars in previously obscure debt for unfunded pension liabilities.
Filed under: Budget, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
The Volkswagen logo is displayed on a car. (Michael Probst / Associated Press)
Associated Press
March 15, 2016
Volkswagen Group’s big institutional investors, including California’s huge public pension fund, are suing the German automaker for $3.57 billion in damages over its handling of the emissions scandal, which has seen VW’s stock price shrivel by a third.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Courts, In the News, Legal, Pension Funds, State of California, U.S. District Court
James Rufus Koren
March 9, 2016
Moody’s Corp. will pay $130 million to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to settle allegations that the ratings agency acted negligently by giving top scores to ultimately toxic investments that cost the pension fund hundreds of millions of dollars, CalPERS said Wednesday.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Legal, Pension Funds, State of California
CalPERS has completed the purchase of a New York office building for $1.9 billion.
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
February 9, 2016 - 10:18 AM
- Purchase is one of largest real estate investments in fund’s history
- Almost fully leased, building represents conservative strategy
CalPERS has completed one of the biggest real estate investments in its history, purchasing a New York office tower for $1.9 billion.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Real Estate, State of California
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By Daniel Borenstein
[email protected]
Posted: 02/04/2016 06:00:00 PM PST
Updated: 02/04/2016 09:14:06 PM PST
Two years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown pushed through a 32-year plan to shore up the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.
Filed under: Budget, CalSTRS, Education, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Monday, February 1, 2016 - 08:30 a.m.
It’s nice that San Bernardino County coffers are flush with money.
Because it looks like it’ll be needed for the pension fund, the San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association (SBCERA).
Thursday, January 21, 2016 - 09:30 a.m.
San Bernardino County’s pension fund, San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association (SBCERA), will pay out a 2% across-the-board cost of living (COLA) adjustment effective April 1, 2016.
Associated Press
Posted: 01/18/2016 - 10:51:49 PM PST
Updated: 01/18/2016 - 10:52:19 PM PST
SACRAMENTO — The California budget that Gov. Jerry Brown proposed this month marks a shocking financial turnaround for a state that just a few years ago faced a $26 billion deficit.
Melody Petersen
December 14, 2015
The state’s biggest public pension fund has repeatedly missed a key performance goal for its controversial private equity investments.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California
Saturday, November 28, 2015 - 11:00 a.m.
Even though San Bernardino County, California has been ponying up tens of millions of dollars more in annual pension contributions each of the past several years, the funding situation hasn’t significantly changed.
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Alison Vekshin
November 24, 2015 — 8:17 AM PST
Updated on November 24, 2015 — 9:15 AM PST
Private-equity firms reaped $3.4 billion in profit sharing for investing on behalf of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System since 1990, the sort of gains that have led to debate over why Wall Street pays lower taxes than most American workers.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California
Brown
Monday, November 23, 2015 - 09:00 a.m.
Not that I agree with California Governor Jerry Brown on much.
But he’s correct regarding the fix to the under-funding problem affecting the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS).
California Gov. Jerry Brown’s disappointment over the CalPERS plans hints at a larger tug of war between him and the state employee unions. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
John Myers
November 19, 2015
- Jerry Brown disagrees with the new CalPERS pay-down plan
If there is one thing that Gov. Jerry Brown has made a calling card since returning to office in 2011, it’s a push toward paying down government debt.
Los Angeles Times: Taxpayers will pay billions more as CalPERS lowers estimate of investment returns
For years, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System has estimated its investments will earn an average of 7.5% or more a year. Now it plans to slowly reduce that rate to 6.5%.
Melody Petersen
November 18, 2015
The board of California’s largest public pension fund approved a plan Wednesday to lower its estimate of future investment returns — a move that will require taxpayers to pay billions of dollars more than expected over the next decades.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Cities, Counties, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Melody Petersen
Novembe 17, 2015
Experts have warned for years that the state’s largest public pension plan has overestimated how much its investments will earn, leaving taxpayers to pay billions of dollars more than expected.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Though CalPERS has acknowledged private equity’s problems, including high fees and murky disclosure, its record of generating higher returns over time than it does in public stocks has made it an indispensable part of the portfolio, officials said.
Dean Starkman Dean Starkman
November 16, 2015
The nation’s largest public pension fund would have endured lower returns and higher volatility over the years had it not invested in private equity, even with its high fees and added risks, experts testified Monday.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California
Thursday, November 5, 2015 - 09:00 a.m.
If San Bernardino County leaders want a reason to push back at union demands for salary and benefit increases they now have it.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, October 26, 2015
Still underfunded after a $100 billion loss during the recession, CalPERS plans to slowly shift over decades to more conservative and lower-yielding investments, raising employer rates but reducing the risk of another financial bloodbath.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California
CalPERS was a pioneer among public pension funds in investing in private real estate.
Dean Starkman
October 23, 2015
The Achilles’ heel of the vast CalPERS fund has been its real estate portfolio, but there are signs that the long-troubled segment is finally turning around.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Real Estate, State of California
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
October 20, 2015
- Governor wants fund to cut risk more quickly
- CalPERS worries about squeezing member agencies
- Buffering market volatility at core of plan
CalPERS is about to implement a new investment policy that will reduce risks and future profitability. But the giant pension fund is being urged by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, and some of CalPERS’ own board members, to dial back those risks more quickly.
The pension fund is looking to reduce investment risk.
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
October 12, 2015
- Unusual plan would reduce risk following strong years
- Returns could fall, taxpayer contributions could rise
- All pension funds grappling with volatile climate
CalPERS is about to roll out an unusual new investment policy that could reduce risks but also lower its portfolio’s profitability.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Ed Mendel
September 21, 2015
After the CalPERS staff gave the board a correction last week for providing misinformation about private equity fees, the board member who has been grilling staff on the issue walked out of a private staff meeting because he was not allowed to record it.
An investment strategy such as CalSTRS is considering raises the question of whether such a move would hamper the fund’s ability to meet its investment target of 7.5%.
By Dean Starkman and Melody Petersen
September 2, 2015
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the nation’s second-largest public pension system, is considering a new strategy that would shift up to 12% of its $191-billion portfolio into safer investments, such as long-term Treasury bonds.
Under a proposal, CalPERS would begin slowly moving more money into safer investments such as bonds.
By Melody Petersen
August 30, 2015
California taxpayers have never paid more for public worker pensions, but it’s still not enough to cover the rising number of retirement checks written by the state’s largest pension plan.
By Ed Mendel
August 24, 2015
CalPERS took another step last week toward a gradual long-term rate hike, a move to lower the risk of big investment losses as the maturing pension system enters a new era.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Local Government, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
By Dean Starkman
August 13, 2015
California’s two major public pension funds, the biggest in the nation, lost a total of more than $5 billion on energy-related investments for their fiscal years, ended June 30, according to a new report.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Energy, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
The State Worker
By Jon Ortiz
[email protected]
August 5, 2015
- CalPERS’ and CalSTRS’ investment returns rose in 2013, but so did their pension debt
- Unfunded public pension obligations totaled $4,425 per Californian in 2013
- New ballot measure stirs debate over government retirement benefits again
Sacramento — With a new ballot proposal reigniting debate over government retirement benefits, the latest federal figures show California’s public pension debt in 2013 stood at $4,425 for every man, woman and child in the state, despite strong investment returns by public retirement funds.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Finance, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
The State Worker
By Jon Ortiz
[email protected]
August 4, 2015
- CEO Anne Stausboll says ‘imprecise’ proposed ballot measure makes analysis difficult
- Plan would close traditional benefit plans to new members, create ‘huge’ challenges
- Proponent says CalPERS is ‘lying’ to maintain a ‘failed’ pension system
A proposed ballot measure that would make future pension benefits subject to voter approval is fraught with legal and administrative peril, according to a letter from CalPERS’ chief executive officer, eliciting a response from one of the measure’s proponents that the assessment is a “lie.”
Filed under: CalPERS, Campaigns, Elections, In the News, Pension Funds, Pensions, State of California
Like other pension funds, CalPERS relies on private equity investing to meet its ambitious annual return target of 7.5% and keep pace with ever-growing obligations to its 1.7 million current and future retirees.
By Dean Starkman
August 3, 2015
CalPERS is finally about to reveal how much it really pays Wall Street for its most rarefied services — and taxpayers can expect a dose of sticker shock.
Monday, August 3, 2015 - 07:30 a.m.
It looks as if San Bernardino County will be forking over additional money for pensions.
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
August 2, 2015
- David Crane critical of pension funding
- It’s cost him two high state appointments
- But investor/teacher still firing bullets
There may not be a bounty on his head, but David Crane sits atop the enemies list for California’s public employee unions.
Saturday, July 18, 2015 - 02:30 p.m.
Several months ago county administrators told the Board of Supervisors the county was over the hump on ever escalating pension cost increases.
Not a chance!
$1.285 billion: The estimated value of the county’s unfunded pension liability. More than 80 percent of the county’s pension obligations are already funded.
Published: July 15, 2015 - Updated: 10:42 p.m.
Riverside County officials say changes to the county’s public employee pension system have saved money, but that the county will still pay millions of dollars more to the statewide pension network.
To read expanded article by Jeff Horseman in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
Mary Childs and Alison Vekshin
July 14, 2015 -3:51 PM PDT
- The $300 billion fund says it earned 2.4 percent in the last fiscal year, below its 7.5 percent target rate.
The chief investment officer of the biggest U.S. pension fund is most worried about low interest rates as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System struggles to earn enough money to pay beneficiaries.
Filed under: Business, CalPERS, Finance, In the News, Investments, Pension Funds, State of California