Tag: calpers

San Benito County supervisors Tuesday voted 4-0 to leave the CalPERS Health Care network, which has provided options to county employees and retirees for...

San Benito County supervisors Tuesday voted 4-0 to leave the CalPERS Health Care network, which has provided options to county employees and retirees for 23 years.

According to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Side Fund Report, San Benito County owed $3.9 million for public safety unfunded retirement liabilities and the City of Hollister owed $10.8 million for all employee groups as of June 2012.

Convicted ex-cop Ray Wood has a safety net – courtesy of taxpayers and his own contributions toward the state retirement system – to help pay off the restitution he owes for embezzling from the local police union.

The City of Hollister is saddled with two of the region’s highest CalPERS employer contribution rates now and into the future with costs exceeding more than $3.1 million next year, according an analysis of 24 local area valuation reports.

The public has little understanding of the complex CalPERS retirement system, yet it is one of local government’s largest expenses with annual estimated costs of more than $10 million a year, 30 percent of payroll, for Hollister and San Benito County combined. Some of the highest costs are side deals where public agencies pay all or a portion of the employees’ premiums. This problem belongs to local politicians who know it does not show up in the salary tables and therefore avoids public scrutiny. The upshot is that many members contribute little or nothing to their CalPERS retirement. CalPERS is really two systems, one for most “Miscellaneous Employees” and one for “Public Safety Employees.” Both offer a “full retirement” at a young average age, but at extremely different levels.

Last week I discussed the size of CalPERS retirement pensions. The key point was that the there are large variations between employee groups. The bottom three groups retiring in FY 2010-11 – all miscellaneous employees – averaged $21,000 to $38,000 at 21 years service and age 61. The top two groups – local police/firefighters and the state Highway Patrol – averaged $84,000 to $92,000 a year at 28 years service and age 54. Between those extremes were other local agency and state public employees. Errata: The chart last week should have read “E-7 Sgt. First Class” – not “E-7 First Sergeant.”

The Hollister City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to decline moving ahead on a possible contract-based merger between the police department and San Benito County Sheriff's Office.

 

Unless you’re in the CalPERS retirement system, there is a good chance that you may not understand how it works. Before going into the great debate over local plans, I thought it best to do a series of columns explaining how it works and who pays what.