CalPERS may lower investment expectations, costing taxpayers billions
By Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times
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.
Now the board of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System is reconsidering. As soon as today, the fund’s board could approve a plan that would slowly reduce to 6.5 percent the current 7.5 percent it says it expects to earn on its investments.
For taxpayers, that seemingly small change is significant.
Because both the unions who negotiate the benefits, and the legislators who grant those benefits, know that all that money is coming out of somebody else’s pockets. Yeah, sure, we’ll give you a raise. As they pull the last dimes out of some 65 year old carpenter’s wallet to pay for a 50 year old cop’s full retirement benefits, 3 times what that carpenter ever made working full time. The carpenter’ll have to make do with $1K a month from social security, less what he has to spend on his Medicare Part B and D payments after climbing up and down ladders and pounding nails for 45 years.
I think most retirees who receive Calpers know how good they have it. They also know in their heart of hearts that the whole thing is broken when their comfy deal is tearing California cities apart. Strange broken times. This is one traditionally republican position that I agree with: reform these pension obligations. Put something to the voters.
Dog…that carpenter makes more than that cop.
This is what you get when the unions bribe the politicians then negotiate for pay and benefits.
No wonder so many want a government job.
Local,
Per the BLS, the mean annual wage for a carpenter in California is $53,300. The mean wage for a Police or a sheriff patrol officer is $87,520. So on average, the cop makes 40% more than the carpenter.
One of these days voters are going to wakeup and realize they are paying taxes to keep retirees in pay and benefits while services have been slashed to nothing. Are we there, yet? Getting pretty close. Time to put it to the voters for a serious restructuring.
Even if the cop and carpenter made the same salary the cop still gets free medical his entire life, paid retirement and more compensation than the carpenter could ever get. So it’s not even comparable.
I say bring back the volunteer fire department where hard working contractors and the like can work a few days a month for medical coverage. The compensation, pay scales and overtime of most of these full time positions are insane…
Add to that the money the various agencies are stealing for cool toys the police depts “need” to play with. . . Civil asset forfeiture happens every day to people who are not even convicted of any crimes. More is now taken by the agencies than is stolen by actual criminals in this country!
http://ij.org/press-release/taken-new-report-finds-civil-forfeiture-laws-are-fueling-explosive-growth-in-property-seizures/
They leave with early retirement, spiked pensions, Cadillac health care plans. The public is left with potholes.