$100K Pension Club Growing in CA

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

The $100,000 pension club is growing fast.

Almost 9,000 retirees in the California Public Employees' Retirement System receive at least $100,000 in annual benefits, more than quadruple the number getting that much during 2005, according to a Bee review of CalPERS data.

Collectively, these pensioners will receive about $1.1 billion in benefits this year – roughly triple the general fund budget of the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Such payouts are a hot topic as leaders float competing pension reform plans at the state Capitol. Those who want to curtail big pensions say they are a root cause of huge unfunded liabilities – and the growing pension bill presented each year to taxpayers. Others say large pensions are straw men brandished as a tool to cut the modest benefits of most government workers.



www.sacbee.com/2011/06/01/3667661/100000-pension-club-of-public.html

[dancinmama]

Most can retire at age 50 and get 3 percent of their highest pay for every year they worked, usually up to 90 percent.


My DH has a management position. If he had retired at age 50 under their retirement system, his pension would be $122,310/yr. This figure includes being able to add his unused vacation to his final year's salary to calculate his pension benefit (which they are allowed to do). But he plans to retire at age 55. Under their system his pension would be over $150K. His actual pension at age 55 for over 31 years of service won't even be a third of that.

Employees currently working at the company that DH works for are really lucky if they will get a pension at all. His company has not offered a defined benefit plan to new hires since 2006. He works for a multi-national Fortune500 corporation that employs over 130,000 people.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

My wife's aunt worked for the county and retired a few years ago at age 55, many years of service. She gets 110% of her averaged last five years salary, and free healthcare for life.
And people wonder why we're broke.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Interesting.

In comparison, active duty military get only 2% of their base pay for each year of service after 20 years.