Articles for category CalPERS
Posted Oct 17, 2016 by Dani Schenone
CalPERS
Recent news articles have set their sights on public pensions, claiming that they are unsustainable and cost the state billions while public employees enjoy excessive retirement benefits. Recently, a Capital & Main author responded to a September article in the Los Angeles Times that claimed public pensions offer retirement security that is normally only available to the wealthy.
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Posted Sep 29, 2016 by Jamee Villa
CalPERS
The recent back-and-forth debate over pensions for public employees always lands on important issues like employer contributions and discount rates. Lost in the discord, though, is what’s ultimately at stake: the financial future of millions of Americans. So let's get to the point and not fall into the tired trap of looking back: It's time to put SB 400, the 1999 California legislation that changed benefits for public workers, behind us.
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Posted Aug 23, 2016 by Jamee Villa
CalPERS
Sacramento, CA – The CalPERS health plan Open Enrollment period begins soon – September 12 through October 7 – but Open Enrollment materials are now available online to our members to help them select the best plan for their families.
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Posted Aug 11, 2016 by Dani Schenone
CalPERS
Sacramento, Calif. – California State Retirees (CSR) believes CalPERS erred in calculating the 2017 100/90 State Annuit
ant employer contribution amount.
Government Code section 22871 requires using the current year's top four health care plans to establish the next year's state contribution amount.
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Posted Aug 01, 2016 by Dani Schenone
CalPERS
Sacramento, Calif. – Rob Feckner, president of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) board of administration, penned an op-ed in today’s issue of The Sacramento Bee highlighting the importance of their long-term investment vision.
The op-ed comes after adverse news coverage of CalPERS’ decision to implement a new risk-reduction strategy. The plan, passed by a 4-3 vote, lowers the discount rate during strong years of investment returns. According to Feckner, this conservative approach will lower risk and volatility in the system. The goal is to ultimately reduce the rate from 7.5 percent to 6.5 percent over a 20-year period.
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Posted Jul 18, 2016 by Jamee Villa
CalPERS
Sacramento, Calif. - Be on the look out! CalPERS is beginning to send mailers this month explaining to members how to make changes to their health plans online. Open Enrollment information will be available online on Aug. 22, but members may only make changes, additions, and deletions via their my|CalPERS account at my.calpers.ca.gov during Open Enrollment from Sept. 12 to Oct. 7.
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Posted Jul 14, 2016 by Dani Schenone
CalPERS
Sacramento, Calif. – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration anno
unced Marcie Frost as the Pension Fund’s new chief executive officer (CEO). Frost, 51, will replace former CalPERS CEO Anne Stausboll.
As CEO, Frost will oversee 2,870 employees and a budget of more than $1.7 billion. Several programs under Frost’s scope include healthcare delivery, retirement benefits, investments, finance and risk management, supplemental retirement programs, legislative affairs, actuarial services, stakeholder relations, and numerous support functions.
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Posted Jul 05, 2016 by Dani Schenone
CalPERS
Sacramento, Calif. - CalP
ERS recently announced Douglas Hoffner as the interim Chief Executive Officer. Check out the CalPERS article below for more information on Hoffner.
"Douglas Hoffner was named Interim Chief Executive Officer in July 2016.
He previously served as Deputy Executive Officer for Operations in Technology where he provided executive leadership over key enterprise functions including business and strategic planning, information technology, human resources, diversity and inclusion, and operational and facilities management.
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Posted Jun 03, 2016 by
CalPERS
May 31, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today issued the following statements on the sentencing of its former Chief Executive Officer, Fred Buenrostro, in federal court in San Francisco on bribery charges. Mr. Buenrostro served as CEO of CalPERS from 2002 to 2008.
Rob Feckner, CalPERS Board of Administration President: “This saga has now come to an end. We are stewards of a sacred trust, and it must never be compromised for personal gain. As an organization, we’ve taken meaningful steps to strengthen accountability and transparency throughout CalPERS. We’ll continue to work to make sure these measures are rigorously followed and that we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards.”
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Posted Mar 28, 2016 by
CalPERS
General News
Politics
Retirement
Sacramento, Calif. - By the end of the decade, millions of California workers could be enrolled automatically in a state-run retirement program viewed by proponents as the most significant attempt to address golden-years poverty since the New Deal.
After more than two years of work, the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board will vote Monday on a slate of recommendations to the Legislature on what a state-managed plan should look like. Those will be folded into pending legislation by Senate leader Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, with the goal of putting a bill on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk this summer.
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Posted Mar 18, 2016 by
CalPERS
Retirees
State Economy
State Employees
Although its 2014-15 budget was balanced, California’s state government ended the fiscal year $175.1 billion in the red, thanks largely to state retirement obligations that had to be included in its balance sheet for the first time.
Under new rules by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, state and local governments must list unfunded pension liabilities as debts alongside the more traditional bonds and other forms of debt.
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Posted Mar 18, 2016 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Politics
)
Nearing the finish line in the biggest scandal in CalPERS’ history, California officials accepted $20 million to settle civil charges over the bribery case that has hounded the giant pension fund for years.
Arvco Capital Research, a defunct Nevada investment bank owned by late financier Alfred Villalobos, agreed to pay the state $20 million to resolve a state lawsuit accusing Villalobos and his firm of bribing officials at CalPERS. The sum includes $10 million in attorneys’ fees
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Posted Jan 27, 2016 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Politics
Retirement
State Employees
Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A group of nationally recognized pension reformers today announced the launch of the Retirement Security Initiative (RSI), a national, bipartisan advocacy organization focused on helping state and local governments meet their pension obligations and avoid insolvency. Spearheading the group's efforts are: former Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist; former Lt. Governor of New York Richard Ravitch; former Mayor of San Jose Chuck Reed; former CFO of Chicago Lois Scott; and financial restructuring expert Jim Spiotto.
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Posted Jan 19, 2016 by
CalPERS
CSEA
Retirees
Politics
Retirement
Measure to curb California public pensions is pulled – for now
Sacramento Bee, Jan. 19, 2016
Beleaguered by fundraising doubts and attacks from organized labor, two former California officials said Monday they are backing off plans to place a measure on the November ballot intended to curb public pension benefits.
Instead, former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio said in a joint announcement, “We have decided to re-file at least one of our pension reform measures later this year for the November 2018 ballot.”
Reed said in a telephone interview that he is disappointed but undeterred. Professional fundraisers and potential donors, he said, believed that economics, politics and a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision would strengthen the likelihood of passing a pension measure in two years.
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Posted Jan 13, 2016 by
CalPERS
CSEA
Retirees
Politics
State Employees
Sacramento Bee, Jan. 13, 2016 -- State and local public union officials plowed through a 100-page U.S. Supreme Court transcript on Monday, trying to divine how the nine justices are leaning in a case with the potential to tie a knot in the pipeline of money that feeds their treasuries.
While the outcome of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association could end compulsory payments to government unions, maintain the status quo or fall somewhere in between, the labor leaders interviewed by The Sacramento Bee remained optimistic regardless of the outcome that their associations would adapt.
“We’ll continue to exist,” said Dave Low, executive director of the California School Employees Association, “but it would weaken us.”
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Posted Oct 08, 2015 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Legislation
Politics
Retirement
Chuck Reed and Carl DeMaio announced they will not be circulating for signatures the pension initiative they previously announced earlier this year while promising to announce two more pension initiatives. The decision reflects, again, that Reed and company can't "handle the truth" about their pension schemes. Impact of Reed/DeMaio Pension Measures on New Public Employees
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Posted Oct 01, 2015 by
CalPERS
Health Care
Retirement
The California State Retirees Health Benefits Committee is calling for CalPERS to extend open enrollment for retirees this year because changes in Medicare health plan offerings were not adequately explained in time for members to make informed decisions by the Oct. 9 enrollment deadline.
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Posted Sep 08, 2015 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Health Care
CalPERS mailed out Health Plan Statements in August to help members review the increases or decreases in their providers’ 2016 rates and determine whether they want to make changes.
The biggest change for many state retirees in 2016 will be the new Medicare Advantage Plan, which was adopted by the CalPERS Board of Administration in an effort to improve member health and wellness, while lowering the costs of member health care.
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Posted Sep 08, 2015 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Health Care
More than 200 people participated in a webinar with CalPERS and UnitedHealthcare officials Aug. 19 in an effort to answer many of the questions surrounding the UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage PPO plan, which becomes the single provider of health services for four of the CalPERS Medicare Advantage plans in 2016.
The plans that will no longer be available to CalPERS Medicare members are Blueshield, Anthem HMO, Health Net and Sharp.
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Posted Sep 02, 2015 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Health Care
Retirement
Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has reached a tentative deal with a key employee union that would require state engineers to contribute toward their retirement health care benefits, likely establishing a template that will be applied to other state employee unions to help reduce a growing financial liability.
Under the three-year agreement, which still must be ratified by the union’s members and the Democratic-dominated Legislature, the Professional Engineers in California Government in mid-2017 would have to begin paying one-half of 1 percent of their pre-tax salaries into a fund to chip away at the fiscal millstone.
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