California, CalPERS CA, and Other Public Retirement System Pieces
Perhaps the most complicated story is in California, where CalPERS CA, the California Public Employees Retirement System, is requiring members to pay more into the system.
Meanwhile, the public retirement system in California's municipalities have also been facing tough times. These are examples:
- The city of Ventura has adopted measures similar to those of CalPERS CA only to be met by strife and protests on the part of city workers.
- The Fresno public retirement system has felt the effects of the recession.
- The city of Modesto has been seeking to control costs in its public retirement system.
- Sacramento has sought to control municipal costs by offering an early retirement incentive.
Tough times often lead to legal battles. The County of Stanislaus has been staving off disgruntled retirees in court all while the Sacramento Bee and the County of Sacramento have been going after each other in court over the release of information about the county's public retirement system.
California's glowing light in pension reform has been Orange County, which has adopted an innovative pension program that combines the best in defined benefits and defined contribution benefits plans.
Reform in Michigan
The spirit of reformation has also been prevailing in Michigan. Governor Jennifer Granholm instituted reforms in hopes of increasing availability of Michigan public jobs in 2010. But to do so, she had to make requirements on plan participants more stringent.
Public Retirement System Developments in Other States
- Florida has sought to clamp down on public retirees double-dipping.
- In Georgia, early retirement programs should be saving City of Roswell Georgia and Cobb County jobs.
- Idaho state employees have been disgruntled, as of 2010, over their Governor Butch Otter to restrict the purchase of time-in-service for retirement purposes.
- The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund has been called to task for overly enriching top fund officials.
- All the while, the Louisiana Retirement System has been accused of overpaying the former President of Southern University.
- They say that in Maine the public retirement system is getting too expensive.
- Minnesota has reason to quiver because its state employee retirement system suffers from underfunding as does the Oklahoma retirement system.
- Meanwhile, Missouri has crafted a new state retirement system.
- Reform had also been in the air in 2010 in South Carolina with Governor Mark Sanford hosting a Public Retirement System Roundtable.
- But efforts to reform the state retirement system in Utah have been met with protests.
- The New York public retirement system has become a plumb in a game of political corruption.
- The New Hampshire system also has had legal problems. In 2010, it found itself in court because it refused to divulge the names of its 500 top beneficiaries.
- The Virginia commonwealth retirement system fell under an audit in 2010.
- All the while, the North Carolina public retirement system has established a good record of recruiting its management from its counterpart in Indiana. May we say that Indiana has become North Carolina's farm team.
Topic: State of the States
Subtopics: California: CalPERS • Fresno • Modesto • Orange County • Sacto Early Retirement • Sacto Pensions • Stanislaus • Ventura
Michigan: State Employee Retiree System • Defined Benefits Reform
Florida • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Louisiana • Maine • Minnesota • Missouri • New Hampshire • New York • North Carolina • Oklahoma • South Carolina • South Dakota • Utah • Virginia
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