Posted on 01/26/2011 10:00:55 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO -- As the debate over state pensions simmers in Sacramento, an appeals court Wednesday overturned part of a negotiated increase in retirement benefits for several thousand regulatory workers, saying the Legislature never approved the full increase or its estimated $40 million cost.
The case involves 3,500 to 4,000 employees whose union, the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association, reached an agreement with then-Gov. Gray Davis' administration in 2002 to reclassify them as "safety members" of the state's retirement system in July 2004.
That entitled them to higher pensions - 2.5 percent of their pay, instead of 2 percent, for each year of service if they retired at age 55.
The workers included licensing employees and investigators for regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and consumer bureaus, said Jason Jasmine, a lawyer for the union. They also included non-patrol workers for law enforcement agencies, such as criminalists and California Highway Patrol dispatchers.
The agreement did not say, however, whether it was retroactive - that is, whether the employees would be classified as safety members for their previous work years, or only for their work after July 2004.
The Legislature quickly approved and Davis signed a bill that ratified the deal. Later in 2002, Davis' administration told employees that the pension increases would apply to their past years on the job.
But former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who unseated Davis in a 2003 recall election, took the opposite view and said the benefits were not retroactive.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Awwww
Well, cry me a river! Regular Americans are dealing with enormous losses in their retirement funds. Many are wondering if they will ever get to retire at all. Don't you think they could argue the same thing - they also "aniticipated that they were going to retire with (sic) enhanced benefits!"
I love the fact that this whole farce is based on redefining employees' job status so they become "safety members" of the retirement fund. Working at the DMV becomes a hazardous job! (OK, let the jokes fly!)
This is he reason you are hearing such a big commotion over states being able to declare bankruptcy.
If states do that, there’s a good chance ex-state workers won’t be able to cash in their six figure pension benefits.
"It's not a good time to be litigating pension-enhancement cases,"
“”That entitled them to higher pensions - 2.5 percent of their pay, instead of 2 percent, for each year of service if they retired at age 55.””
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WOW!!!
That is a huge difference. If a person started working at age 25 and retired 30 years later at age 55, that person would get 75% of their pay as a pension!!!!
Versus 60% of their pay under the old formula.
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