CA: Pension postscript

Sac Bee ^ | 8/3/04 | Op/Ed

[NormsRevenge]

The Schwarzenegger administration has decided those more lucrative safety retirement benefits that went to the politically influential California Union of Safety Employees will apply only from here on out. Union members will not receive richer safety retirement credit for service before July 1, 2004, when the new safety category went into effect. It was the right decision for taxpayers and fairness. It also was a big financial blow to individual retirees.

Under the old retirement formula, a 55-year-old CAUSE union member with 30 years on the job could retire today with 60 percent of pay. If the new, richer formula were applied retroactively, that is for past service, that same worker could take home 75 percent of pay, a hefty 25 percent boost.

As we noted in our recent "Pension countdown" editorials, former Gov. Gray Davis was fighting (unsuccessfully) for his political life when he signed the measure that gave police-like retirement benefits to some 3,200 additional state workers in 71 different job classifications. With the state borrowing record amounts of money to stay afloat and pension costs soaring, the governor abruptly reversed state policy to give richer retirements to members of a union that contributed more than a quarter-million dollars to his campaign coffers that year.

[television is just wrong]

Well, that needs to be redone. I think Mr. Schwarzenegger should be rethinking that and rescind the motion that Mr. Greyout Davis did.

That man (Mr. Davis),should be sent to live in Iraq, or maybe Zimbabwe. Davis needs something to worry about.

[calcowgirl]

Good Move! Now he needs to follow through with the second half of the equation and revert to the prior level for service after July 1, 2005 (or whenever their contract runs out). There is no guarantee to pension credit for future service, only with that already earned (or under contract), IMO.