Author: uclafaculty

From http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?xid=z2hom7ay9rt20f# The call for pension reform received an unexpected boost from an unlikely source this week — former Gov. Gray Davis. In an interview with Reuters, Davis said reforms advocated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will make it easier for whomever holds the job next, and he praised Schwarzenegger for pushing for changes in the state pension system — changes that Davis said were now inevitable. “With … the open primary and redistricting reform, at least 20% of the Legislature will have its interests properly aligned, and they will be punished [by voters] if they don’t solve big problems,” he…

From the LA Times today at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0818-pension-reform-20100818,0,3115924,print.story comes the word that a pension “spiking” reform bill has been watered down. The governor says he won’t sign it. Such a bill might have defused some of the tension and controversy around the public pension area – which could easily lead to a ballot initiative that would encompass UC’s pension. This development underlines the need – emphasized in prior posts – for the Regents to have a plan for UC in place by January. Note: “Spiking” refers to an ability by employees to inflate final earnings for the pension calculation by adding…

While the article below refers only to CalPERS and CalSTRS, as has been noted in prior posts, UC is in danger of having its pension system covered by some sweeping initiative that would cover all public pensions in California. A new governor takes office in early January 2011. Unless UC has a plan of its own – and unless the Regents push for UC autonomy as other statewide policies are debated – the consequences could be unfortunate. Note part in bold italics below. — Pension reform: Brown picks up where he left off (excerpts) By Ed Mendel calpensions.com 7/31/10 In…

The New York Times website today features a debate among various academics about the problem (some don’t think it is one) of professors who don’t retire. One participant calls for reinstatement of mandatory retirement. (Mandatory retirement for faculty was ended under federal law in the 1980s.) None of the participants notes that under a defined-benefit (DB) pension, such as we have at UC, there is a strong incentive to retire. Long-service employees under DB pensions lose one year of pension for each year they don’t retire. You can end up working for nothing if you stay. Universities that have defined-contribution…