CalPERS

The Wrong Kind of Hike

CalPERS enrollees receive notice of long-term care rate hikes 2/20/13, Sacramento Bee, Jon Ortiz [excerpt] With an 85 percent premium hike looming, government workers and retirees covered by CalPERS’ costliest long-term care insurance policies face a crucial decision: Swallow the increase or get out of a program they have been paying into for years. The reality of the increase literally came home this week as letters from CalPERS hit the mailboxes of 148,000 policyholders. The fund’s board last year voted to raise premiums for the 90 percent of insured members who bought the top-tier plan – lifetime coverage and inflation protection for…

|

How High?

A prior post on this blog noted that CalPERS was considering raising its rates for long-term care insurance by 75%.  We noted that although UC was not under CalPERS, as state employees, UC employees have been allowed in the past to participate in the program. We also noted that such insurance is a very iffy proposition since it is hard to forecast costs many years ahead for long-term care and thus rates could go up (a lot). Turns out, that CalPERS is indeed planning to raise the rates.  But now the increase may be as high as 85%.  From the…

| |

Cautionary Note About CalPERS Long-Term Care

Although UC employees are not covered by the basic CalPERS retirement plan, they are eligible to buy long-term care insurance through CalPERS as state employees, if such policies are offered. Some UC employees, who would be reluctant to buy such policies from commercial insurance companies, may have bought or considered the CalPERS version in the past. Today’s Sacramento Bee carries a cautionary story for you, if you have bought a CalPERS long-term care policy or might consider doing so in the future (if they are again offered).  Excerpts below: …CalPERS is considering imposing a 75 percent increase in premiums on…

| |

Follow the Leader? Will UC Follow CalPERS on Health Costs?

From the Sacramento Bee: The California Public Employees’ Retirement System plans to raise health care premiums to its members by an average of nearly 10 percent next year, one of the biggest increases in recent years. The increase of 9.6 percent would be more than twice as big as the rate hike that took effect for this year. It would have significant implications for health care affordability in California and beyond. CalPERS is a major purchaser of health insurance; it covers nearly 1.3 million public employees, retirees and their family members… “Wow – that’s pretty high,” said Joanne Spetz, an…

| | | |

Hobgoblin Pensions

Yours truly is not exactly sure what a hobgoblin is, except that consistency was said by Emerson to be the hobgoblin of small minds. As readers of this blog will know, the Regents and UCOP have been effusively praising the governor for somehow committing to funding the UC pension system fully, even though all he has done is said that UC could use some of its state allocation for the pension (which was always the case).  Absent some larger understanding between UC and the powers-that-be in the state on funding UC operations generally as well as the pension, such statements…

| | |

On Our Level

CalPERS’ governing board voted to cut its earnings forecast to 7.5%, the same level assumed in UCRP. There were earlier reports, as readers of this blog will know, that CalPERS would cut below us to 7.25%. If CalPERS had dropped below UCRP, the Regents might well have reduced their forecast. As noted in earlier posts, changing the earnings forecast does not change the future actual earnings.  The future will be what it will be. But lowering the forecast increases the estimated unfunded liability and could thus trigger higher contributions or some other adjustment. We will see at the upcoming Regents…

| | | |

Details on Governor’s Pension Plan?

CalPERS has released (or someone has leaked) a draft set of comments about the governor’s 12-point pension plan. Much of what is questioned is not relevant to UC which has its own problems with the plan. (See prior posts on the legislative hearings on the plan and other aspects of it.) However, the CalPERS draft makes it clear that there is much more to be resolved than just okaying the governor’s proposed 12 points. The fact that the proposal has different implications for the various plans that CalPERS administers – something clear from the document – opens the door to…

| | | | |

The Guv on Pensions: What did he say?

Governor Brown has now held his press conference on public pensions. His proposals clearly covered CalPERS and CalSTRS. Coverage of UC was not mentioned. But the governor did make an off-hand reference to UC’s long pension holiday, i.e., the two-decade period of zero contributions. The governor released a 12-point plan but one element, a kind of total cap on pension amounts, was not mentioned on the list of the twelve. [A cap is mentioned but not linked to defined contributions.] Yet, in response to a reporter’s question, he said a cap was intended but that it was complicated because of…

| | | |

UC or not UC? – That is the question (to be answered in a few hours)

Bits and pieces of Governor Brown’s public pension plan are leaking out ahead of his news conference later today. UC or not UC, that is the question, as Hamlet might say. But the leaked reports don’t provide the answer so we will have to wait a few hours more. The Capitol Alert report from last night and another from KCAL indicate that the reason Brown wants a ballot prop is to change the CalPERS board. Excerpt from Capitol Alert: Gov. Jerry Brown will propose a higher retirement age and a less generous pension system for newly-hired state workers, sources familiar…