pension

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DB or Not DB: That is the question

Byuclafaculty

One of the characteristics of a defined benefit (DB) pension such as the current UC plan is that – in contrast to defined contribution (DC) plans – it provides a strong incentive to retire for long-service employees. The two-tier version enacted by the Regents for new hires still preserves the DB format. For faculty renewal, this feature can be important. The governor’s proposal for state and local pensions (including UC) would substitute a “hybrid” plan which is a mix of DB and DC. The more DC there is in a plan, the less you get the incentive to retire. As…

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Ham and Eggs: November 15

Byuclafaculty

The UCLA Faculty Women’s Club will be hosting yours truly on Tuesday, November 15, 1:30 PM, at the Faculty Center to talk about “Ham and Eggs Pensions in California.” Below is the text from the above announcement. FDR wasn’t the only one who wanted to end destitution among the elderly. Even after Social Security became law, about 80 old-age pension proposals competed for support in California alone. The most prominent and sensational became known as“Ham and Eggs.” It promised “$30 every Thursday” for each unemployed Californian aged 50 or older. The idea was that every pensioner deserved a square meal…

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Too Much Pension News (and Some Useful Data)

Byuclafaculty

The Regents Committee on Compliance and Audit is meeting via teleconference on Nov. 7 in advance of the general Regents meeting the following week. We will post the audio when it becomes available. The agenda for the full Regents meeting has not been posted yet, but the Regents are likely to have some discussion related to the governor’s pension proposals. Included in the Committee’s agenda is an audit of the pension plan. Below is a data summary taken from that audit. The full document is at: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov11/a5attach4.pdf = = = = = = = = = = = = =…

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Statement by Academic Senate Task Force on Investments & Retirement on Governor’s Pension Plan

Byuclafaculty

October 31, 2011 ROBERT ANDERSON, CHAIR, ACADEMIC COUNCIL RE: Governor Brown’s Twelve Point Pension Reform Plan Dear Bob Following circulation of the Governor’s Twelve Point Pension Reform Plan, the Senate Task Force on Investments and Retirement (TFIR) discussed the proposed reforms, and prepared the attached document: “TFIR’s Comments in Response to the Governor’s Pension Reform Plan”; TFIR would like to post this document on the TFIR section of the Senate’s web site, and hopes that you will place a link to the document on the main page. The goals of the TFIR statement are 1) to let Senate faculty know…

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Crane Likely to Pick Up on Pension Issue at Next Regents Meeting

Byuclafaculty

Regent David Crane – a last-minute appointee to the Regents by Gov. Schwarzenegger – has been a public pension hawk and has made remarks about collective bargaining that ensured he would not be confirmed. Assuming he attends the November Regents meeting (Crane’s last given the non-confirmation), he is likely to say something about the pension issue. The Regents’ agenda for November is not yet posted. But even if the pension item is not a formal agenda topic, Crane can bring it up. That is not a Bad Thing. The Regents should be informed about the impact of the governor’s pension…

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Was that Jerry or Casey at the Bat (on pensions)?

Byuclafaculty

Now that it is clear the governor wants UC to be part of his public sector pension proposal, you might be curious about what the Legislative Analyst thinks: LAO calls pension plan excellent start Duane W. Gang, Riverside Press-Enterprise 10/27/11 California’s nonpartisan legislative analyst praised Gov. Jerry Brown’s pension plan Thursday and said it deserves consideration by the Legislature. “I thought it knocked the ball out of the park,” Mac Taylor, who heads the Legislative Analyst’s Office, said during a lecture series at his alma mater, UC Riverside. “I think it is an excellent start.” … Full article at http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/duane-gang-headlines/20111027-inland-lao-calls-pension-plan-excellent-start.ece…

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Things are Tough in Sacramento So We Don’t Yet Have Final Word on UC Coverage

Byuclafaculty

We’re still waiting for the definitive answer as of Friday afternoon as to whether UC is covered by the governor’s pension proposal. But apparently, folks at the Dept. of Finance and Legislature are busy with other matters: California Finance Director Ana Matosantos arrested on DUI charge http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/10/california-finance-director-ana-matosantos-arrested-on-suspicion-of-dui.html (The budget must be worse than anyone imagined.) Folks in the legislature have also been busy: Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi arrested for shoplifting http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/10/report-assemblywoman-hayashi-arrested-for-shoplifting.html When things settle down up north and we get final info, we’ll post it. UPDATE: UC’s coverage by the governor’s pension plan has now been confirmed. More info will be…

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The Morning After (the Guv’s Pension Plan): What Do We Know?

Byuclafaculty

It’s the morning after the governor’s press conference announcing his pension proposals – and we still do not have definite word as to whether UC is covered. The LA Times version says all state and local employees are covered. Excerpt: Who would be affected? All state and local public employees. Current workers would be expected to pay at least half of their retirement costs, but the higher retirement age and new savings plan would apply only to employees hired later. See http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-pension-qa-20111028,0,4930171.story And there is a lot of fuzziness in the announced plan. For example, how do you “cap” a…

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The Guv on Pensions: What did he say?

Byuclafaculty

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…

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

Byuclafaculty

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…