The 2024-25 Budget: California State University

Feb 15, 2024 - CSU Is Directly Responsible for Certain Pension Costs. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) administers pension benefits for CSU and most other state employees. The CalPERS Board sets employer contribution rates for pensions as a percentage of payroll.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4842

The 2025-26 Budget: Higher Education Overview

Feb 6, 2025 - All three segments also are projecting higher pension and health care costs in 2025 ‑26. (The state, however, directly pays a small share of community college pension costs, a large share of CSU pension costs, and all of CSU retiree health care costs.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4957

An Analysis of University Cash Management Issues

Nov 10, 2020 - UC Has Been Borrowing to Make Pension Contributions. In addition to shifting funds into its long-term investment account, UC has borrowed funds internally from its short-term investment account and externally using bonds to help make its annual pension contributions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4293

The 2020-21 Budget: Analyzing UC and CSU Cost Pressures [Publication Details]

Dec 18, 2019 - California operates two public university systems: (1) the University of California (UC), consisting of 10 campuses, and (2) the California State University (CSU), consisting of 23 campuses. The Legislature faces many pressures to increase funding for UC and CSU in 2020‑21.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4127

The 2020-21 Budget: Analyzing UC and CSU Cost Pressures

Dec 18, 2019 - For employee benefit cost increases, we projected growth based upon recent state actuarial assumptions regarding pension contribution rates and health premium increases. Using different assumptions than we made would result in a different estimate of the state ’s operating surplus.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4127

The 2022-23 Budget: California State University

Feb 15, 2022 - In addition to these base increases, the state has provided General Fund each year to cover changes in certain CSU pension and retiree health costs. Over the same time period, CSU has increased tuition only once, raising systemwide charges by 4.9  percent for undergraduate and teacher credential students and 6.5  percent for graduate students in  2017 ‑18.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4537

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Higher Education

Oct 16, 2020 - Repurposes Prior Pension Payment to Reduce District Costs Over the Next Two Years. The 2019 ‑20 budget plan included $3.2 billion non-Proposition 98 General Fund for certain pension payments the state was scheduled to make on behalf of schools and colleges.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4284

Assessment of CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025 [Publication Details]

Dec 10, 2025 - This report focuses on the California State University’s (CSU’s) Graduation Initiative 2025 (GI 2025). This initiative aimed to increase graduation rates and close gaps in graduation rates among particular student groups by 2025. In the report, we provide background on GI 2025, then discuss associated funding and activities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5099

Assessment of CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025

Dec 10, 2025 - Tie Funding to Each State ‑Identified Graduation Objective. If the Legislature decides to maintain its current level of GI funding or provide additional GI funding, we recommend the state tie that funding to specified objectives.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5099

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Higher Education Budget Proposals

Jan 26, 2022 - Community colleges’ pension rates, however, also are increasing in 2022‑23 at an unusual pace (approximately 2 or 3 percentage points, depending upon the pension system). The relatively high rate increases are due to previously provided state pension relief ending, combined with long‑term plans by the pension systems to continue paying down large unfunded liabilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4499