Savings Plus Program: An Optional Retirement Benefit for State Employees

Mar 14, 2017 - In addition, these employees have no rights to the money they contributed to the retiree health trust fund over the course of their state career —potentially tens of thousands of dollars —or any of the earnings gained on these contributions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3616

The 2025-26 Budget: Concession Bargaining

May 19, 2025 - The first is payment towards the “normal cost, ” which is the amount of money that actuaries determine (based on actuarial assumptions like expected investment returns on assets) must be contributed to prefund the benefit earned by employees today.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5047

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Sep 7, 2023 - The normal cost is the amount of money that actuaries determine must be set aside for the benefit employees earn today so that the contribution and any future investment returns on that contribution are sufficient to pay for the benefit after the employee retires.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4800

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Units 1, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21

Jan 10, 2017 - Because the state ’s retiree health benefit is the same for an employee earning $30,000 as it is for an employee earning $100,000, the amount of money needed to prefund the benefit represents a larger share of a lower-income worker ’s salary.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3520

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 12 (Craft and Maintenance)

Jun 27, 2025 - However, the benefit earned by the employee is based on their full (not reduced) salary. Accordingly, during furloughs, the state systematically underfunds its pensions —contributing to larger unfunded liabilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5060

The 2017-18 Budget: Governor’s CalPERS Borrowing Proposal

May 16, 2017 - Introduction The state has large unfunded liabilities associated with retirement benefits earned by state employees. A recent decision by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) board will require the state to contribute more money each year to pay down pension liabilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3673

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 8 (Firefighters)

Jan 23, 2017 - Payroll is affected by (1) the number of people employed by the state and (2) the amount of money these employees earn. CalPERS assumes that payroll will grow each year by 3  percent. When payroll grows faster than 3  percent, the state ’s pension unfunded liabilities grow, resulting in higher annual costs for the state to pay off a larger unfunded liability.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3534

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 5 (Highway Patrol)

Aug 26, 2019 - As Figure  1 shows, the parties periodically agreed to redirect this money to prefund retiree health benefits. The proposed agreement would maintain the amount of money that is redirected from pay to retiree health benefits at 3.4  percent of pay.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4089

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6

Jun 14, 2019 - Part of the state ’s contribution goes towards the “normal cost ” —the amount of money that actuaries determine is necessary (combined with assumed future investment earnings) to pay the cost of pension benefits that employees earn in a given year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4078

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 5 (Highway Patrol)

Aug 23, 2024 - As a pension system matures, its cash flow changes from a positive cash flow (more money coming into the system than is being paid out to beneficiaries) to a negative cash flow (more money is being paid out to beneficiaries than is coming into the system).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4920