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 Unit 12 (Craft and Maintenance)

Jun 27, 2025 - Declining Share of Employees at Top Step. Figure  2 shows that the share of Unit 12 members who are at the top step of their job classification ’s pay range has decreased significantly over the past couple of decades and appears to be continuing to decline.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5060

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 5 (Highway Patrol)

Aug 23, 2024 - A pension system matures as the share of people receiving benefits (retirees and their beneficiaries) grows relative to the share of active members who are working and contributing to the system. 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)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4920

The 2024-25 Budget: Proposition 2 Debt Payment Proposals

Mar 20, 2024 - Employer Contributions for “Unfunded Liabilities. ” An unfunded liability means that the projected value of pension benefits earned to date exceeds the projected assets of the pension system. While the state shares normal cost with employees, unfunded liabilities generally are the state ’s responsibility.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4887

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 16 (Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists)

Jul 14, 2025 - (The General Fund share of these costs are paid from the state ’s required annual debt payments under Proposition  2 [2014].) The reduced amount of money invested in the trust fund will result in higher unfunded liabilities in the long-run.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5064

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 9 (Professional Engineers)

Jun 27, 2025 - Under state law, vacation or annual leave is considered a form of wages that is vested when earned. As such, employers cannot adopt a “use it or lose it ” policy for earned employee vacation and annual leave whereby unused vacation or annual leave above a certain level is forfeited at the end of the year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5061

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Jun 23, 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/5058

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Units 10 (Professional Scientists) and 18 (Psychiatric Technician)

Sep 9, 2025 - (The General Fund share of these costs are paid from the state ’s required annual debt payments under Proposition  2 [2014].) In addition, all but the agreement with Unit 6 (Corrections) also suspend the employee contribution.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5073

The 2021-22 May Revision: Golden State Stimulus 2

May 18, 2021 - Expanded benefits also replaced a larger share of workers ’ lost earnings. An unemployed minimum wage worker, who normally makes $520 per week, received $860 per week in the spring and summer under the federal increase and will receive $560 per week under the recent federal extension, which continues through September 2021.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4435