CA Public Pensions Law Blog

Last week, the California Supreme Court agreed to review the California Court of Appeal’s December 2016 ruling in Cal Fire Local 2881 v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System, 7 Cal.App.5th 115 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016), that the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) lawfully eliminated the right of CalPERS members to purchase up to five years of retirement service credit called ...

Two laws that went into effect on January 1, 2017 should help some CalSTRS and CalPERS members.

Special Needs Trusts May Be Designated Beneficiaries

Assembly Bill 1875 amended various sections of the Education Code to allow Defined Benefit Program members and Cash Balance Benefit Program participants to designate a special needs trust as an option or annuity beneficiary. A special needs trust shields the ...

Last month, the Bay Area’s Mercury News published an editorial by Dave Low headlined “Opinion: CalPERS Pensions Are Just Fine, Thank You Very Much.” Low heads Californians for Retirement Security, an organization claiming a membership of more than 1.6 million public employees and retirees. Low’s editorial maintained that the pension reforms enacted in 2012 have bolstered the long-term health of ...