California Pension Obligations

One of the big budget burdens for the California government are hefty pension obligations. Over 9,000 retirees draw pensions in excess of $100,000 per year according to figures gathered under the Freedom of Information Act from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). How can someone end up with such a huge payment?

In California, public safety workers such as police, firefighters and CHP officers, can retire at age 50 – at 90% of their top salary. The pension formula is to take 3% of their top salary – then multiply it by the number of years they worked – so after 30 years on the job, their pension would be 90% of their highest salary.

Under former Governor Gray Davis, thousands of civil servants not in the line of fire were also given elevated benefits