CalPERS board set to discuss Jerry Brown’s pension plan today

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The nation’s largest public pension system will meet Wednesday to discuss the proposed pension changes for state workers unveiled by Gov. Jerry Brown, but is not expected to have a full financial breakdown of the plan.

The board of the California Public Employees Retirement System is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. in Sacramento. The agency has offered a preliminary analysis of the plan online.

But analysts found potential legal hurdles to the governor’s efforts to end the right of current employees to purchase pension credits for time they have not actually worked. And they said state officials may not be able to prevent current workers who are convicted of a felony from collecting retirement benefits, as the proposal calls for.

Those efforts ‘may be subject to challenge based on an argument that they impair the vested rights of existing employees,’ the analysis states.

While the plan caps the amount of salary a worker can use on which to base a guaranteed pension, the analysis found a local government can establish an additional 401(k)-style plan for any salary a worker makes above the $110,000 cap.

‘The employer may provide a contribution to a defined contribution plan for compensation in excess of the limitation as specified,’ the analysis states.

The analysis concedes CalPERS will not be able to complete a full appraisal of the proposal before lawmakers are expected to vote on it Friday, stating, ‘A much more detailed review and vetting will be needed for full understanding and implementation.’

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-- Anthony York in Sacramento