Work for the state, Retire at 55, take in $1million in retirement benefits

[FireRx]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

How does CalPers fund itself?

From us lowly state workers, and employer contributions. I should say former state worker. Retired 10 months ago.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by FireRx

From us lowly state workers, and employer contributions. I should say former state worker. Retired 10 months ago.

Congratulations! Hope you're enjoying the freedom.

Also, like any large fund, CalPERS invests heavily and is a major Wall Street player due to its sheer size, over $205 billion.

[Dub D]

I'm pretty far into getting a law enforcement job. If I get through this step, I'm getting the job. The main reason why I want to get this job is due to the retirement benefits. If i get the job, I'll eventually want to become a cop as well.

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Oh, bother! The state General Fund is $20 billion in the hole (likely much more, closer to 30) but CalPERS is not. Capiche?

Facing fundamental fiscal facts is what I did for a living for the state for the better part of 20 of my 25 years, analyzing politics and legislation and testifying before fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, as well as being involved in the state budget process. Every analysis had to include fiscal impact and that was one of the most important elements. I know just a wee bit about it from first-hand experience, and you?

Most unfortunately, I, and people like me, were rarely listened to by the politicos or the state would not be in the mess it is.

Now do you really wish to discuss "rational" with me? A piece of advice, know your audience.

Read more about it before you brag about how much you know... (pension tsunami) There's tons of articles about just how much the state pension system is in trouble. But don't let facts stop you in thinking just how much you know.

And yeah, I do know my audience. I have multiple in-laws who are CA firefighters, teachers, school admin., have multiple friends who are teachers, and my kids hear a lot from their teachers on what they make and what they are getting when they retire, so I do know what's going on in multiple levels.

[Hwy phantom]

Here's another article for all you Pollyanna's to read up on.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Public Pensions and Our Fiscal Future - WSJ.com

[Hwy phantom]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Congratulations! Hope you're enjoying the freedom.

Also, like any large fund, CalPERS invests heavily and is a major Wall Street player due to its sheer size, over $205 billion.

Straight from the article I posted,


"Thanks to huge unfunded pension and retirement health-care promises granted by past governments, and also to deceptive pension-fund accounting that understated liabilities and overstated future investment returns, California is now saddled with $550 billion of retirement debt."

It doesn't look CalPERS has it covered based on these numbers.

[Hwy phantom]

Originally Posted by FireRx

From us lowly state workers, and employer contributions. I should say former state worker. Retired 10 months ago.

Yeah the money comes in from cops and fireman at about 9% and goes back out to them at 90%. Not a bad return, sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by jkbatca

Read more about it before you brag about how much you know... (pension tsunami) There's tons of articles about just how much the state pension system is in trouble. But don't let facts stop you in thinking just how much you know.

And yeah, I do know my audience. I have multiple in-laws who are CA firefighters, teachers, school admin., have multiple friends who are teachers, and my kids hear a lot from their teachers on what they make and what they are getting when they retire, so I do know what's going on in multiple levels.

You don't have first-hand knowledge, just hearsay. And if your childrens' teachers are discussing their personal finances with their students then they're idiots and don't belong in the classroom.

Of course I know that the state retirement systems (CalPERS and CalSTRS) are over-subscribed. That's a no-brainer. At issue was your claim that the state would, at some point, discontinue issuing retirement checks. My response was that the checks may come from the State Controller but the funds don't. The second issue is that for current employees and retirees the state is legally obligated to fulfill its contractual obligation to them. The courts have already weighed-in on that issue.

My claimed expertise is in how real politik works, or doesn't, in Sacramento, including the budget process, and nothing more. It explains how the state reached its current morass and why it's circling the drain and picking up momentum in the process.

If you want to split hairs I'll concede that thanks primarily to the Legislature and Former and Wannabe Again Governor Moonbeam, aka: Ol' Crusty, the pension plans have devolved into almost classic Ponzi schemes. Same thing with Social Security.

Sometimes it's a comfort to be along in years!

[MRPD114]

Hwy phantom, just to clarify about contribution rates, sometimes the employee's pay their 9% share themselves but often their employer pays the employees portion through contract negotiations where the employees take less in raises for awhile. The employers' share is occasionally very low when the economy is fine, but often well above 15% in times like these.