The following PDF is a list of Bills that CSR is supporting, opposing or watching.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today released its annual CalPERS for California Report, detailing the broad ancillary benefits the System’s investments generated in California for the 2013-14 Fiscal Year. Additionally, CalPERS released an updated version of the California Initiative Report, highlighting a program that encourages investments in companies located in traditionally underserved California markets.

CalPERS -- The California Public Employees' Retirement System's (CalPERS) Pension and Health Benefits Committee (PHBC)  recommended June 16 the Pension Fund's Board of Administration adopt health care premium rate and plan changes for 2016. The recommendations include adopting a Medicare plan alternative - UnitedHealthcare's (UHC) Medicare Advantage Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan - and eliminating Medicare Advantage plans currently offered by Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Health Net and Sharp. Kaiser Permanente will continue to offer its Medicare Advantage plan and the CalPERS PPO Medicare Supplement plans will remain in place.

CalPERS' decision to adopt UHC's PPO could save a minimum of $24 million if at least 40,000 members move into this new Medicare plan option.

Sacramento Bee -- Thousands of calls to California’s Medi-Cal complaint lines don’t get through, and thousands more that manage to ring the call center go unanswered, according to a new state audit.

For the year that ended in January 2015, the phone system to the Medi-Cal Ombudsman Office rejected up to 45,000 calls in a month, State Auditor Elaine Howle said in her report to lawmakers.

The following PDF is a list of Bills that CSR is supporting, opposing or watching.

CNNMoney (New York) -  CVS Health (CVS) and Target (TGT)announced Monday that they've made a deal for CVS to acquire Target's pharmacy and clinic businesses for $1.9 billion

By Brian Rice, President of the Sacramento Area Firefighters 

When they announced their ballot measure last week, critics of public employee retirement benefits engaged in hyperbole and pointing to potholes as evidence that millions of elderly Californians should be stripped of their retirement savings. Cities, they claim, are spending so much on retired police officers, firefighters and other employees that services – such as filling potholes or maintaining parks – are getting “crowded out.”

SACRAMENTO BEE - Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman and current radio talk show co-host, have a new ballot proposal that would constitutionally require that voters approve increases in compensation and retirement benefits for public employees.

"Inadequate financial preparation for retirement is a growing national concern. Defined benefit plans are the most cost-efficient way to save for retirement and should remain an important tool in retirement planning. All employees – whether in the public or private sectors – should have effective means to pursue retirement security," CalPERS said in a statement issued June 4.

Fuzzy Math Continues To Drive Public Pension Hysteria

By Association of Deputy District Attorneys Board of Directors

Public employee pension systems are an integral part of recruiting and retaining high-performing public employees. They align the interests of the employer and the employee. A pension allows attorneys to work for the county District Attorney despite the prospect of a higher income in private practice. Once hired, DDAs have an incentive to stay during the most productive years of their career; and at the end of that career, DDAs can leave the office rather than cling to the job because it is their only source of income.

For the third time in four years, advocates for altering public pensions have a plan they want to put to a statewide vote.

But this time the proposal by pension-change advocates Chuck Reed and Carl DeMaio has a new twist: Pensions and other retirement benefits themselves would automatically become a matter of ballot-box politics by requiring voter approval any time government officials sought to upgrade benefits.

Longtime CSR Board Member Jerry Evans, who was the District B director and the board’s former executive vice president and vice president, passed away suddenly on May 30.

The following PDF is a list of Bills that CSR is supporting, opposing, or watching.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in favor of participants in employee retirement plans who object to companies' investment decisions that eat into retirement savings.

The justices revived claims by current and former employees of energy company Edison International. The employees argued that the company chose mutual funds with excessive fees.

On Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) released the revised version of his fiscal year 2015-2016 budget plan, which includes several health care proposals, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The revised $169 billion budget is more than $4 billion larger than the original proposal unveiled in January (Megerian, Los Angeles Times, 5/14). The revised plan would increase health and social services spending by about $1.7 billion (Richman, San Jose Mercury News, 5/14).

Henry Jones has been declared the unofficial winner in the 2015 election of the retired member representative seat on the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration. There was no opposition to Jones' re-election and pending certification of the election by California's Secretary of State, he will begin a new four-year term of service on the Board on January 16, 2016.

"I'm honored to serve another term and represent our retirees," said Jones, CalPERS Vice President. "I look forward to continuing to work in my leadership role alongside my colleagues on the Board to ensure the long-term sustainability of the pension fund and our health care program."

Some pension program changes, such as the shift to defined contribution plans from defined benefit plans, might be widening the income gap and dampening economic growth, said a new report from the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems.

There are conversations about income and equality, but few touch on the treatment of pensioners and how that contributes to income inequality, said Hank Kim, Washington-based, executive director and counsel at NCPERS and co-author of the report.

In the private sector, there has been a shift to DC plans from DB plans. Between 1975 and 2011, the number of private sector DB plans declined by 57% and the number of employees covered by DB plans declined 10%, NCPERS’ research found.

Government pensions in California have withstood another fierce challenge in bankruptcy court.

A bankruptcy judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by two disgruntled bond creditors challenging the city of San Bernardino’s decision to make its pension payments in full to CalPERS.

Ruling from Riverside, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury tossed the claim filed by the two creditors, Ambac Assurance Corp. and a Luxembourg bank named EEPK.

Last fall the city, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012, said it would pay its $24 million-a-year CalPERS bill in full. Ambac and EEPK said that arrangement was unfair to other creditors. Although San Bernardino hasn’t filed its complete repayment plan, it’s likely that many creditors would stand to receive only a portion of what they’re owed.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The southern California city of San Bernardino has proposed virtually eliminating retiree health insurance costs under a bankruptcy exit plan it must produce by May 31, according to an attorney involved in negotiations with city officials.

The following PDF is a list of Bills that CSR is supporting, opposing, or watching.

May 04, 2015 Legislative Report