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

Long-Term Care Reform Package Making Its Way Through Legislature

California legislators are considering a package of 24 bills this session collectively aimed at improving the state's support network for aging services and long-term care.

The bills -- 12 in the Assembly and 12 in the Senate -- deal with a variety of issues involving some of the 112 separate programs for aging and long-term care overseen by 20 different agencies and departments in the state and county governments.

BALLOT INSTRUCTIONS: Read and follow the instructions carefully to ensure your vote is counted. 

Medicare is poised to overhaul the way it pays physicians and create new systems to reward high-performing doctors under legislation approved by the Senate late Tuesday.

The unusually bipartisan bill, which passed the House easily last month, will immediately lift the threat of an automatic 21% cut in Medicare fees to physicians, which was set to take effect Wednesday.

The legislation also marks a milestone in the push to modernize Medicare, the nation’s mammoth federal insurance program for the elderly, and move it away from the traditional system of paying physicians for every procedure they perform.

CSR Legislative Report for the 2015-16 Legislative Session

California State Retirees President Tim Behrens testified at a joint informational hearing on March 18 that the governor's plan to introduce a high-deductible health plan for CalPERS members is "the wrong path to take in addressing high health care costs."

"Such plans shift costs to workers, discourage people from accessing needed health care and would divide [CalPERS] health plans into those for the young and those for the old," Behrens testified before the joint Informational hearinig of the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee and the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee.