The pension reform measure that San Francisco voters passed in 2011 isn’t yielding the savings that city leaders expected, and for several reasons — one of which should worry all pension-paying institutions. That reason: Retirees are living significantly longer than old assumptions.
In 2011, the hope was that Proposition C, by changing pension formulas for new hires and capping some payments, would lead to city pension spending peaking in 2014. Instead, these costs are still growing, and are easily the single biggest factor in the $99 million hole projected in San Francisco’s 2016-17 budget.
The news of the projected deficit has triggered shock in San Francisco. The local economy is booming as never before, thanks to the rapid growth of local tech companies, and the assumption was that abundant revenue could let city leaders pursue ambitious plans, such as sharply adding to proposed transportation infrastructure upgrades.
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