For more than a decade, public pension costs have been rising sharply in California. There is contentious debate about what is driving these cost increases—significant retroactive benefit increases, unrealistic assumptions about investment earnings, operational practices that mask or delay recognition of true system costs, poor governance, 1 to name the most commonly cited. But there is agreement on one fact: public pension costs are making it harder to provide services that have traditionally been considered part of government’s core mission.
In an effort to better understand the magnitude and impacts of these costs, this report presents the results of 14 case studies. Each case study looks at a particular California jurisdiction—the state, sample cities, counties, special districts and school districts—and reports on its costs for providing employee pension benefits.
Results cover each Fiscal Year since 2008-09 and each pension valuation date since June 30, 2008, and projected results include each future year through 2029-30 and each future valuation date through June 30, 2029. 2 Each case study includes:
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