April, 2011

States are $1.26 trillion in the hole when it comes to their pension and retiree health obligations, according to a report released Tuesday. And taxpayers are ultimately on the hook for this shortfall, which soared 26% in one year.

Orange County supervisors led by John Moorlach took on the legal issue of boosting pensions for years already served under a less generous plan. They lost when the state Supreme Court last week unanimously refused to hear their appeal.

The state of educator pension systems in many states is troubled, as anyone who has read the headlines about funding shortfalls must know. Clearly, it’s time for significant change, but in making changes, policymakers must carefully consider their impact on the labor market.

When the cities of Sunnyvale, Moorpark, and Stanton wanted to reduce operating costs without impacting services, they turned to PARS to develop a Social Security alternative for part-time, seasonal, and temporary (PST) employees.

Facing a $2 million budget deficit, in late 2010 the City of Beverly Hills turned to a PARS early retirement incentive as an alternative to laying off valued employees. The PARS Supplementary Retirement Plan (SRP) approved by the City Council