California retirees receive six-figure pensions as fund deficit widens

California’s public-employee pension system is disbursing six-figure annual payments to over 63,000 retirees, up from roughly 26,000 in 2018 and 1,841 in 2005. The fund, CalPERS, is $153 billion short of the assets needed to meet promised benefits, the largest gap of any state pension plan in the United States. Critics say the growing payouts force local governments to divert funds from services such as public safety and homelessness programs.

Among the top beneficiaries are former CalPERS investment directors and county administrators whose pensions reflect high salaries earned before retirement. Although a 2013 law now caps benefits at IRS limits, many retirees are still receiving pensions earned under earlier, more generous rules. Unions remain active in seeking further increases, even as Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a proposal to expand benefits for police and firefighters.