California Assembly Passes $4.8 Billion Pension Boost for Police, Firefighters as CalPERS Gains 14.8%
Updated
Updated · Noozhawk · Aug 11
California Assembly Passes $4.8 Billion Pension Boost for Police, Firefighters as CalPERS Gains 14.8%
3 articles · Updated · Noozhawk · Aug 11
Summary
AB 1383 cleared the California Assembly with broad bipartisan support, putting a pension increase for police and firefighters on track for possible Senate approval within weeks.
CalPERS’ 14.8% investment gain in fiscal 2025-26 strengthened unions’ case that richer benefits can be absorbed, even as actuaries estimate the bill would add $4.8 billion in costs and $233 million in annual employer contributions.
Local governments argue the measure would partially unwind California’s 2012 pension overhaul and could trigger parity demands from other public-worker unions, pushing costs beyond the official estimate.
That warning draws on the state’s earlier pension expansion 27 years ago, after which weaker investment returns drove up mandatory contributions, strained city budgets and figured in bankruptcies in Vallejo, Stockton and San Bernardino.