[WEBINAR] Preparing for Changes in the “Vested Rights Doctrine” - Understanding Plan Design Options
[VIDEO] Legal Update: Is the California Rule in Flux?
[VIDEO] Pension Liability by the Numbers
[VIDEO] Perspectives: The Practical Effects of Today's Pension Programs
Earlier this month, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) urged legislators to reject key aspects of “anti-ESG” bills introduced in the Kansas Senate and House of Representatives. Both bills are designed, in...more
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it was proposing a new rule under the Exchange Act. In an accompanying "fact sheet", the SEC said that it was doing so "to increase transparency and...more
On November 24, 2020, the California Supreme Court denied two requests for depublication of the First Appellate District’s decision Marin Assn. of Public Employees v. Marin County Employees’ Retirement Assn. (2016) 2...more
Modifications Are Permissible Under the California Rule - In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court held that changes made to the County Employees’ Retirement Law, known as CERL, by pension reform measures...more
In a landmark decision of a unanimous court, on July 30, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its second case in two years on the scope of the “California Rule,” Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Assoc. et al., v. Alameda...more
In February, I penned this post about some of Nevada's historic rural courthouses. Recently, I visited Goldfield, Nevada. Although Goldfield is the county seat of Esmeralda County, it has no gas station and no supermarket. ...more
The California Public Employees Retirement System (aka CalPERS) is the largest defined-benefit public pension in the United States. It is governed by a Board of Administration that consists of 13 members who are elected,...more
On April 15, 2020, the California Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in the much-anticipated California Supreme Court public retirement case, Alameda County Deputy Sheriff's Association, et al. v. Alameda County Employees'...more
On December 12, 2019, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District handed down a unanimous decision in Luke v. County of Sonoma, Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association, et al., affirming the...more
With overall required contribution rates increasing at an alarming rate, most CalPERS employers – particularly those with significant “classic” safety populations – are looking for help to pay for these obligations....more
The CalPERS Board of Administration will not consider whether to establish the Tracy Fuller decision as a CalPERS precedent, we have confirmed. While the decision to not pursue Fuller as a precedential decision is welcome...more
The California Supreme Court recently issued its decision in the Cal Fire Local 2881 v. CalPERS case – the first of six so-called “California Rule” (“Vested Pension Rights”) cases pending before the Court. The California...more
As expected, the California Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s holding in Cal Fire Local 2881 v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System et al., concluding that the plaintiffs did not have a vested right to...more
The Situation: The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 5 in 2017, which, among other things, created the Pennsylvania Public Pension Management and Asset Investment Review Commission ("Commission"). The Commission was...more
The Pension Review Commission has determined its recommendations to improve the management and performance of the state’s largest public pension systems A Pennsylvania commission—tasked with evaluating and making...more
In a much awaited announcement, on November 8, 2018, the California Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in CalFire Local 2881, et al. v. CalPERS, et al., which is the first of the five pending vested rights cases that are...more
At its October 2018 meeting, the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System ("PSERS") Board passed a resolution that created an ad hoc committee to look into fee-related issues. The committee will hold its first...more
Pennsylvania's Commission was told at the September hearing regarding the PSERS and SERS probe that $3.8 billion in investment fees have gone unreported. The Commission in Pennsylvania that has been focusing on the...more
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation that would have imposed significant liability on CalPERS employers for errors in their CalPERS reporting which result in post-retirement pension reductions....more
The schedule for review of the investment strategies of the Public Employees' Retirement System and School Employees' Retirement System just became accelerated. At its hearing on July 30, 2018, Pennsylvania's...more
This development represents just one aspect of the ongoing debate over active versus passive asset management. Earlier this month, Pennsylvania's largest public pension fund, the Public School Employees' Retirement System...more
It’s a big litigation year for California pensions. The California Supreme Court ruled last month that San Diego’s landmark pension cutback legislation, Proposition B, was illegally placed on the 2012 ballot because city...more
If the California Supreme Court weakens the “Vested Rights Doctrine” to allow changes to the pension benefits for active employees, what are some of the plan options and design alternatives that California public agencies...more
"Pension Liability by the Numbers," presented by Mary Beth Redding, Vice President, Bartel Associates, LLC, was included in The Bill is Due: Now What? Infrastructure, Pensions and the Environment, held April 24, 2018 at the...more
In the latest state appellate decision addressing the constitutionality of the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (“PEPRA”) and other recent pension reform legislation, Division One of the First District...more