Carl DeMaio and Chuck Reed File Another Pension Reform Initiative

This one is call the Voter Empowerment Act of 2016.  This is another attempt to disable our pension system.

 THE FACTS ON THE DEMAIO/REED PENSION BALLOT MEASURE

ELIMINATES VESTED RIGHTS

  • This act would eliminate the retirement security of teachers, firefighters, school bus drivers, police officers and other public employees.  It eliminates the right to retirement for current employees and takes away defined benefit pensions for all employees hired after January 1, 2019, unless there is a vote of the electorate to restore these benefits.
  • When police, firefighters, teachers, and other public employees chose their career and signed contracts they were promised retirement benefits.  This measure will break that promise.

 ATTACKS RETIREMENT SECURITY

  • Many public employees – and ALL teachers – receive NO Social Security benefits. The pensions they earn is all they have
  • Gallup Poll survey, retirement security is the nations top financial worry. Another survey published recently by the National Institute on Retirement Security, found that 86 percent of respondents agree that the country is facing a retirement crisis.  This initiative will make things worse by eliminate retirement security
  • 401K plans were not designed to be the nation’s primary retirement system.  They reward Wall Street with excessive fees and have lower returns than defined benefit plans.  And they lost trillions of dollars during the recession.

IGNORES GOVERNOR BROWN’S REFORMS

  • The measure is an extreme ballot-box solution to issues that should be settled at the bargaining table. The complexities of retirement security and health benefits should addressed at the bargaining table, not by political consultants in 30-second sound bites and on billboards.  That’s why we elect our city councils and legislators.
  • Governor Brown and the Legislators have already passed major changes in the state pension systems. These changes are now working. 1) Benefits capped; 2) retirement age increased; 3) State employees will have to pay at least half of their pension costs. Save over $55 billion in retirement costs.

AVERAGE PENSION BENEFITS ARE NOT EXCESSIVE

  • Public employees are paying more toward their retirement than ever before. Hundreds of contracts have been negotiated with public employees that have employees contributing greater amounts.
  • The average CalPERS pension is just $2,784 per month. This measure will take guaranteed pensions away and force all new employees to rely only on risky 401k style plans
  • The number of pensions over $100,000 represents less than 2 percent of all pensions
  • CalPERS is stable and strong. It gets the highest financial ratings possible from Fitch and the second-highest from Moody’s.

 

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