Calpers

A federal bankruptcy judge Friday rebuffed an effort by the state's pension system to sue San Bernardino and force it to meet its $1.7-million-per-month obligation to public workers' retirement funds, a decision that could have wider implications in the ongoing public debate over public pensions and municipal debt. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith A. Jury said requiring the financially troubled city to make payments to CalPERS would be a "death knell" to San Bernardino's effort to rebound from financial ruin.

San Bernardino's and Compton's disputes with CalPERS, the state's public employee pension fund, could have ramifications for other cities and their creditors, credit rating firm Moody's said in a new report. "These situations could open the door for courts to decide whether pension payments can be legally suspended or modified if a California local government is in financial distress and/or bankruptcy," Moody's wrote in its weekly credit outlook released Friday. On one hand, the report warned that if the financially troubled cities succeed in delaying or reducing their CalPERS payments, it "could incentivize other financially distressed cities to seek concessions from all creditors," including bondholders.

Already one of California's highest paid public pensioners, former Bell Police Chief Randy Adams this week asked a state pension panel to double his retirement pay to reflect the huge salary he received during his brief stint as the top cop in the scandal-plagued city. If Adams wins his case, which is being heard in Orange County, his pension would zoom to $510,000 a year, making him the second-highest-paid public pensioner in California. On the witness stand Thursday, Adams invoked his 5th Amendment right to not incriminate himself 20 times, including when asked about his Bell salary, which was among the highest law enforcement paychecks in the nation.

An effort by three healthcare organizations that saved the California Public Employees' Retirement System $37 million in the last two years is gaining national attention as Medicare and employers search for ways to control rising medical costs. Blue Shield of California teamed up with the Dignity Health hospital chain, previously known as Catholic Healthcare West, and Hill Physicians Medical Group to coordinate care for 41,000 CalPERS members in the Sacramento area, starting in 2010.

The nation's two biggest public pension funds reported meager returns for the last fiscal year, raising the prospects that state and local governments and school districts may have to contribute more toward their workers' retirements. The California Public Employees' Retirement System posted a 1% return on its investments for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The smaller California State Teachers' Retirement System reported a 1.8% annual return. CalPERS' performance, announced Monday during a board meeting, missed the fund's self-imposed benchmark of 1.7% growth for its $234.3-billion portfolio, Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dear said.

SACRAMENTO -- The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest public pension fund in the country, posted a mere 1% return on its investment for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The performance came in well below the fund's target of 1.7% growth in its $234.3-billion portfolio, said Joseph Dear, CalPERS' chief investment officer. The return for fiscal 2012 also was way below CalPERS' long-term growth strategy, which calls for a 7.5% average annual rate of return to pay for retirement benefits for more than 1.3 million members.

California's biggest healthcare buyer isn't happy about its $7-billion annual medical bill climbing almost 10% next year, and the state's big insurers may be feeling the heat. The California Public Employees' Retirement System is preparing to rebid its health insurance business this fall for 1.3 million members, and two of its current plans, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California, are likely to face intense competition as the giant pension fund considers its options. Perhaps the boldest move under consideration for 2014 would be to bypass insurers altogether in some areas of the state and begin contracting for medical services directly with large physician groups.

Having already dramatically cut the pensions of Bell's two former top officials, the state retirement system has sliced their retirement checks further, ruling they are not entitled to five years' worth of credit they bought for themselves with city funds. Robert Rizzo, Bell's former chief administrative officer, and Angela Spaccia, the former assistant chief administrative officer, were sent letters by the California Public Employees' Retirement System on June 6, notifying them of the decision.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the third-largest purchaser of health benefits in the country, approved a 9.6% increase in health premiums next year for its nearly 1.3 million members. The new rate takes effect Jan. 1. The hike represents a sharp rise over the 4.1% increase in premiums this year and topped 2011, when premiums rose 9.1%. CalPERS said the 2013 increase amounts to an additional $30 a month per member. Some health-policy experts were surprised at the size of the increase given CalPERS' purchasing power and the slowdown in healthcare spending nationally during a weak economy.

California Public Employees' Retirement System, the third-largest purchaser of health benefits in the country, said its health premiums next year are expected to increase 9.6% on average for nearly 1.3 million members. These recommended rates from the CalPERS pension and health benefits committee await full board approval Wednesday. If adopted, the rates for various health plans would take affect Jan. 1. Premiums at CalPERS rose 4.1% this year and 9.1% in 2011.