CalSTRS

Jerry Brown May Force You to Save for Retirement

A new plan approved by the California legislature and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for approval would force employees of most private companies and small businesses to save for their retirement, with automatic deductions from their paychecks sent to the “California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program” if they do not have a 401(k) plan at work.

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

California Audit Reveals Pension Debt Grew by 2,000%

Government accounting rules have forced a California audit that has revealed an increase in the “debt” it owes for pension liability by 2,000 percent this year. The state could nearly double the debt again next year when it is forced to account for unfunded retiree health benefits.

Reuters / Max Whittaker

California Pensions Move Closer to Divesting from Coal

California’s pension funds moved one step closer to divesting from coal on Wednesday, with an Assembly committee approving SB 185 bill by a 5-1 vote. The bill, which has passed the state Senate, moves to the floor for a vote. It is likely to pass, and Gov.Jerry Brown is likely to sign it into law, though he has opposed measures to ban fracking for oil in the state.

The Associated Press

CA Teacher Retirement Fund Dumps Firearms Shares

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has sold its investment in Remington Outdoor, the parent company for Bushmaster firearms–the firearm that Adam Lanza stole and used in his his heinous attack on Sandy Hook Elementary.

CalSTRS (Paul Sableman / Flickr / Creative Commons)

Cal School Budgets: Pension Costs Rise from 3.8% to 9%

California schools are about to suffer a 235% increase in the percentage of their annual budgets that are devoted to teacher pensions managed by the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS). The stunningly higher costs will slash the number of classroom teachers in all predominantly middle-class schools, but exempt inner-city school districts with high “English learners and recipients of subsidized meals.”

CalSTRS (Paul Sableman / Flickr / Creative Commons)

Stock Market Peak: Worst-Case Scenario for CalPERS and CalSTRS

Investors celebrated the NASDAQ stock market topping the 5,000 level this week for the first time since March 2000. But there were no celebrations in Sacramento for the anniversary of the last time that California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) were over 100 percent funded.

AP Photo/Richard Drew