California’s supreme court is taking on a case that could have a major impact on the state’s public employees’ retirement system.
Joel Fox, of Fox and Hounds Daily dot-com, says the core issue is whether or not the government can reduce future pension benefits.
“The reason it’s so important is because pensions are growing so fast that they’re taking up larger and larger portions of state and local budgets, and they’re squeezing core government services. In Los Angeles city for example, just about oh… a decade plus ago, about three percent of the budget was dedicated to pensions. It’s closer to 20 percent now.”
California Governor Jerry Brown has made several changes to the state’s pension system including eliminating the “California Rule” which blocked government agencies from cutting pension benefits without offering compensation to make up for the lost income.
Fox says whether the court will take that issue up in this specific case has yet to be seen.
Fox was a guest on McIntyre in the Morning.
By Christina Kelley, KABC news.