Proponents of Proposition B, also known as Comprehensive Pension Reform, believe changing the current pension plan for city employees is needed in order to solve San Diego's budget shortfalls.
They claim Prop B will save the city hundreds of millions of dollars by reining in the out-of-control pension plans. It will do so by putting an end to pension spiking (tacking on additional forms of compensation to pensions), changing pensions for new-hires (except for police officers) to a 401(k) type plan, and freeze base compensations for six years.
There's been some confusion on that last reform measure. Several media outlets have reported that the freeze on pensionable salary would last five years not six.
In response, representatives from San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) set the record straight in a fact sheet posted on their website.
"Though it has been reported by some press as a “five‐year salary freeze,” the proposed salary freeze on pensionable salary for current city employees actually extends for six years, from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2018. According to the proposition, the freeze would limit employees’ base compensation used to calculate pension benefits to Fiscal Year 2011 levels."
But the mistake isn't just found in certain media reports; it is found on the official website for Proposition B, www.realpensionreform.com.
The Prop B website reads: "The CPR Initiative imposes a cap for five years on individual pensionable compensation. An individual pensionable compensation cap produces bona-fide savings by reforming pensions for existing employees."
See the analysis from the City Attorney's Office here.
I sent questions to the email provided on the Prop B website and placed a call. I am waiting for a response.
Proponents of Proposition B, also known as Comprehensive Pension Reform, believe changing the current pension plan for city employees is needed in order to solve San Diego's budget shortfalls.
They claim Prop B will save the city hundreds of millions of dollars by reining in the out-of-control pension plans. It will do so by putting an end to pension spiking (tacking on additional forms of compensation to pensions), changing pensions for new-hires (except for police officers) to a 401(k) type plan, and freeze base compensations for six years.
There's been some confusion on that last reform measure. Several media outlets have reported that the freeze on pensionable salary would last five years not six.
In response, representatives from San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) set the record straight in a fact sheet posted on their website.
"Though it has been reported by some press as a “five‐year salary freeze,” the proposed salary freeze on pensionable salary for current city employees actually extends for six years, from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2018. According to the proposition, the freeze would limit employees’ base compensation used to calculate pension benefits to Fiscal Year 2011 levels."
But the mistake isn't just found in certain media reports; it is found on the official website for Proposition B, www.realpensionreform.com.
The Prop B website reads: "The CPR Initiative imposes a cap for five years on individual pensionable compensation. An individual pensionable compensation cap produces bona-fide savings by reforming pensions for existing employees."
See the analysis from the City Attorney's Office here.
I sent questions to the email provided on the Prop B website and placed a call. I am waiting for a response.