The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has unfunded liabilities of at least $168 billion, meaning it has just more than two-thirds of the funds needed to provide promised pensions — and that’s based on projections of future investment earnings that outside experts see as far too optimistic. Given this grim picture, one would assume that the nation’s largest public pension agency would focus like a laser on shoring up its finances.
Instead, CalPERS’ board has used investments to make political statements. But thankfully, rank-and-file CalPERS members finally have grasped that this approach works against their long-term interests and have done something about it.
