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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Gov. Brown's Pension Overhaul: The Numbers

Aaron Liu |
October 28, 2011 | 5:06 p.m. PDT

Associate News Editor

Under the proposal, state employees will recieve hybrid pensions.
Under the proposal, state employees will recieve hybrid pensions.
Gov. Jerry Brown proposed Thursday an overhaul of the retirement plans for state and local employees.

If approved, Brown’s proposal would fix the retirement age for state workers at 67, create “hybrid” pensions that would combine Social Security and guaranteed pension payments with a 401k style plan, and ban employers and employees from taking "pension holidays" and skipping out on pension payments.

Neon Tommy has compiled the important numbers:

 $3 billion:
Amount that California currently spends on pension benefits annually.

 $4 billion to $11 billion:
Amount of money Brown says his pension overhaul would save for the state after 30 years.

 $21 billion to $56 billion:
Amount of money Brown says his pension overhaul would save for the state after 60 years.

$57,539:
The average salary of a Calif. state worker.

$0:
Total amount of money a state employee will receive from their pensions if they are convicted of a felony.

50 percent:
The percentage that a Calif. state employee generally contributes towards their retirement fund currently, according to the Calif. Department of Finance.

0 percent:
The percentage that some local government workers contribute to their pensions.

50 percent:
The percentage at which all employees and employers (including local employees) will be required to fund their pensions under Brown’s proposal.

75 percent:
The portion of a new Calif. public employee’s salary that Brown says he or she will receive in retirement funds under the proposed hybrid pensions.

25 years:
Length of time that a new Calif. public employee will need to have worked in order to receive full health care benefits under the new plan.
 

63 years:
The average age at which a Calif. state employee retires with full benefits.

67 years:
Age at which a new Calif. employee (not including public safety employees) can retire with full benefits under the new plan.

1.85 million people:
The number of state and local government employees in California.

2 people:
Number of independent members Brown’s plan will add to the board of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) in charge of overseeing pensions.

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