 | |
 Headquarters at Lincoln Plaza in Sacramento | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California 38°34′30″N 121°30′18″W / 38.575°N 121.505°W |
| Employees | 2,843 (2024)[1] |
| Annual budget | US$2.44 billion (2024)[1] |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | California Government Operations Agency |
| Website | calpers.ca.gov |
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.5 million California public employees, retirees, and their families".[3][4] In fiscal year 2020–21, CalPERS paid over $27.4 billion in retirement benefits,[5] and over $9.74 billion in health benefits.[6]
CalPERS manages the largest public pension fund in the United States, with more than $469 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2021.[7] CalPERS is known for its shareholder activism; stocks placed on its "Focus List" may perform better than other stocks, which has given rise to the term "CalPERS effect".[8] Outside the U.S., CalPERS has been called "a recognized global leader in the investment industry",[9] and "one of America's most powerful shareholder bodies".[10]
As of 2018, the agency has $360 billion in assets, and is underfunded by an estimated $150 billion, with current assets below 70% of necessary to provide for liabilities.[11][12] In an effort to reduce this shortfall, at the end of 2016 the board lowered their expected annual rate of return on investments from 7.5% to 7.0%, increasing the costs California cities must pay toward their workers' pensions.[13]
- ^ a b "Fiscal Year 2024-25 Annual Budget Proposal" (PDF). CalPERS. April 16, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Board Members - CalPERS". CalPERS Website. CalPERS. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Facts at a Glance for Fiscal Year 2021–22" (PDF). CalPERS Website. CalPERS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
- ^ CalPERS. Facts at a glance: general. Archived 2008-10-27 at the Wayback Machine January 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
- ^ CalPERS. Facts at a Glance - Public Employees' Retirement Fund (PERF), 2020-21 CalPERS. 2021. Archived 2021-06-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 09, 2021.
- ^ CalPERS. Facts at a Glance - Health Benefits, 2019-20 CalPERS. 2021. Archived 2021-06-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 09, 2021.
- ^ "CalPERS Reports Preliminary 21.3% Investment Returns for Fiscal Year 2020-21; Strong Returns Trigger Reduction in Discount Rate to 6.8%". CalPERS. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ^ Sidel, Robin. "Calpers effect" may give lift to underperforming stocks. Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2004.
- ^ Republic of the Philippines, Office of the Press Secretary. PGMA welcomes CalPERS upgrade of RP investment rating. Archived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine February 3, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
- ^ Griffiths, Katherine. Calpers calls for heads to roll at Citigroup over allegations of poor corporate governance. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine April 14, 2004. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
- ^ Ashton, Adam (2018-02-02). "Pension costs 'unsustainable,' California cities say". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
But the system is underfunded overall. Its assets are worth about 68 percent of what it owes to retirees and public workers.
- ^ Borenstein, Daniel (2017-12-18). "Borenstein: CalPERS about to bury taxpayers, cities, counties in more debt". The San Jose Mercury Times. Archived from the original on 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System currently has a $153 billion unfunded liability, with only 68 percent of the assets it should have,...
- ^ Carroll, Rory (2016-12-21). "CalPERS votes to lower expected investment return rate to 7 percent by 2020". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System board voted on Wednesday to lower the pension plan's expected rate of return from investment to 7 percent by 2020, a decision that comes after the fund failed to meet its 7.5 percent target the past two years. The move by the country's largest public pension fund will place a greater financial burden on the state's cities, counties and other local government agencies across California that rely on CalPERS pensions. The $300 billion fund is currently 68 percent funded and recently became cash negative, meaning that it paid out more in benefits, approximately $19 billion last year, than it collected from workers' contributions - about $14 billion.