CalPERS needs reality check

Denial is a river in California--

CalPERS needs reality check | calpers, pension, return - Our View - Appeal-Democrat: "A common defense of California's giant public employee pension systems against calls for bold and expedient reforms is that the funds' investments are performing "just fine" and that, once the economy turns around, the funds will be able to pay the retirement benefits promised to their members, and there will be nothing to worry about. A recent disclosure by the California Public Employees Retirement System about its investments should refute such assurances. CalPERS, which projects a 7.5 percent annual return on investments, earned only 1 percent for 2011-12, according to the fund itself and analysis by Orange County Register Watchdog reporters. This is the fifth time in five years CalPERS has failed to reach its investment return goal. What that means is that state unfunded pension liabilities will grow, again. One highly cited Stanford University study estimates California's unfunded pension liability at up to a half-trillion dollars."

Tweet Follow @hogsatthetrough