And now, an NBC Bay Area Editorial.
The biggest threat to California's fiscal health is its biggest debt, public pensions!
I'm Suzanne Shaw, NBC Bay Area Editorial Director.
California's unfunded pension liability is approaching half a trillion dollars, six times the size of our state budget.
People are living longer and retiring sooner, so the average retiree works 20 years and gets 26 years in pension pay. No one should lose their pension. But we need to scale back the benefits for all new hires, like other states, we should:
- raise the retirement age
- cap benefits, especially for double dippers
- and increase contributions
The number of state retirees reaping over $100,000 a year in pension pay went up 60% last year alone. We cannot pass these uncapped promises onto our children.
