Key Retirement Proposal
The Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee has approved a CTA-sponsored measure that would extend a key retirement benefit to all members of the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS).
AB 265, by Assembly Member Gene Mullin (D- San Francisco), would calculate the pensions of all STRS members on the basis of their highest year of pay, not the three highest years.
Currently, only STRS members with long years of service qualify for the highest year calculation.
The unanimous vote on AB 265 sends it to Assembly Appropriations for further action.
CTA representatives expect that the vote in Appropriations will be the measure's real test. That panel will scrutinize the bill's cost and try to establish what fiscal effect it will have on the teachers pension system.
The bill's backers point out the measure would help some teachers to retire at an earlier age, helping districts to avoid cutting back less senior educators due to budget reductions.
In a related story, three other CTA-backed retirement measures are also expected to see consideration quickly. AB 1207 (Corbett), AB 212 (Maze), and SB 36 (Perata) all include early retirement incentive provisions. The bills could come up as early as next week in an expedited hearing in Assembly Appropriations.
CTA Members:
Contact Assembly Appropriations in support of these four measures right away. They can avert layoffs and provide an important benefit to the state's dedicated teachers.
Serving on Assembly Appropriations are:
(Note: clicking on the e-mail notation should allow you to e-mail directly to each lawmaker. If the link does not work, you may e-mail each by using the address Assemblymember.lastname@assembly.ca.gov. For instance, Assemblymember Wyland's e-mail address is Assemblymember.wyland@assembly.ca.gov.)