Comments on: CalPERS Needs Bailout Despite 21% Gain

By: LetThemEatCake

LetThemEatCake — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:04:17 +0000

With 3/50 retirement (or there-about) & no annual benefit ceiling – it’s IMPOSSIBLE for the system to remain SOLVENT.

Greed eventually destroys the guilty (as well as the innocent).

By: Wayne Lusvardi

Wayne Lusvardi — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:47:15 +0000

One of the problems is that Cal-PERS keeps putting out information releases on fund earnings without stating assumptions – something that if you did in a real estate appraisal or accounting statement would end up with you losing your professional license. Cal-PERS makes their own standards and apparently doesn’t account for the periodic downturns in the market.

Let’s say they make 7.75% per year gain but in only seven out of ten years — the other three they make, say, 3%. The weighted average of that is 6.3%, which falls short of their target.

By: Wayne Lusvardi

Wayne Lusvardi — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:47:15 +0000

Let’s say they make 7.75% per year gain but in only seven out of ten years — the other three they make, say, 3%. The weighted average of that is 6.3%, which falls short of their target.

By: Rex ther Wonder Dog!

Rex ther Wonder Dog! — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:47:27 +0000

BTW-I don’t know if this is happening to anyone else, but when I try to submit my posts the website says the session was “timed out”, and I have to refresh the page to make these submissions post. This has been going on for a week or two now.

By: Rex ther Wonder Dog!

Rex ther Wonder Dog! — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:46:04 +0000

CalTURDS should be above $350 BILLION today if it had returend JUST the 7.75% ROI it uses for growth, yet it is still $100 BILLION short.

CalTURDS is at a 48%-60% funded level if you use GASB standards that are used for private sector pension funds.

If CalTURDS wants to go to Vegas with their members funds for that elusive 7.75% ROI that is fine with me, but as long as they want TAXPAYERS to backstop their losses (while they keep all the gains) then I want legislation stopping it.

By: GSL

GSL — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:24:06 +0000

We gave our take on this yesterday. We'd echo your points, and re-iterate that the real question isn't how well the two funds did, but where they stand with regard to their liabilities. Remember, as shaky as they look with respect to their unfunded liabilities, both CalPERS and CalSTRS employ accounting assumptions that allow them to overstate their cash holdings and understate their liabilities.