Compliance September 1, 2002

CalPERS Sued by Scientists

January 9, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CALPERS), has been sued by the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) for an injunction against a proposed delay of a $1.3 billion payment by the state government to the pension fund.

Reported by

Nicole Halsey

CAPS represents more than 3,000 employees in scientific fields. The group filed suit in Sacramento claiming that it had not been properly notified about a plan to help California deal with an estimated $12 billion budget deficit for the coming 2002-2003 fiscal year.

The new proposal’s main provision allows the state to resume payments owed to CalPERS at the beginning of next year provided that the state tacks on to its outstanding balance the amount accrued from an 8.25% interest rate.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter. 

CAPS contends that this deal is “more like a loan” and that CalPERS gave them no advance notice of the action. Meanwhile, CalPERs said details of the deal were on the fund’s Website two days before the fund approved the deal on December 19.

According to CAPS, California state law requires at least 10 days advance notice of proposed actions to allow for public discourse. However, it is still subject to scrutiny by state lawmakers.