Addressing the real problem of pension liabilities

In his letter, Mr. Elliott states that there are nearly 600 people in the UC system alone making almost 500K. However, the UC system is massive — more than 190K employees, including some of the world’s best surgeons at UCSF and UC Davis. These employees represents only 0.3 percent of employees, a proportion I can only assume is much higher for corporations.

It is wrong to suggest that the number of high salaries necessarily means mismanagement or evidence of future liabilities. At this time, what a UC employee makes has no real bearing on their impact on the pension system. For example, an individual hired in 1985 who retires with a salary of 250K can be presumed to bring in the same amount each year in retirement. However, a member of upper management hired in 2014 at 600K will max out with a pension of slightly more than 100K — presuming he or she keeps at the job for 27 more years.

Addressing this issue by denouncing what state workers have been promised is not productive. Why not focus on the true problem — the fact the fiduciaries at CalPERS, who balanced the books based on an annual return of 7.75 percent after fees throughout the recession, have over-promised and under-delivered for years?

Kara Cox

San Mateo