Facing an $85 billion state deficit and $83,738 pension liability per household, the California Supreme Court denied public employee rights to engage in “pension spiking.” Unionized public employees in California and 12 other states had been successful over the last four decades in finding ways to artificially inflate total pay as their members approached retirement age in order to spike lifetime monthly pension payments. The 2019 compensation for the average California public sector miscellaneous employee was  $99,000 in pay, plus $32,000 in benefits. Police averaged $129,000 and $52,000 in benefits; while firepersons average $162,000 and $52,000 in benefits. That contrasts with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculation that the California private sector average compensation was $61,290 in pay and $12,520 benefits. Government payments flow into public sector pension plans according to average hours worked and overtime authorized. But public sector...(Read Full Post)