The California Supreme Court decided this week that it will not hear two county retirees’ appeal that the county retirement plan unfairly recalculated the pension deficit to benefit the county, effectively ending the case.
The Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled in January that the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association was allowed to take a snapshot of the fund’s health right after the county infused pension bond money into the retirement plan. The new snapshot allowed the Board of Supervisors to pay less into the fund after the $550 million bond infusion, which attorney Michael Conger’s clients challenged and lost.
The appellate court said in January that the SDCERA board was properly exercising its fiduciary duty by refiguring the pension deficit that resulted in a smaller payment at the end of the year because the board had a responsibility to protect the system’s beneficiaries – the 1,500 employees who the county said would lose their jobs if the deficit didn’t reflect the bond money.
The appellate court’s favorable opinion may have repercussions for the cases involving the city’s pension deals as well. Read about the possible impacts here.