{"id":120993,"date":"2025-08-05T13:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T13:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/120993\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T13:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T13:40:13","slug":"san-diego-literally-cant-afford-to-ignore-pension-reform-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/120993\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego literally can\u2019t afford to ignore pension reform \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, San Diego taxpayers were told that pension reform was a fiscal necessity. And for good reason: Rising retirement costs had begun to crowd out funding for libraries, road repair, police and core city services. In 2012, voters approved Proposition B<\/a>, which closed the city\u2019s defined-benefit pension to new hires (except police) and moved most new employees to 401(k)-style retirement accounts. At the time, it was seen as a turning point toward sustainability.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that reform has been reversed. In 2021,\u00a0California courts invalidated Proposition B<\/a> on procedural grounds \u2014 because the city had not met and conferred with labor unions before placing it on the ballot. Now, thousands of employees hired under the reform after its passage can opt back into the city\u2019s pension system, with retroactive benefits. The result: We are back to square one \u2014 only now the numbers are worse.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, under the \u201cCalifornia rule\u201d upheld by state and federal courts, pension benefits can only be changed for new hires. This court logic is bizarre and should be challenged. Why aren\u2019t pension benefit formulas for future\u00a0benefits up for negotiation with each new round of collective bargaining? They aren\u2019t inviolate in the corporate world. But challenges to the \u201cCalifornia rule\u201d have never won any significant\u00a0changes.<\/p>\n

According to the city\u2019s latest financial reports, San Diego faces an\u00a0unfunded pension liability of $3.3 billion<\/a>, and that number is growing. In the coming fiscal year, the city will contribute\u00a0roughly $490 million<\/a> to the pension system. That\u2019s more than triple what the city paid just two decades ago. And it\u2019s projected to increase further \u2014 before a single pothole is filled or police officer is hired.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the city also faces a\u00a0retiree health care liability of $1.3 billion<\/a>. Although the city stopped offering these benefits to new hires after 2005, it still pays about\u00a0$43 million per year<\/a>, funded on a pay-as-you-go basis \u2014 well below what would be needed to cover long-term costs.<\/p>\n

These are not abstract figures. Every dollar consumed by pension obligations is a dollar that doesn\u2019t go toward basic services. That means fewer firefighters, longer wait times for 911 calls, deferred infrastructure repairs, and cutbacks to libraries and parks. In short, as pension costs rise, San Diegans are being asked to accept a lower quality of life.<\/p>\n

The core problem is that the city has made generous retirement promises without fully paying for them. Today\u2019s taxpayers \u2014 and tomorrow\u2019s \u2014 are left to foot the bill for decisions made decades ago.<\/p>\n

San Diego needs to restart the conversation about retirement reform. This is not about punishing workers or breaking promises. It\u2019s about ensuring the city has the resources to meet today\u2019s needs while responsibly managing long-term obligations. Other cities have successfully negotiated hybrid systems or capped pensionable pay for new hires \u2014 options that are legally sound and financially prudent.<\/p>\n

We also need more transparency. Taxpayers deserve to know how much of their annual property taxes and fees are going directly into pension payments. The city should report pension and retiree health care costs not just as line items in the budget, but as a percentage of general fund spending \u2014 so residents can see, year over year, how much is being diverted from services.<\/p>\n

In 2012, San Diegans overwhelmingly voted for reform because they understood that pension costs were threatening the city\u2019s future. Today, the threat remains \u2014 and is bigger than before. City leaders should stop treating pension reform as a closed chapter. It\u2019s time to bring it back to the top of the agenda.<\/p>\n

Roach is a software executive and resident of Point Loma.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, San Diego taxpayers were told that pension reform was a fiscal necessity. And for good reason:…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,11890,1269,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-120993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-commentary","12":"tag-opinion","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}