Press Release: Bay Area Council to Hold Forum on California’s Unfunded Public Pension Liability
The Bay Area Council today announced that they are hosting a forum on the current state of California’s public pension system. The event, entitled, “Is California Headed for a Super Storm of Unfunded Pension Liabilities” will take place at the offices of SNR Denton, 525 Market Street, 26th Floor, on March 9, 2011, from 8:30am to 11:00am. The forum will be an open, honest, and frank discussion on the current state of California’s public pension system.
“California’s public pension system has been described by some as a ‘time bomb’ or a ‘tsunami’ and by others as an over blown hoax,” said Jim Wunderman, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council. “This forum is a chance to get down to the facts and see how much we actually owe, and to examine how to make reforms to get the state back on track.”
Estimates vary wildly on just how large California’s unfunded pension liabilities actually are. CalPERS and CalSTRS management maintain that their fund finances are sound, however, some analysts put the liability figure at $265 billion, and others project it to be as high as $737 billion. To put that latter figure in perspective, it amounts to over seven times the total planned budget expenditures for the whole State of California in 2011.
Confirmed panelists include:
- Jeff Adachi, San Francisco Public Defender
- Bob Foster, Mayor of Long Beach
- Marcia Fritz, President of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility
- Joe Nation, Stanford Professor and former State Assemblyman
***All media planning to attend should RSVP to jarellano@bayareacouncil.org, 415-946-8725***
For more information on the forum, please visit http://www.bayareacouncil.org, or contact Matt Regan at (415) 946-8710.
