In abstract
The California Public Workers’ Retirement system is the nation’s largest state-backed pension fund. It awarded its chief government $667,000 bonus after a profitable funding yr.
The chief government at California’s largest public pension fund will earn greater than $1 million for the primary time since she joined the company — after its administrative board awarded her a bonus that was greater than triple the scale of her final efficiency incentive.
Marcie Frost will obtain a $667,320 bonus on high of her base pay of $578,000, the pension board introduced at this time. That can convey her complete pay above $1.2 million.
She earned $752,000 in complete compensation final yr, based on data launched by the state controller. That included a bonus of $192,682.
The California Public Workers’ Retirement System is coming off a stable yr on its most essential benchmark. It earned a 9.3% return on its investments, which exceeded its goal of 6.8%. That’s excellent news for the $528 billion pension fund, which prices California authorities businesses extra cash when it misses the goal.
Frost joined the company in 2016 after main a Washington state pension fund for public staff. On the time of her arrival, CalPERS made main adjustments to the way it funds public worker pensions. That’s when it conceded that it anticipated to earn much less cash over time from its funding portfolio and commenced charging authorities businesses extra money up entrance to pay for his or her staff’ pensions.
She additionally led the fund by the COVID-19 pandemic and she or he has participated in its efforts to handle local weather change.
The chief government usually isn’t the highest-earning place at CalPERS. That position is the fund’s chief funding officer, who units the technique for CalPERS to hit its annual earnings goal.
CalPERS has struggled to maintain executives in that place. Chief Funding Officer Stephen Gilmore joined the fund in July and is the fourth individual to carry that job since Frost got here to CalPERS.
California’s second-largest pension fund, the California State Academics’ Retirement System, is scheduled to award bonuses subsequent week to its high executives. CalSTRS Chief Govt Cassandra Lichnock earned $984,000 in complete compensation final yr, which included a bonus of $574,000. That fund holds about $341 billion in belongings.
Each main public pension funds are thought of to be underfunded as a result of they owe extra in advantages over time than their belongings are value at this time. As of their most up-to-date public disclosures, each funds have belongings value about 75% of what they owe to present staff and retirees.
Their deficits date to a coverage change in 1999 that elevated retirement advantages for public staff at a time when the pension plans had been thought of overfunded, in addition to to their funding losses within the Nice Recession. Public staff employed after Jan. 1, 2013 obtain much less beneficiant pensionsand each funds have long-term plans to return to full funding.
