How a Pension Crisis is Created: One Bad Decision at a Time

If you work for the state of California's Office of Inspector General, even if you are just an auditor or lawyer, you are also, in about 2/3 of the cases, also legally a "peace officer" with all the pension benefits accruing thereto. (Plus the guns and cars.) Details and quotes and links over at my California news and politics blog "City of Angles."

An excerpt from the Sacto Bee:

The Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes found that two-thirds of the OIG's 150 employees carry a badge and gun. New lawyer and inspector hires go through 150 hours of law enforcement training and each receive $2,000 worth of equipment, including a gun and body armor. No one at OIG has fired a gun or arrested anyone while on assignment in five years.

The peace officer jobs come with state-paid cars that the report says have been used mostly for work commutes.

And the L.A. Times explains the pension benefits (and costs…):

The biggest benefit of peace officer status is the pension. Most public employees are eligible to collect 2% of their annual salary, multiplied by the number of years they worked, starting at age 55.  As an acknowledgement of the risks inherent in their jobs, police and firefighters can start collecting 3% of their annual salary, multiplied by the number of years worked, at age 50.

Reason on the looming national pension crisis.