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BACKGROUND <br /> There are many factors contributing to the rising cost of maintaining and adequately <br /> funding CaIPERS such that the City (and other public employers) will be faced with <br /> increased pension costs. Most of these factors cannot be controlled directly by the City <br /> of Pleasanton, but rather are reflective of external market conditions, court rulings, past <br /> decisions and recently adopted CaIPERS policies. They include: <br /> o Great Recession - The Great Recession that began in 2008 resulted in <br /> significant losses for the CaIPERS pension fund as well as for all other similarly <br /> managed public defined pension funds. CaIPERS lost 27% of its investment pool <br /> assets by the end of FY 2007/08. The system has not fully recovered from this <br /> economic collapse. <br /> • Pension Benefit Enhancements - Pension benefit enhancements negotiated <br /> with employee organizations across the state during the late 1990s and early <br /> 2000s are presenting additional challenges as the employees who received that <br /> enhanced benefit are now comprising a larger percentage of the pension <br /> obligations. <br /> e Limited Fund Growth Despite Positive Market Trends —There has been <br /> seven years of positive economic growth, yet the CaIPERS Investment Fund has <br /> only improved 3% in terms of funded status (61% funded status in 2008 and 64% <br /> funded in 2016 statewide). Thus, the CaIPERS fund has been unable to grow <br /> out of the losses incurred during the Great Recession. <br /> • Revising Mortality Tables and Other Actuarial Assumptions — CaIPERS <br /> revised their mortality assumptions to reflect the fact that retirees are living <br /> longer. As a result, this has increased future annual required contributions <br /> (ARC) payments to CaIPERS while also increasing the unfunded liabilities within <br /> the system. <br /> • Lowering the Assumed Rate of Return (Discount Rate) on Assets held in <br /> CaIPERS Investment Pool from 7.5% to 7.0% - The new discount rate is more <br /> reflective of the agency's investment returns over the past several years. <br /> Furthermore, reasonable arguments continue to be made by experts to lower the <br /> discount rate to 6.5% to reflect more realistic assumptions regarding projected <br /> investment returns. Any reduction to the discount rate affects the CaIPERS <br /> portfolio by lowering the system's funded status which in turn increases unfunded <br /> liabilities and annual payments for all public employers. <br /> • Shrinking Ratio of Active vs. Retired Employees —There is now or soon will <br /> be more retired CaIPERS members receiving pension payments than there are <br /> active employees contributing into the fund. In 2016 Pleasanton's ratio of active <br /> employees to retirees receiving CaIPERS pension benefits is 0.8 (502 active <br /> employees to 621 retirees'). In 1996, that ratio was 4.1 (391 active employees to <br /> ' Includes all LPFD employees, which is shared equally with the City of Livermore. <br /> Page 2 of 6 <br />