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SLO County’s unfunded pension liability soaring, nearly $1 billion

August 30, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County’s unfunded pension liability is almost $1 billion, primarily because of huge pay raises and poorly performing investments.

The SLO County Pension Trust Board of Trustees reported an unfunded pension debt of $943 million on Jan. 1, up from $879 million a year earlier, according to the Annual Actuarial Valuation report released in June. The county is almost $1 billion short in the trust account set aside to pay former employees their monthly pensions and benefits.

For every dollar the county doles out for payroll, more than 50 cents currently goes into the pension trust. In 2022, the pension deficit grew by $64 million, or 7%.

UAL is the payment to cover the unfunded liability

The county pension fund generally receives money from employee contributions, employer contributions and returns on investments.

However, with a 7.7% loss in the market value of assets, “investment returns were less than favorable,” according to the report.

In addition, projected employee payroll grew by 8.1% to $242.1 million. Pension trust administrators had anticipated a 3% yearly increase in payroll. However, while in 2022 line-level employees received pay increases of 3%, county officials, administrators and management staff were given raises of up to 23%.

As the county’s unfunded pension liabilities soar, the number of retirees receiving more than $200,000 in pension and benefits a year is growing, according to Transparent California.

The top SLO County pensioners in 2022:

Frank Freitas, tax collector – $240,572

Jeff Hamm, health agency director – $225,021

Pat Hedges, sheriff-coroner – $213,496

Dan Hilford, assistant district attorney – $212,702

Gerald Shea, district attorney – $212,099

Gere Sibbach, auditor-controller – $207,584

Enn Mannard, medical director – $205,130

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The main problem: Voters are clueless. You still elect big pension Bruce Gibson. Why? In Ventura County you have Gibson’s equal, Stephen Bennett, was a BOS’. then elevated to the Assembly in Sacramento. Why California voters, WHY?


20

This is what happens when great ideas are funded with somebody else’s money as justified by a broken public process.


18

Legalized pyramid scheme.


49

Too late, pyramid schemes have already been formalized, the word legalized has been corrupted on the Federal Reserve Bank, Women’s suffrage and Marijuana to name a few. A little humor in the middle.


2

How about they collect Social Security like the rest of us peasants.


47

Many do as well.


14

The poor economic condition of the nation eventually harms the states… that’s how it works… it always rolls down hill….


16

The Census Bureau says there are just over 282,000 residents in SLO County. That means the per capita amount due from each resident is $943M/282K = $3,344. Don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t have over three thousand dollars for each of my family members just sitting around to give to someone who just sat around making stupid mistakes while being way overpaid. The county is obviously insolvent, and as soon as someone realizes that this liability will get passed on to… us.


45
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