Tapping into public resentment of government pay perks, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, has introduced legislation that would put limits on the retirement benefits of government workers.
The bill, among other things, would curb a practice known as “pension spiking” in which public employees count pay hikes in their final year of work, such as cashed-out vacation time and career-end bonuses, toward their pension payouts. How much employees get is generally based on their last year’s salary.
While not illegal, many try to boost their final pay for the sake of retirement, adding a burden to the state’s public retirement fund and forcing other employees and local governments to make greater contributions to keep the retirement system viable.
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