Calif. gov. to cut back pensions

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The governor of California's proposed retirement system reform will likely be strongly opposed by fellow Democrats and public employee unions.

Gov. Jerry Brown's 12-point proposal, released Thursday, would require all public workers to have at least half of their pensions deducted from their paychecks, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The governor also wants future employees to receive up to a third of their retirement income from a 401(k)-style plan, rather than a traditional guaranteed pension and would like the retirement age be raised from 55 to 67.

"I try to protect working people whenever I can," said Brown, 73, "but I'm also responsible to the taxpayer and making sure we have a solvent state government."

Brown says California's public pension system is overtaxed by rapidly increasing obligations to current and future retirees, calling the system unaffordable and unsustainable.

At a press conference, Brown acknowledged a dispute over the proposal ahead but called on legislators to "rise to the occasion."

"The governor has indicated that labor will not like many of his proposals," Dave Low, chairman of a union coalition, said in a statement. "He is right."

"We can't forget that the vast majority of public-sector employees are middle-class workers, and their average pensions are far from exorbitant," state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said in a statement.

The proposal will have to pass the Legislature to be placed on the November 2012 ballot.

"The Legislature is well advised to take this very seriously, get it all enacted and get it on the ballot in November, when other things may be on the ballot that they're quite interested in," Brown said.