Public Pension Issues and an Examination of CalPERS, the Largest of the Nation's Public Pension Programs.

This paper explores the status of public pension funding and issues facing legislatures in the United States. It looks at the two main decision matrices used to fund the pension plans, their evolution and the consequences of each. The paper analyzes state plans, focusing on California's plan, CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the United States. The paper examines the methodology of investing, the funding alternatives and trends and consequences of present and past decisions on the increasing funding gap presently facing California. The paper then suggests several specific changes that would reduce or eliminate that gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]