San Diego Cuts Pension Payment by $11.8M

The city of San Diego's contribution to its employee retirement system will be $11.8 million lower in the next fiscal year compared to this year, and the overall pension deficit has narrowed slightly, the San Diego City Employees Retirement System announced Friday.

The city will have to contribute $263.6 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, compared to the $275.4 million paid during the current fiscal year, according to SDCERS. The figures are based on an actuarial valuation of the pension system's finances as of last June 30.

The agency credited an agreement city officials reached with employee unions that mandates the pay increases workers will receive over the next five years. The SDCERS Board of Administration was unable to include the deal in its calculations for the current fiscal year.

Interim Mayor Todd Gloria said the SDCERS announcement was "great news for our budget."

The SDCERS valuation also placed the city's pension deficit at $2.2 billion, down $41.6 million from the same time in 2012.

The city's funding ratio—the ratio of the system's actuarial value of assets to its actuarial liabilities—was 70.4 percent as of June 30. It had been 68.6 percent.

The agency also operates the retirement systems for the Port of San Diego and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

The port will contribute $14.3 million in the upcoming fiscal year, up $400,000 from this year. The airport's contribution will be $3.8 million, up by $900,000.

—City News Service