Pension Bonus Is Halved but Not Lost

At least 125 retired Ventura County employees appeared at a meeting Monday to protest a proposal to reduce their supplemental benefits by as much as $210 per month, and the board agreed to continue the payments for a year at about half the current rate.

Last year, the county’s retirement board supplemented the retirees’ pension funds with additional money that ranged from $10.50 to $210 per month.

The supplemental funds were due to expire Dec. 30, and the board was considering discontinuing the extra payments. The retirees implored the board to continue them.

Without the extra money, some might not be able to make ends meet, they said.

“The $210 per month brought my family up to where it’s just now breathing instead of gurgling,” said Keith Garrison, who retired in 1974 after 29 years with the county.

The board agreed to set aside $2 million to continue the supplemental payments. This year’s budget had allocated about $4 million for the program.

Vernon Markley, vice chairman of the board, said the board was able to give the retirees the supplemental benefit last year because of previous gains in the financial market. But this year the market is not doing as well, partly because of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, he said.