Benefits for County Retirees Face Review
Responding to an outcry from retired county employees, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider restoring part of the benefits cut from retirees’ pay earlier this year.
The county’s Board of Retirement voted 7 to 2 in May to eliminate as much as $280 a month in supplemental benefits to avoid dipping into reserve or general county funds. The move was prompted partly by real estate losses in the county’s pension fund.
The supplemental benefits include payments that county retirees receive beyond their regular pensions.
One such benefit, granted in 1977, gave pensioners up to $70 a month in supplemental pay beyond the pension that county retirees are already due.
Another supplemental benefit, approved in 1990, was intended to compensate for policy changes that required the newest retirees to make higher pension payments.
Supervisors are expected to discuss restoring part of the supplemental benefits only for the oldest of the county retirees whose pensions have dwindled significantly because of inflation.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
