HUNTINGTON BEACH : New Retirees Boost City’s Pension Costs
The city will spend an additional $500,000 to pay for retirement benefits after an unusual number of employees left their jobs last year.
The City Council last week unanimously approved the expenditure. However, Councilman David Sullivan called the benefit costs an “outrage on the citizens of this community.”
During 1994, 67 employees retired, which is at least double the average number, Deputy City Administrator Robert Franz said.
When employees retire, they are entitled to payment for unused vacation and a portion of unused sick leave, Franz said.
The council approved spending $900,000 for these payments in 1994-95. But through April of this year, payments exceeded $1 million, Franz said, creating the need for an additional $350,000.
The council also approved spending $150,000 to cover the costs for a retirement supplement program, in which the city supplements an employee’s pension after he or she retires so that a spouse can continue receiving a portion of benefits after the retired worker dies.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
