How would YOU solve a $300 billion pension funding gap? By reducing the retirement age from 57 to 55?

Photo above – Sri Lanka is the ONLY place in the world where you can retire on pension at age 55. California just matched it.

If you guessed it would be California reducing the retirement age for government workers to 55, go to the head of the class. After all, this is the state which has added a $30 minimum wage to the mix, and has a $21 billion gambler bullet train to Vegas in the works - (full disclosure: approval was granted in 2005, when it was named DesertXpress. No tracks have been laid yet. If it ever is built, the train will run 218 miles from Rancho Cucamonga, CA to Las Vegas, at about $100 million per mile.)

Back to that retirement thing: no other US state has a public employee retirement age below 60. California is dropping theirs from 57 to 55. Maybe the $265 billion pension funding gap already has a secret solution nobody is telling us about? (see link below).

$265 billion in unfunded pensions means each California resident ALREADY owes $6,600 to close the pension gap, even before the new lower retirement age. But not every California resident has a job, or pays taxes. Can someone subtract the children, stay at home parents, unemployed, etc to figure out the real unfunded debt per person? I’m guessing it’s somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000 for each taxpayer.

Most nations have a MUCH higher retirement age. Even progressive places like Sweden (67) and the UK (66). The only country which still has retirement at 55 retirement is Sri Lanka. The average income for a Sri Lankan is $180 a month, so let’s hope they don’t find out about California’s $30 an hour minimum wage too, eh?

I’m just sayin’ . . .

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/california-s-pension-expansion-bills-will-burn-taxpayers-investors-opinion/ar-AA21l137?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69e7534e8eba479db3459880de3842b8&ei=67

California's pension expansion bills will burn taxpayers, investors | Opinion

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@NeddyKelly they would lose the union vote on election day. state and local government employees might be the largest cohesive voting block.

MoveAlong · 70-79, M

You go California. They are now the 4th largest economy on earth. Up from 6th and only behind the US, China and Germany. That's ahead of Japan, India and the UK. Liberalism working for you.

I think they know what they are doing.

MoveAlong · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida

thanks for completely ignoring the actual content of my post, and accompanying links. you are everything we've come to expect from the monty python end of the universe

I went back over your thread to see what I missed. I don't think I missed anything that my original reply didn't cover. Budget problems like this are as common as a cold in November.

This not a hair on fire situation. It isn't even close to the .com financial crisis of the early 2000s. That was bad and it cost all of us but it wasn't a death blow.

It's not like the $265B (which may be closer to $180B) is due immediately. That is a projection of a lack of revenue to cover it over the next few decades. This is not at all uncommon for state governments. It is often covered by moving funds from one program to another or more commonly by temporary tax measures which no one likes but are a fact of life. Especially in California. IMO taxes are not a bad thing and are necessary. Some cities, counties and states just spend it and manage it better than others. That is what votes are for.

For the last 50 years we've been hearing how California is going to go broke with their liberal spending and high taxes. That has just not come to pass and it won't happen here.

I wasn't being flippant about Californias economy. It is a juggernaut. Since the .com crisis it has risen from 6th to 4th in the world. It's larger than only three countries on earth. They had a $4.5T dollar economy in 2025 (that generates a lot of revenue). While growth slowed down this year just like it has everywhere the projections for '27 are looking better. There appears to be no reason that California won't be able to meet their obligations in the coming years.

BTW the infamous H.B.1 cuts are projected to cost California approximately $270B over the next 30 years which would have covered it. Thanks MAGAs.

I'm sorry you didn't appreciate my earlier post my conclusion is the same.

California will be fine IMO.