California Proposition 162, the "Pension Protection Act" (1992)

California Proposition 162, or the California Pension Protection Act of 1992, was on the November 3, 1992 ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

Proposition 162 made several changes to California's constitution relating to public retirement systems:

1. It gave the board of each public pension system complete authority for administration of the system's assets and for the actuarial function. (This returned the PERS actuarial function to the PERS Board.)
2. Each board is required to continue to provide benefits to members of the system and their beneficiaries, minimize employer contributions, and pay reasonable administrative costs. Proposition 162, however, specified that each board is to give highest priority to providing benefits to members and their beneficiaries.
3. Prop 162 specified that the Legislature cannot change terms and conditions of board membership, for boards with elected employee members, unless a majority of the persons registered to vote in the jurisdiction of the retirement system approves the change. For example, a change in a county retirement system's board membership would require a countywide vote.

Election results

Proposition 162
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		5,066,530	51.0%
No		4,867,681	49.0%

Constitutional changes

Proposition 162 amended Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

Text of measure

Title

The ballot title was:

Public Employees' Retirement Systems. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Summary

Fiscal estimate

The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:

• Unknown fiscal effect from giving public pension boards complete authority over assets and administration of the systems.
• Potential costs to employers as a result of public pension system giving highest priority to providing benefits to members and their beneficiaries.
• Annual savings of $1 million to $3 million to the state's Public Employees' Retirement System for actuarial services.

External links

Suggest a link

• November 3, 1992 Official Voter Guide
• Hastings California I&R database
• Los Angeles Law Library, 1992 ballot propositions