2 College of the Sequoias instructors fight back over pension slash
By Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The ex-Sequoias instructors' pensions were investigated in a first wave of audits, the lawsuit says. In the cases of
Gorley and Preston each stand to lose more than
Preston says the retirement system "is more or less shooting from the hip. I know there's some pressure over public pensions and, unfortunately, I think I got caught in the crossfire."
The pension reviews came after the state Controller's Office found in 2012 that the
CalSTRS had a portfolio valued at
Recent reports place the retirement system's unfunded liability at between
CalSTRS says that half of the first 68 retirees it looked at -- including Gorley and Preston -- are getting too much pension pay. Another 200 reviews were still under way, according to the lawsuit filed this month in
CalSTRS officials won't comment on pending litigation, said
Gorley, 65, of
Preston said the reduction amounted to about 25% of his monthly pension. Gorley could not be reached for comment.
Bennett also represents five school administrators from across the state who are suing over pension cuts in a separate case.. One has to refund the state
Additional clients could be added as more audits are done, Bennett says.
Both Gorley and Preston were on "special assignment" in addition to their teaching work when they took lucrative incentives to retire in 2010.
The special assignment group that started work in
Gorley and Preston were asked to work in summer months. The special assignment created a spike in their retirement because they worked 12 months and collected extra pay, but under retirement system rules at the time, Bennett says, it met the criteria.
In its most recent review, the retirement system says that any work done by instructors outside that job duty can't be credited to their retirement pay, Bennett says.
But, the lawsuit says, CalSTRS officials were consulted specifically in
After the district's dean of legal affairs,
To create the special assignment, Scroggins used a
Before they retired, Gorley and Preston each met with a counselor from the retirement system. In letters and personal meetings, their pensions were confirmed at the higher rate by the agency and there were no issues with the special assignment pay, the lawsuit says.
They decided to retire because of an incentive program that offered a cash payout and two years added credit toward retirement. It made leaving extremely attractive, Preston says.
The program also saved the college district
But participants were banned from working for the college for the next five years, Preston says.
"I am kind of miffed," he says. "If you're going to do this you should let me know before it's too late. I don't have the option to go back."
Preston doesn't get much sympathy from
"The state has a fiduciary responsibility, not just to the retirees, but the public at large," Coupal says. "If these guys had been shorted and it was discovered several years later, you could bet your bottom dollar that they would be in court demanding the money."
The state needs to make sure the amounts paid are accurate, he says.
"They are correcting an error they shouldn't have made in the first instance," Coupal says. "It's caused distress and made budgeting for these two individuals very difficult, but having said that, it's still correcting a mistake."
The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6166, [email protected] or @beebenjamin on
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