SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ A former top investment official at CalPERS received the largest pension the retirement system has ever paid last year, according to Transparent California and reviews of pension data by The Sacramento Bee.
Curtis Ishii, 64, of Sacramento, retired from the California Public Employees' Retirement System as its managing investment director for fixed income in July 2018.
Last year, Ishii received $418,608 in pension payments, according to Transparent California, a website that tracks public pensions and salaries. His pension topped Transparent California's list of 2019 CalPERS pensions, according to a news release.
CalPERS paid one pension in its history that was larger, but later reduced it to $132,000, according to Transparent California. That pension, originally $551,000 per year, went to former Vernon city manager Bruce Malkenhorst, according to the news release.
The Sacramento Bee reviewed top pension data for 2018, when the highest pension was about $372,000 per year.
Ishii's pension is unusual in that it is being paid to a retired state employee. The other top pensions in the state have been paid to local government officials such as city managers and county administrators, and top administrators at the California State University and University of California. Michael Johnson, a former Solano County administrator, previously held the top spot. Johnson's pension was about $372,000 per year in 2019, according to Transparent California.
Ishii worked at CalPERS for 40 years, according to CalPERS spokeswoman Amy Morgan. Ishii did not respond to voicemails on Tuesday.
In 2017, his last full year of work for the fund, he was paid about $688,000, according to state pay data. He received about $408,000 in regular pay and about $280,000 in other pay, including bonuses, according to the data.
Government pensions are calculated using a formula based on annual salary and years of service. CalPERS investment officers are among the highest-paid California state employees, even though they often make less than their peers in the private sector.
Pensions the size of Ishii's are no longer allowed for new state or local government workers in California. The 2013 Public Employees' Pension Reform Act ties public pensions in the state to an IRS limit, which for 2020 is up to about $152,000 per year. The average public pension in California is about $37,000 per year.
The 2013 law was aimed at improving the funded status of the system, which had about $404 billion in assets as of Tuesday. CalPERS is about 71% funded, meaning its assets are equivalent to about 71% of its current and future obligations to public workers.
The 2013 law, known as PEPRA, also ended a benefit known as "air time," which allowed public workers to purchase the equivalent of up to five years of service for the purpose of augmenting their annual pensions.
Ishii worked for CalPERS for 40 years yet retired with 45.9 years of service credit. Amy Morgan, the CalPERS spokeswoman, declined to disclose specifics of Ishii's benefit elections, but she said he did not accrue any service credit at other state agencies before he started working at CalPERS in 1978.
California public workers could purchase retirement service credit up until the 2013 law went into effect on Jan. 1 of that year. Other, more specific types of service credit are still allowed under the 2013 law.
The 2013 changes are projected to save $29 billion to $38 billion over 30 years. But in the near future, the number of extra-large pensions paid out in California will increase before the number begins to decline.
As of January, about 44% of active public employees enrolled in CalPERS had been hired since 2013, Morgan said.
