'Pension pickup': Bay Area taxpayers foot the bill for little-known perk By Thomas Peele and Daniel Willis; Mercury News

Excerpt:
“This often hush-hush benefit negotiated during rosier economic times can put thousands of extra dollars in public employees' paychecks by relieving them of costly payroll deductions. But the practice can get so expensive for local governments that last year state lawmakers banned agencies that belong to the giant California Public Employees Retirement System from offering pickups to anyone hired after Jan. 1, 2013. Reforms led by Gov. Jerry Brown are designed to get workers to pay a higher share of their retirement costs. The state retirement system for teachers has never allowed the practice.

That hasn't stopped agencies such as BART, the Association of Bay Area Governments and towns such as Portola Valley, Scotts Valley and Hollister from lavishing more than 99 percent of their employees with pension pickups of 100 percent. Last year, BART spent $17 million covering what employees were supposed to be contributing to their pensions.” (emphasis added)

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