Pension Bill

A bill in the legislature previously submitted to discourage "offshoring" of currently-internal UC work has been modified instead to discourage the opt-out element in the UC pension as it applies to new hires. New hires may opt out of the traditional defined-benefit (DB) pension into a defined-contribution (DC) plan, essentially a tax-favored savings account. The bill bans outside contracts to manage such a DC-only plan. It is unclear that such a ban would prevent UC from operating such a DC-only plan using internal personnel, however. The bill seems to ban contracts beginning in January 1, 2015. It is unclear what that pre-2019 date means. Presumably, any such pre-existing contracts could not be voided retroactively. (The date could be a drafting error.)

SB-715 University of California retirement plans: asset managers: contracts.(2019-2020)
AMENDED  IN  SENATE  MARCH 28, 2019
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL No. 715, Introduced by Senator Galgiani, February 22, 2019

An act to amend the heading of Chapter 3.9 (commencing with Section 12147) of Part 2 of Division 2 of, and to add Section 12148 to, the Public Contract Code, relating to the University of California.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 715, as amended, Galgiani. University of California retirement benefits. plans: asset managers: contracts.

The California Constitution establishes the University of California as a public trust with full powers of organization and government, subject only to specified limitations. Under this independent constitutional authority, the University of California established retirement systems to provide various retirement benefits to its members. Existing law prohibits the University of California from contracting for services unless a contractor certifies that the services will be performed solely by workers within the United States or if the contractor’s bid describes any work that will be performed by workers outside the United States.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would regulate the transparency of the contracts between the University of California and the asset managers of the University of California’s defined contribution plan and defined benefit plan. prohibit the University of California from contracting for services with an asset manager for a defined contribution plan if that plan is a stand-alone optional plan that is not a complement to a defined benefit pension plan. The bill would apply this prohibition to a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2015.

BILL TEXT: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 3.9 (commencing with Section 12147) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code is amended to read:
CHAPTER  3.9. University of California and California State University Contracts
SEC. 2. Section 12148 is added to the Public Contract Code, to read:
12148. (a) The University of California shall not enter into a contract for services with an asset manager for a defined contribution plan if that plan is a stand-alone optional plan that is not a complement to a defined benefit pension plan. This prohibition shall not apply to a defined contribution plan that is offered as a complement to a defined benefit pension plan.
(b) This section shall apply to a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2015.

Source: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB715&version=20190SB71598AMD

Some discussion of the bill is available at:
https://cucfa.org/2019/04/our-letter-in-support-of-sb-715/