San Jose, Pension Costs Spike this year

Pension Watch points us to the Mercury News story. San Jose is on the tripwire of bankruptcy.

Officials had earlier estimated that retirement costs — which run $138 million in the current budget year — would rise about $38 million in the new fiscal year to account for market losses. They more recently revised that projected increase to $53 million.

The latest figures are based on actuarial analyses used to set the city's contribution rates to the pension funds. They indicate the total tab for retirement benefits will be $198 million for the 2010-11 budget year.

My own county government, Fresno, has the same anxiety. This is on the edge of bankruptcy, especially San Jose. San Jose did this at the height of the tech boom, now is is a small town in the Bay Area, the jobs swept away by technology itself.