"CalPERS did not provide a cost estimate for how much employers' pension costs might rise due to the inclusion of the 99 special pay categories to newer employees' pensionable income, but the costs of special pay items do add up. As the San Diego County Taxpayers Association noted in a 2013 study, if a 60-year-old pads his or her salary with $7,850 in special benefits in the final year of employment and lives to be 80, the specialty benefits result in an extra $118,000 in pension benefits over the retiree's lifetime."  MORE >>