Port workers allowed to withdraw from San Diego pension fund

Governor Schwarzenegger has signed legislation allowing employees of the San Diego Unified Port District to separate their pension fund from that of the City of San Diego. According to the SD Union-Tribune, the port workers' fund could place its assets with CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System.

Though port officials have been concerned for some time about having their retirement assets in the city's system, they have not yet made any move to shift the assets to CalPERS.

"That is an option, but it could take a long time to do that," McCormack said.

The Port District has 606 employees and about 250 retirees receiving benefits. The port's pension plan has assets of about $141.4 million.

The city of San Diego's $3.6 billion retirement system has an estimated deficit of $1.4 billion. In recent months, there have been several audits and ongoing investigations into the city retirement board's actions and the city's underfunding of its pension system.

The new legislation "ensures that employees who long have invested in their future will be able to enjoy greater peace of mind when it comes to their retirement options," Ducheny said in a statement released Tuesday by her Sacramento office.