UCSC's Academic Senate, meeting at Stevenson College on October 20, approved several resolutions related to the University of California's consideration of changes to post-employment benefits and health benefits:
The resolutions were passed by "voice vote."
Resolution on New Tier Post Employment Benefits
Whereas; a reliable plan providing adequate post-retirement income and health care for employees, with a sufficient employer contribution toward its cost, is critical for the continued excellence of the University of California, and
Whereas; the integrated pension plans, Options A and B, proposed by the Post-Employment Benefits Task Force, are complex, opaque, and inequitable unlike the flat (or uniform) structure of the current UC pension plan and the proposed Option C, which makes retirement planning easy, certain, equitable, and low risk; and
Whereas; the linkage with social security in integrated pension plans will result in pension age factors (for a fixed salary) decreasing with time, and are liable to result in a steady deterioration of faculty pensions unless there are large and continuing increases in the faculty salary scales, commensurate with the increases in social security covered compensation;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate calls on President Yudof to reject any variant of an integrated pension plan and retain the existing flat/uniform plan structure of the current UC pension plan, and
BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division calls on President Yudof to assure an employer contribution of at least 9.0% toward the estimated long-term normal cost of the pension plan, and
BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division calls on President Yudof to decide on employee contribution only after consultation with all employee groups.
Resolution on contributions from current employees who continue with the current UCRP plan
Whereas; raising employee contributions above 7% fundamentally alters the terms of the current UCRP pension plan and has the effect of making the total remuneration highly uncompetitive for current employees;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate calls on President Yudof to recommend that the employee contributions not exceed 7% for employees who continue in the current UCRP plan.
Resolution on Retiree Health Benefits
Whereas; provision of adequate health care benefits following a full career is viewed as a critical aspect of the total compensation package that has made the University of California the preeminent institution that it is today; and
Whereas; the retiree health insurance recommendations of the Post-Employment Benefits Task Force do not inform current and future retirees of the magnitude of likely future contributions; and
Whereas; it appears that all current and future retirees are likely to face huge increases in health insurance premiums, further eroding their pension benefits;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate calls on President Yudof to immediately inform retirees and active employees about the size of the increased premiums for all health plans with and without Medicare, and
BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division calls on President Yudof to decide on retiree health insurance contributions only after the above information is made available and after consultation with all employee groups.
Resolution on Addressing the Unfunded Liability of UCRP
Whereas; a credible plan that provides the long-term funding necessary for the University of California Retirement Program is essential for the general welfare of the University, and
Whereas; all the proposals for pension plan reform (Options A, B and C) anticipate that the employer contribution to the pension plan will have to be 20% of covered payroll in less than a decade, which is described in the Post-Employment Benefits Task Force Report as a “frightening challenge”;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate requests that the Committee on Planning and Budget work with its university wide counterpart to have the employer contribution to the pension plan be increased as rapidly as possible without endangering the critical functioning of the University, so as to reduce the huge employer contributions that will otherwise be needed in the next decade. CPB is requested to report on the results of their efforts at the first meeting of the Academic Senate in Spring 2011.
