Governor Edmund G. Brown signed a pension reform bill that caps benefits, increases the retirement age, stops abusive practices and requires state employees to pay at least half their pension costs.

According to the governor’s news release, the pension reform law, AB 340 (Furutani; D-South Los Angeles County), requires current state employees and all new public employees to pay for at least 50 percent of their pensions and establishes this as the norm for all public workers in California. Importantly, these new reforms eliminate state-imposed barriers that have prevented local governments from increasing employee contributions. The new law also bans abusive practices used to enhance pension payouts.

The governor’s news release outlines the Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2012 as follows: