2021 CalPERS Legal News
2021 has been a challenging year for public employees in Southern California and across the country. While the pandemic has affected people of every walk of life, police officers, firefighters, teachers, corrections employees, transportation workers and other public employees have faced even more adversity and difficulties in their heroic roles as public servants.
CalPERS, The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, has also faced its own shares of ups and downs in 2021. In this article the Disability Retirement attorneys at Cantrell Green in Long Beach, CA recap a few of the major events effecting CalPERS this year.
CalPERS Employee Steals 1/2 Million Dollars from Retirement Accounts
CalPERS was forced to bring criminal charges, as well as file a lawsuit to protect member assets, in the largest case of employee fraud in the organization’s history.
It was recently discovered that a 25-year CalPERS employee had allegedly accessed and stolen from ten different retiree accounts that had been dormant (not accessed for some time). The CalPERS worker fraudulently redirected approximately $685,000 to bank accounts that were in the employee’s control.
CalPERS’ is continuing to work with law enforcement to prosecute the outrageous alleged criminal behavior. CaIPERS has also filed a civil lawsuit to recover all, or as much as possible, of the stolen retirement account funds. The official statement on the CalPERS website states; “CalPERS will exhaust every legal opportunity to recover the money stolen from the victims.”
As part of their fiduciary responsibility, CalPERS must, of course make all breached member accounts whole – reimbursing the affected retiree accounts for the stolen funds. Additionally, as a part of the investigative process and to ensure there is no additional fraudulent activity, CalPERS is performing a forensic audit.
CalPERS Seeking Research on Climate Change Risks
CalPERS has issued two official “Requests for Information” (RFI)s as it enters the third round of its Sustainable Investment Research Initiative.
The objective of the initiative is to find providers who can assist CalPERS in sourcing and evaluating research related to climate change risk as it affects human capital management. They are seeking “curated and peer-reviewed research” to help CalPERS’ make sound investment decisions that are grounded on “cutting-edge, evidence-based economic insights”.
The official statement on their website is attributed to said Marcie Frost, CalPERS CEO: “We have long understood that climate change impacts investment risk and return over the long term. We also understand that human capital management, such as a company’s regard for diversity and inclusion, impacts the organization’s performance. Investors must understand the complexities of these topics and how they can impact their returns.”
Put in layman’s terms CalPERS is trying to better understand how climate change (sometimes called “global warming’) is affecting both investment opportunities and investment risks – so that they can safeguard their financial portfolio.
CalPERS Disability Retirement Attorneys
Currently the U.S. CalPERS’ total fund market value stands at approximately 432 billion dollars. If you are one of the 2 million hardworking public servants who are members in the CalPERS retirement system, you deserve to have your pension fund safeguarded – and your hard-earned benefits readily available if and when you should need them.
Cantrell Green one of very few California law firms that are highly specialized in CalPERS Retirement Disability cases. Our attorneys have filed hundreds of successful CalPERS disability retirement applications and appeals, obtaining millions of dollars in CalPERS disability retirement benefits for our deserving clients.
You have offered a lifetime of services and dedication to earn your CalPERS benefits – and we are here to help you get the benefits for which you qualify. Call the specialized attorneys at Cantrell Green today for a CONSULTATION with an experienced CalPERS Disability Retirement attorney.
Free Consultation with a CalPERs Attorney: 562-622-4800
This article applies to members of California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS); and does not reflect the rules, laws or regulations governing how other public retirement systems are administered. If you have question about another public employee retirement system, find your system, below – or call our attorneys at: 562-622-4800

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