Retired Salinas teachers fight pension cuts made by CalSTRS.

Dozens of retired teachers from the Salinas Union High School District received an unwanted surprise in 2014 as they saw their monthly pensions slashed – up to $1,800 for some. Houses were purchased and other financial obligations were taken with the anticipation of a steady income throughout retirement.

“What’s a killer is that many teachers had been retired for years and aren’t in a position to go back to work,” says attorney Barry Bennett, who is representing 33 retired teachers.

On May 11, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Lydia M. Villarreal issued a preliminary injunction against the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), requiring the fund to increase pension payments to their original levels.

Retired teachers hope the judge will permanently reinstate their benefits, as well as force the $188.4 billion fund – the largest teacher retirement fund in the nation – to pay lost income accrued over the past two years.

The issue stems from 2006 when SUHSD offered teachers $2,500 a month if they took on an extra class as a cost-savings measure to avoid hiring additional teachers.

Teachers who said yes wanted to know if it would count toward their pension. CalSTRS told the district those hours would count toward retirement.

That is until an internal audit by CalSTRS found it was overpaying retirees. Representatives of CalSTRS declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. The parties are next scheduled to appear in court July 20.

“The school district feels CalSTRS shouldn’t have made the change either,” says Eric Bengston, a lawyer representing SUHSD. While the school district is named as a defendant in the case, they have supported the teachers’ claims in court.

“[CalSTRS] said we could do it, then they changed their mind. We’re like, ‘What are you talking about? We made this agreement years ago,’” Bengston says.