BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Receive an Update on the Status of Santa Clara Valley Water’s Pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits Unfunded Liabilities. (*Previously Listed as Item 10.2)
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Receive information on the status of Santa Clara Valley Water’s pension and Other Post-Employment Benefit unfunded liabilities; and
B. Provide direction to staff as necessary.
Body
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda memo is to provide a status of Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (Valley Water) pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) unfunded liabilities, which are estimated at $333 million and $89.6 million respectively as of June 30, 2024.
Valley Water’s OPEB Trust Fund continues to perform well. The investment return for FY 24 was 11%, which surpassed the targeted 6%. Consequently, the FY 24 OPEB unfunded liability decreased such that the payoff projection has been revised to Fiscal Year (FY) 2033-34 from FY 2034-35. This projection assumes no incremental trust fund contributions. The status on OPEB’s unfunded liability will be presented by Valley Water Chief Financial Officer, Darin Taylor (See attachment 1).
The unfunded pension liability is highly dependent on the investment returns of Valley Water’s pension plan within the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). With the assumption of a 6.8% average annual return, Valley Water’s plan is projected to achieve a 100% funded level by FY 2039-40. Ira Summer, Retirement Program Advisor for GovInvest Inc., will present the status on pension unfunded liability, which will include information on CalPERS pension basics and a comparison of Valley Water’s funded status versus other comparable agencies (See attachment 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IMPACT:
There are no Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact related to this agenda item.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: PowerPoint, OPEB Unfunded Liability
Attachment 2: PowerPoint, CalPERS Pension
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER: Manager
Darin Taylor, 408-630-3068