My Plan Is To Move To Reno

Why CalPERS retirees flee California

About 15 percent of the 561,000 pensioners in the California Public Employees’ Retirement System live their golden years outside the Golden State, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of fund data by The Sacramento Bee. The vast majority have flocked to low-tax or no-tax states, creating a veritable river of cash that flows out of California and into cities such as Las Vegas; Reno; Tucson, Ariz.; and Grants Pass, Ore.

Overall, CalPERS sent $2.16 billion to roughly 81,000 beneficiaries living elsewhere in 2013, based on monthly pension payments made in December of that year, the latest for which CalPERS data are available.

“It’s obvious that California’s taxes and the cost of living drive some people out of the state,” said Mark Beach, AARP’s Sacramento-based communications director, when told about Nevada’s popularity among CalPERS retirees. “I’m surprised the number of them leaving isn’t higher."

I laughed at this part:

Now, Beck watches California headlines with a grim satisfaction as the state has cycled in and out of fiscal crises and hiked fees and taxes. Gov. Jerry Brown’s successful bid to raise taxes in 2012 was, Beck said, the worst.

“You know what the difference is between the people on the Titanic and people in California who voted for Brown?” Beck said, chuckling during a recent interview at his home. “The people on the Titanic didn’t have a choice.”

Economics in action.