Nearly a decade after Tarlochan Sandhu took a part-time job helping various cities complete their budgets, the retiree is facing a nearly $660,000 bill from CalPERS — California’s largest public pension system — after courts determined he ran afoul of state post-employment rules.
The Third District Court of Appeal ruled last week that Sandhu, of Fremont, should not have received pension benefits from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System while he worked as a finance and accounting professional for several California municipalities.
Now, depending on whether he appeals the decision, Sandhu could be on the hook for paying CalPERS back for the pension benefits he received while he was working. Last year, CalPERS informed Sandhu he owed the agency over half a million dollars unless he retires again, which will result in a reduced overpayment due to the agency.
Sandhu is one of five retirees CalPERS investigated who courts have deemed crossed retirement employment rules. Essentially those rules prohibit receiving pension benefits from CalPERS while working for another government entity that feeds into the pension system. CalPERS argued that Sandhu and the other retirees should not have received pension payments and they should have paid into the pension fund while working for local governments.
But allies of Sandhu and other retirees say that the confusing rules around retirement employment and CalPERS’ methods to enforce them could make it more difficult for...
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