Report: Pensions for city officials in Bell, Calif., will be larger than first estimated

Calif. city’s pensions will be larger than thought

LOS ANGELES — The supplemental pension plan designed by the ousted administrator of Bell, Calif., will provide dozens of city officials much larger retirement packages than previously estimated.

The Los Angeles Times said Wednesday that Robert Rizzo’s plan, paid for entirely by Bell’s taxpayers, allows certain city employees and all City Council members to circumvent the state’s retirement limits.

Over the last seven years, the City Council approved hikes in the retirement pay of 41 officials that could raise pensions about 85 percent.

The increases mean that Rizzo could receive a pension of nearly $1 million a year, rather than the more than $600,000 previously estimated. Former Assistant City Administrator Angela Spaccia could receive more than $375,000 a year, compared with the previous estimate of $250,000.

Information from: Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com