CalPERS to post 500,000 pensioners’ data online

The nation’s largest public pension fund says it will post nearly half a million pensioners’ data online in an effort to be transparent while providing retirees with better protection.

California Public Employees’ Retirement System spokeswoman Amy Norris said Monday that the fund will launch a searchable pension database with information that is deemed public, such as a retiree’s name, monthly gross pension payment and some employment history.

Norris says the database is expected to go live next week.

CalPERS recently sent a notice to retiree organizations saying that member data “will remain better protected on our own website rather than on external databases kept by news or other organizations.”

The $260-billion pension system plans to only post retiree data, not beneficiaries or survivors who receive a monthly allowance.