CALPERS - The CalPERS Pension Buck illustrates the sources of income that fund public employee pensions. Pension fund income over the last 20 years (as of June 2015) shows that every dollar spent on public employee pensions comes from 65 cents of investment earnings, 22 cents from employers and 13 cents from employees.

Pensions are jointly funded by employer and employee contributions, which are invested so that pension fund dollars grow over time. Workers currently contribute up to 15.25 percent of their paycheck to help fund their own pensions.

CalPERS pension payments generate nearly $31 billion of economic activity per year in California, supporting almost 105,000 jobs and generating more than $716 million in sales and property tax revenue every year.