Fewer state workers applied for service retirement in May than a year ago, the latest CalPERS data shows, marking the third month this year that the rate has declined.
The numbers show that 822 state workers put in their paperwork between April 16 and May 15, down roughly 6 percent from the same period 2010.
So far, 5,093 state employees have entered retirement in 2011, compared to 4,999 who retired between January and May of 2010.
Although the year-over-year May and year-to-date numbers show slight change from 2010, they are still significantly higher than the same periods for 2007, 2008 and 2009, reflecting in miniature how the demographics of the aging workforce continue to impact the rate at which state workers are leaving.
For example, 3,192 state workers retired from January through May 2007 (which is as far back as the CalPERS data tracks) and just 7,778 retired that entire year.
And, as we noted in our State Worker column last week, Gov. Jerry Brown's February hiring freeze has slowed hiring significantly compared with the final months of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration.
(Of course, the state's use of retired annuitants and outside consultants isn't part of those figures. That's a topic for another day.)
Coincidentally, the rate at which all state and local CalPERS members retired increased a little over 7 percent in May to 2,007, as the data in the first table show. The state-only retirement figures are in the second table.
CalPERS' new retirement data run from mid-month to mid-month. The fund's active and inactive members include 1.1 million state, local and school employees. About a 31 percent of them are state workers. Another 500,000 or so retirees or their survivors receive a monthly allowance.
CalPERS service retirement applications January 2007 through May 2011
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