(AP) - A newspaper search of pension system records has found that 17 California lawmakers collect government pension checks on top of their monthly salaries.
The Los Angeles Times reports the 17 include Republican state Sen. John Moorlach of Costa Mesa, a vocal critic of the state's nearly $64 billion unfunded retirement debt.
Moorlach, a former Orange County treasurer, receives an $83,827 county retirement check while making $100,113 a year as a senator.
The practice is legal and advocates for pension system reform say the lawmakers are entitled to the benefits they earned in their previous careers. But, they add, the costly pension perk is an example of what is wrong with public retirement benefits: Government workers can retire too soon with benefits that the pension systems cannot sustain.
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