Mendocino County Board of Retirement denies retiree’s appeal over pension calculation, directs staff to review records

The Mendocino County Board of Retirement on Oct. 15 denied an appeal by retiree Phil Pantaine challenging a correction notice that led the pension system to change his retirement calculation. After hearing arguments from Pantaine and system counsel, trustees voted to reject the appeal and instructed staff to provide Pantaine with all available records and to perform a comprehensive review of his contribution rates.

The appeal drew detailed historical claims from Pantaine, who told trustees he believes his retirement tier and final compensation were recorded and handled incorrectly, and that the errors have harmed retired beneficiaries’ livelihoods. “MCERA uses, such words as systemic and human error when describing the retirees' pension revisions based on error by staff. But MCERA doesn't say how or why, and it's your burden of proof to prove how and why these errors were committed,” Pantaine said…