Calpers Rings Pension Warning Bell

It's increasingly clear that pensions can't rely on investment returns to pad their coffers the way they used to.The biggest U.S. pension fund appears to recognize this. The chief investment officer of the $303 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System just recommended that it lower its annual assumed rate of return to 7 percent from 7.5 percent, which will require workers to contribute more money to the plan.