An Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court judge yesterday ordered the Orange County Employees' Retirement System not to increase benefit payments to retirees starting July 1 as planned, said Deborah Gmeiner, deputy county counsel.
Judge Wiley Seymour gave the order orally and is not expected to sign the final order for a couple of days, Ms. Gmeiner said. The temporary order is expected to last until next month, when a lawsuit between OCERS and the county over the benefits payments goes to trial.
The payments were to be made to retirees under the retirement system's interpretation of a state supreme court opinion last year. That decision directed county retirement systems to pay benefits based not only on the worker's salary but also on such other items as car allowances and bonuses.
