Thank you to the University of California Office of the President for providing information about UC President Mark Yudof’s salary and his expected annual pension, and The Davis Enterprise for publishing this information in your Jan. 20 article announcing Yudof’s retirement as UC president.

A closer look at Yudof’s numbers, and the UC retirement plan benefit percentages that apply to almost all UC employees, shows that UC has once again made a sweetheart deal for a high-ranking administrator. California taxpayers and UC tuition-paying students and their families should take note.

Yudof will retire with 5.25 years of service, barely above the five years required to “vest” in the retirement plan. Almost all UC employees (except those with special sweetheart deals) who retire at 60 years of age or older multiply the average of their three highest years of salary times their years of service times 2.5 percent to calculate their annual pension.

According to the numbers in the Jan. 20 article, here is the way that would work out for Yudof: $591,000 times 5.25 years of service times 2.5 percent equals $77,568.75. The article states Yudof will receive an annual pension of “at least $230,000.” This is 296.5 percent more than a typical UC employee would receive who is of the same age, with the same number of years of service!

I would imagine that Yudof is also drawing pensions from the University of Minnesota where he spent a little over five years and the University of Texas, where he spent about six.

The article also points out that his salary for his upcoming faculty appointment at UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law is not yet determined. However, such appointments do not come at less than at least $150,000 per year. I would expect his UC pension will not be affected by his law school salary, nor, of course, would any other non-UC pensions he is drawing.

The beat goes on!

Clyde W. Froehlich
Davis

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