[anamax]

> Except politicians also like their pensions so they will never vote them away.

They'll switch to defined contribution with lots of contribution.

Note that the typical career path for politicians involves other govt jobs, not "in office forever". (State universities are a favorite place to end up. CA has lots of boards and commissions.)

> Why are pensions anything more than a minimum survival payout I would like to know? They should set a maximum cap of $10k per year per person if taxpayers have to pay it.

That's unreasonable, but defined contribution isn't. That's pay-as-you go, so there's no liability.