California's state retirement system received many applications last month from workers wanting to buy additional years of service to count towards their retirement. The practice was stopped on January 1st as an attempt to cut pension costs. California workers were allowed to add up to five years of credit towards their pensions. The system says that as long as investment goals are met, the pension system is not negatively affected. California's pension fund covers about 1.6 million people.
See "California Workers Rush Calpers Ahead of 'Air Time' Ban", Michael B. Marois, Bloomberg News, January 30, 2013