The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) said on Wednesday it was launching a comprehensive review of high pay for public officials, after a public outcry over an official's salary in Los Angeles County.

The scandal erupted last month over reports that Bell, a city of 37,000 in Los Angeles County, had been paying its city manager $787,637 a year, or nearly twice U.S. President Barack Obama's salary, along with a pension that could top $30 million if he lives to age 83.

CalPERS said in a statement that it was reviewing its members who earn more than $400,000 annually in salary and has started to draft new reguations to increase transparency of public agency salaries.

The group also said it was joining California's attorney general in an investigation into the salaries and other compensation of Bell officials and was conducting its own review of Bell.

It is also putting the retirement accounts of individuals under investigation on hold and committing not to approve any pensions until it is satisfied that they are appropriate under the law.