A key CalPERS committee today voted to raise the state's annual contribution to the pension fund by $600 million in the upcoming fiscal year. CalPERS' full board will vote on the increase Wednesday.

The increase means the state's annual tab for CalPERS would rise to about $3.9 billion, putting additional strain on the troubled state budget.

In December CalPERS signaled that the contribution would grow by about $200 million to help the pension fund recover from devastating investment losses in the 2008-09 fiscal year. Since then the fund has revised its actuarial assumptions to reflect a surge of workers retiring sooner and living longer, said CalPERS interim chief actuary Alan Milligan.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his fellow Republicans have seized on CalPERS' troubles to press the case for an overhaul that would reduce pension benefits for future employees.