By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle

The California Supreme Court jumped into a high-stakes dispute over public employee pensions last week, agreeing to decide whether laws aimed at limiting preretirement actions to inflate future benefits can be applied to millions of government workers.

A state appeals court in San Francisco ruled in a Marin County case in August that the new laws could be applied to current employees — a potentially major setback for the workers and their unions, and a victory for local governments facing mounting deficits in their pension plans. But the state’s high court voted unanimously to put that ruling on hold while it reviews the issue for a future statewide resolution.

A final decision is at least a year away.

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