WESTWOOD (CBS) — Students at University of California campuses statewide may soon face another round of tuition increases to help pay for ballooning pension and health care costs.

KNX 1070′s Pete Demetriou reports a mounting tide of red ink and a tidal wave of retirees have sent university officials scrambling for a solution.

Pension and health care costs for retired University of California employees is projected to hit $500 million as over 116,000 more employees prepare to retire.

With combined unfunded liabilities estimated to total near $25 billion, UC officials may opt to raise the basic tuition by up to 6 percent to almost $13,000 a year to help cover costs.

David, a 17 year employee at UCLA, said students and the public still may not fully comprehend the scope of the problem.

“I think some people do, I think most don’t,” he said.

Over 2,100 of the University of California’s 56,000 retirees are drawing pensions over $100,000, according to the latest UC data.

Analysts have blamed the collapse of investment markets and a failure of the state, UC and employee unions to contribute to the pension plan for almost two decades.