As a California resident, you are subject to being taxed on all of your income, from whatever source, except as otherwise exempted by state law.
Michigan, as you probably know, provides some tax breaks for retirees over a certain age, and by type of pension, including government and public schools.
But in California however, all private, local, state and federal pensions are fully taxed (and that would include your education pension, even where it was earned years earlier, and even for non-California employment). The only tax exemptions for retirement income in California are for Social Security benefits and Railroad Retirement Board pensions.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here; but it would simply be illegal to exclude your Michigan pension from California taxation, if you are a resident of California (or "domiciled" in California, as the tax law terms it).
If you have further
questions about this topic, or if you just want to speak with a live tax
expert who can walk you through your TurboTax pension entries (including the ability to
screen-share with your computer), please feel free to contact us. We
would be happy to help you (and as a TurboTax Premier customer, the call is free to
you). Here is a link where you can create a support ticket and reach us:
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/
Thank you for asking this important question.
