The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) reported that its proposal asking for shareholder access to the proxy ballot received 42 percent support at UnitedHealth Group’s May 29 annual meeting.

The Minnesota-based health insurance company has not indicated whether this percentage is based on votes cast or all outstanding shares, or whether that number reflects a total that includes abstentions or broker votes, CalPERS officials said.

Nevertheless, a 42 percent vote is another significant display of investor support for this first-year proposal. In March, a binding access proposal won 43 percent support at Hewlett-Packard. That proposal was filed by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and three state pension funds. Very few shareholder resolutions have averaged more than 40 percent support in their first year on corporate ballots.

The non-binding CalPERS proposal at UnitedHealth called on the board to allow shareowners of 3 percent or more of company stock for at least two years to nominate up to two board candidates to appear on the management proxy statement. The company opposed the proposal, arguing that proxy access would be too “disruptive, divisive, and expensive.”

Earlier this year, UnitedHealth restated its results by $1.5 billion to account for improperly dated stock options. Former CEO William McGuire resigned last year, and the company has adopted a series of governance reforms since the options irregularities were first disclosed in March 2006.