Bill Aims to Reform Kentucky Pension Systems

House Bill 546, sponsored by state Representative Jim Wayne (D-Louisville), would set competitive bidding rules and ban use of third-party placement agents for the Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS) and the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement System, which includes judges and state legislators, according to a news report in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The proposed reforms would require the KRS and KTRS to disclose online their investment fees, holdings, commissions, contracts and property purchases. The bill would also require gubernatorial appointees to the KRS board of trustees to have at least 10 years of investment experience, rather than just a general financial background.

In addition, the bill asks to have Kentucky’s Public Pension Oversight Board study whether the Kentucky General Assembly should transfer judicial and legislative pensions to KRS and remove from KRS the local government pensions held in a sub-plan called the County Employees Retirement System, with the findings being issued in a report by December. Local governments have complained that they are forced to pay exorbitant pension contributions to compensate KRS for the largely unfunded state retirement plan, according to the news report.

More information about the bill can be found here.