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Gov. Bevin signs executive order prohibiting pension spiking By Nicole Burton Frankfort, KY - Gov. Matt Bevin signed an executive order today to ensure continuation of a good-government Bevin Administration policy that prohibits former legislators appointed to executive or judicial branch positions from potentially doubling or tripling their pension payout by engaging in a practice known as "pension spiking." Members of the Kentucky General Assembly who began participation in the Legislators' Retirement Plan prior to January 1, 2014, are entitled to a defined benefit pension. The final pension payout for this plan is calculated using a formula based on the individual's years of service in the legislature, multiplied by the average salary for the three highest years of salary (known as the "high three"), and then multiplied by a percentage called a benefit factor. In 2005, the General Assembly passed HB 299, known as "the Greed Bill," which allows part-time citizen legislators to spike their legislative pension using their highest three years of salary, even if that salary was earned in another government position. Under previous governors, former legislators making a five-figure salary for most of their career could receive a much larger six-figure retirement, even though they did not contribute that amount to the pension system. Upon his inauguration, Gov. Bevin put a stop to pension spiking and required former and current legislators accepting new employment in his administration to begin collecting their legislative pensions before beginning executive-branch employment, thereby keeping their high three based only on their legislative service. "Across Kentucky, there are thousands of hardworking public employees and retirees who expect to receive what they've paid into the retirement system," said Gov. Bevin. "Our pension system is already the worst funded in the nation, and it is both actuarially unsound and fundamentally unfair that a select group of individuals can enrich their own pensions and receive millions of dollars more in benefits than they have paid in. We ended this practice in our administration, and it is in the best interest of the taxpayers, public employees, and the long-term health of the pension system that it is ended once and for all." The passage of Senate Bill 3 in 2017 required that the pensions of all current and former legislators be subject to open records requests for the first time. As a result, the public learned that many former legislators earned pensions in excess of $100,000 per year because of pension spiking. SB 151, passed by the General Assembly in 2018, ended the egregious practice of pension spiking, but it was never allowed to become law because the Kentucky Supreme Court struck it down based entirely on procedural issues. "It is outrageous that legislators like Rocky Adkins, who voted for the Greed Bill in 2005 and against SB 151 to end pension spiking, are now attempting to enrich their own pensions by accepting high-paying positions in the Beshear Administration," said Gov. Bevin. "I'm asking Leader Adkins to retire from the General Assembly prior to his appointment in the executive branch so that his higher salary is not included in his final pension calculation. Additionally, I'm asking the Governor-elect to follow the executive order issued today and prohibit any and all pension spiking in his administration. Kentucky taxpayers deserve this level of respect from the officials they elect." Currently, the Legislators' Retirement plan is funded at nearly 100 percent, while the Kentucky Employees Retirement Plan (Non-Hazardous) is only 14 percent funded. During his time in office, Gov. Bevin fully funded the pension system and dedicated unprecedented funding to shore up the pension system. This story was posted on 2019-12-05 17:05:17
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Politics:
Rep. Carney presented 2019 Friend of Kentucky Cities award Youngest female state rep in state history takes office Flurry of pardons in Bevin's final weeks as governor State reps push for end to time changes KY lawmakers plan to file bipartisan red flag legislation Sen. Max Wise's Legislative Update: Thanksgiving Grimes invites Secretary-Elect Adams to join recanvass Recanvas scheduled for Thu 14 Nov 2019 Heartland Parkway receives $9.8M BUILD Grant Adair County results for the 2019 General Election View even more articles in topic Politics |
 
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