General Assembly surprise: House and Senate pass pension reform bill

FRANKFORT – The Kentucky House of Representatives and Senate passed a revised pension reform bill on Thursday night.

Senate Bill 151, which served as the vehicle for a revised Senate Bill 1, passed by a 49 to 46 vote after over two hours of debate on the House floor.

Later in the evening, the Senate passed the legislation on a 22-15 vote with 5 Republicans, Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, Sen. C.B. Embrey, R-Morgantown, Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington, Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, and Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, joining ten Democrats in voting no.

During a committee meeting on Thursday afternoon, Rep. John “Bam” Carney, R-Campbellsville, told committee members that the revised pension bill has minimal changes for the current state worker.

It makes no changes to the current TRS cost of living adjustments (COLAs) which would stay at 1.5 percent, no changes in how many years one must serve to get their “high five” or “high three”, or the multiplier.

The one change after the legislation takes effect is that unused sick days cannot be added on for years of service for retirement credit.

SB 151 would also take away the inviolable contract for all new teachers hired as well as cuts to death benefits for current teachers.

It also places new hires in a hybrid cash balance plan with zero percent guaranteed return.

“This solution will ensure the solvency of our pension system in the years to come,” Carney said. “It guarantees a solid retirement for all public employees, including retired, current and future workers while also giving future workers the chance to capitalize on the type of market returns that we’ve seen the last few years.”

I don't really like how this was done, however, the KEA (NEA) has reaped what it has sewn after decades of hyperpartisan politics and using the school system as a vehicle to enhance their own power and those of their left-wing political allies rather than being what their namesake is supposed to be...and educational association. Now, after years of slanderous mailings, ads, etc. the GOP is in charge and is sticking to them.

I wonder how much of a retirement program they could have created over all of these years they could have created for their members had all of the portions of dues used for partisan political activities had instead been put into a retirement program for their members?

When I started teaching in the late 1960s salaries were very low. 1967-1968, $6000. Cities and towns were way too slow to give teachers a living wage. Then, in the 1970s, unions got involved in politics. It got ridiculous, especially in MA with a pension plan that was better than salary (considering less taxes and expenses). I didn't reach the years + age formula, so have a relatively low pension.

What's my point? There has to be a better way to strike a balance than having teachers unions with so much clout from buying politicians. With these year-end strikes, teachers unions are holding their communities hostage. I don't hear them talking about reforms that need to be made to save education. It's only about their wages. I don't blame a legislature that decides to make pension plans less expensive if teachers demand higher salaries now.

They could have staged these kinds of protest the last 30 years each time the General Assembly literally stole huge amounts of money from their pensions but did not...because Democrats were in charge. Now that the money is depleted from the trust fund, forcing drastic changes, now they protest - because the Republicans are the ones left holding the bag and are in charge - the people they’ve attacked relentlessly for a long time - and now wonder why they don’t want to listen to them.

If I worked for the government, I would still vote straight republican. Reasoning: there is only so much tax money in aggregate and voting to increase the size of government is cutting your own throat. One would think that educators would understand this simple axiom.

The number of private industry employers who offer defined pension plans rather than matching 401(K) plans have plummeted to near zero.

It is high time that public employers do the same. I am getting tired of living in two Americas where one America gets oodles of holidays, defined pensions and retirement at age 60 or earlier and the other America is expected to pick up the tab.

Teachers are brainwashed by unions to think they're supposed to have it both ways. When salaries were lower in teaching than in the private sector, there was justification for it with that pension upon retirement. Keep in mind that those old lower salaries generated lower pensions, since it's a percentage according to the formula. It's not just teachers; it's all public sector employees including DC swampthings.

There could be a real positive unintended consequence of teachers having risky retirement plans instead of pensions. They'd have to stop being so clueless about education about money and budgeting. There is next to no education in budgeting, finance, economics. It isn't important to teachers, so it's omitted. If teachers had to be concerned about their own financial decisions being good, that omission might be less likely.

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