Rep. David Floyd files bills to address legislative pension issues
STAFF REPORT
REP. DAVID FLOYD
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, 10:20 a.m. — State Rep. David Floyd announced today he has prefiled two bills that if passed would eliminate legislative pensions for members of the General Assembly, and also change the salary formula for combining pensions in the legislative and judicial branches.
“Numerous publications and rating groups have ranked Kentucky’s pension system as one of the worst in the nation because of our unfunded liability, with Barron’s recently ranking the Commonwealth 47th in the nation in overall fiscal health,” Floyd said. “If we want to put our fiscal house in order and dig our way out of debt, it’s important that we as legislators set the example.”
BR 91 would end participation of any member of the General Assembly in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System on August 1, 2013. The bill would also allow any legislator serving in the House or Senate prior to that date to opt out of the retirement system in writing to the Kentucky Retirement Systems’ board of trustees. The bill would also end the Legislators’ Retirement Plan on August 1, 2013, meaning any person elected to serve in the General Assembly would not receive a pension. And any member serving before that date could opt out of the Legislators’ Retirement Plan in writing.
“I have always believed the idea of part-time legislators receiving pensions is just not right,” added Rep. Floyd. “Certainly a part time employee at Walmart is not eligible to receive a full-time pension, so why should we in the General Assembly be any different?”
BR 92 deals with combining retirement plans for the legislative and judicial branches. The proposed bill would continue to allow the combining of benefits, with the exception that the member’s final compensation be based solely on their salary as a member of the General Assembly. Like BR 91, this proposed rule if passed would take effect on August 1, 2013, and would allow eligible members in the system before that date to decline the “reciprocity” provision that combines service for pension calculation.
BR 92 address the issues of reciprocity regarding state pensions, which allows legislators who go to work a another state agency to enhance their legislative pensions by.
Both have been prefiled for the 2013 session of the General Assembly, which starts in January.
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