by Matthew Pertz, News Editor
Protesters overwhelmed Frankfort this past week, crowding the state capital and chanting “A pension is a promise,” in response to a surprise bill reworking teachers’ pensions.
On March 29, the Republican-led legislature revealed a new proposal to overhaul a previously stalled pension bill. It was passed by both chambers only three hours later, without actuarial analysis or a public release of the bill’s text. The first bill had been tabled in March due to educators’ outrage, adding to the surprise over a new bill.
The bill requires more working years from new teachers before becoming eligible for benefits. Presently, educators need to work for only 27 years before receiving a deferred-benefits pension, while teachers hired after the end of 2018 will need to work until age 65 or until their years of service combined with their age exceed 87 (i.e. a teacher who begins work at 22 could retire at 55, assuming he/she faces no gaps in employment during those 33 years of work).
New teachers will also enter into a cash-balance plan, which is “less generous than traditional pensions but more reliable than 401(k)-style plans,” according to Daniel Desroches of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Between both chambers the vote fell mostly along party lines, with no Democrats supporting the bill and only 16 Republicans opposing. Both Rep. Kim King and Sen. Tom Buford, Jessamine County’s two elected lawmakers, were among the 16 Republican naysayers.
On March 30, 26 districts canceled school due to the massive absence of protesting teachers. Students have since stood in solidarity with their instructors; the Herald-Leader reports that most of the students at Pike County Central High School held a walk-out in opposition to the cuts.
Oklahoma and West Virginia faced similar strikes over funding issues within the past month, with each being resolved within a few days.
Kentucky’s pension bill revised many of the controversial provisions of its predecessor, like a mandatory 3 percent contribution into retiree health insurance funds and the end of a $145 million health fund for retired teachers.
Pension is often the only income source after leaving the school system; according to the Herald-Leader, retired teachers in Kentucky cannot collect Social Security.
Photo by Sara Wagner at WHAS
