BIPPS op-ed: Pension transparency does not violate privacy laws

aaron

An op-ed by Bluegrass Institute board member Aaron Ammerman in today's Lexington Herald-Leader takes issue with recent claims by members of the Kentucky Retirement Systems Board of Trustees that making the commonwealth's public pension system transparent would violate state and federal privacy laws.

"The statement that federal privacy laws prohibit the disclosure of this information is completely false; several states make these details public," Ammerman writes.

While the state Senate unanimously passed two bills -- Senate Bills 2 and 45 --  during the 2016 legislative session that would shine the light on Kentucky's ailing pension systems, they failed to receive a vote on the House floor.

"Taxpayers have the right to ask questions and be assured that best practices are being implemented by all pension systems, including the legislators' benefit plan," Ammerman writes. "Only full transparency will relieve the doubts we have that such best practices are followed."

Read the full op-ed here.