State legislators show support for BIPPS' TRS ideas

Kentucky House leaders are expressing support for ideas offered by the Bluegrass Institute for reforming the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) by presenting a new hybrid pension/cash-balance plan for new teachers which contains both defined-benefit and defined-contribution elements.  

Rep. Jerry Miller, R-Louisville, who’s worked tirelessly for years to advance solutions moving the TRS toward solvency by addressing its $15 billion unfunded liability while not compromising current teachers’ pensions and taking a hybrid approach with new teachers, told WLKY-TV that the proposal “helps us focus on the real problem, which is funding the existing teachers’ plan.”

Kentucky’s pension system is one of the worst-funded in the country. Without action, unfunded liabilities and payments will continue to skyrocket, crowding out funding for important government functions like paving roads, educating our children, and maintaining our police force.

Rep. Miller deserves a huge “thank you” from taxpayers for leading this effort.

We strongly urge his fellow lawmakers to take action to protect taxpayers and fortify our pension systems.

Sponsor Rep. Ed Massey told The Bottom Line that his bill includes a defined-contribution component which shifts risks from taxpayers to beneficiaries but also includes a defined-element to protect teachers who don’t receive Social Security by ensuring they have the opportunity for a secure retirement.

“All I see is there is a problem and we need to find a solution, and this is a step towards that solution,” said Massey, a past president of the Kentucky School Boards Association who indicated he considers himself “very pro-public education.”

Massey’s scheduled to testify on his bill at Wednesday’s meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on State Government, which Miller co-chairs.

The legislation has been numbered by the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) as BR 278 but hasn’t yet been posted on the LRC’s website.

Check back here for updates on this issue and analysis of BR 278.