Legislative leaders say more details to come on pension reforms following actuarial analysis

Speaking to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Friday, Kentucky House Speaker Jeff Hoover and Senate President Robert Stivers gave the business community leaders an in-depth view of the pension reform plan released earlier this week.

The leaders explained that the bill is not yet finalized and that once it is ready, the state’s retirement systems will be given a copy and provide actuarial analysis on the plan, which will detail the financial information for the legislation. Hoover and Stivers said that actuarial analysis could take up to two weeks for the systems to produce.

House Speaker Jeff Hoover

Actuarial analysis will provide the final numbers associated with the plan, including any savings it may provide. The leaders said while they cannot speak to the exact numbers, they do expect to see savings as a result of the plan.

However, both Hoover and Stivers stated the state is going to have to continue to put a large amount of funds into the systems in the next budget, including the $1.2 billion additional that was contributed in the last budget and potentially more.

Speaker Hoover reiterated that the pension crisis is the most complex issue facing the state and stated the reform framework laid out on Wednesday is a “good, solid plan” to help the systems become more solvent.

Senate President Robert Stivers

Senate President Stivers said the framework has been well thought out after three months of meetings between legislative leaders and the governor and stated he feels it is “morally right and legally sound.”

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dave Adkisson released the following statement about the pension reform efforts:

“We commend the governor and legislative leaders for developing this bold initiative to solve Kentucky’s pension crisis. We are encouraged by the framework set forth this week and look forward to learning more details as the bill is developed. The Kentucky Chamber has been calling for significant pension reforms for more than a decade. Now is the time to address the biggest financial threat to our Commonwealth,” Adkisson said.