Employer Newsletter
Kentucky Public Pensions Authority sent this bulletin at 10/19/2020 08:30 AM EDT |
October 2020
In the Same Boat
I just finished attending via Zoom the National Association of State Retirement Administrators annual meeting. Executive Directors from all over the country were connected through Zoom to this three day conference. I was quite pleased to learn that KRS made the transition to “work from home” (WFH) as well or better than most of the other state retirement systems. Many systems initiated WFH requirements long after KRS.
Beginning in March, the majority of the KRS staff had shifted to WFH. Today about 90% of our 250+ employees report to work every day in their homes. They work at their kitchen tables, in their dining rooms or their bedrooms and in some cases their home offices. We anticipate staying at this level until at least the Spring of 2021. Thereafter, I think we will adopt a new working model that has a very meaningful number of employees permanently WFH or at least rotating between home and the KRS office.
Feedback we get from employers is that we have not skipped a beat. We appreciate that and know you do as well.
We imagine most of you are in the same boat. We would like to know what you are doing during the pandemic. Take a minute to talk with your KRS rep the next time you are in contact. We really care about you and your employees and hope all of you remain safe during this period.
Dave
David L. Eager
Executive Director
Outreach Initiatives
In late March, KRS suspended in-person office appointments due to COVID-19. We are extremely proud of our dedicated staff who have come together during this unprecedented time to serve our members. Following Governor Beshear’s Healthy at Work guidelines, the majority of our staff will continue to work from home for now, as KRS is able to serve our members without interruption in essential services.
Serving employers has also continued to be a top priority. The Division of Employer Reporting, Compliance, and Education is available to assist Reporting Officials via phone, Zoom, and email. We are planning training webinars in the near future. Emails will be sent to the Primary Reporting Official when registration becomes available. Our Quality Assurance and Outreach team is available to provide training to Reporting Officials. Call Lisa Stivers at 502-696-8496 to submit a training request.
Click here for access to our Contact List.
Submitting Section H
When a member applies for retirement, their employer must submit verification of their leave balances and final salary. Until recently, employers could only provide this information by completing Section H of the Form 6000, Notification of Retirement. ESS Users can now submit the required verification form to KRS electronically by using the e6000H Wizard in the Available Forms drop-down list. Click here for access to our user guide, or contact your ERCE representative for assistance.
Invoices
KRS uses invoices to issue credits and debits to participating agencies. It is important for each agency to process invoices in a timely manner; however, KRS is currently working through large number of outstanding invoices. ERCE representatives are focusing our efforts on assisting employers with reconciling these past due invoices. Invoices can be viewed in ESS under the Report Tab. ERCE representatives are available for assistance by email, phone, and Zoom. We also offer training videos, which can be accessed by clicking here to help with understanding KRS invoices.
School Board Information
The end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year is here and KRS is prepared to receive your End of Year reports. We use the information from these reports to average and determine the service credit for school board employees. 2020 has been a unique year with the early closure of schools due to COVID-19. Due to this situation, legislation created Senate Bill 177. This bill mandated that local boards of education allow emergency leave to full-time or part-time classified employees if it is in relation to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This emergency leave will count towards the number of days worked during the school year for determining service credit. Due to the emergency clause in the bill, this Act was made retroactively effective to March 6, 2020 as of March 24, 2020, the date Governor Beshear signed it into law. For the 2020-2021 school year, several school districts have elected to use the variable calendar which resulted from the passage of House Bill 224 during the 2003 General Assembly. This legislation allows districts to decrease the actual number of working days by lengthening the scheduled hours per day. Please read here for more information on how this will impact your end of the year reporting for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
KRS Mandates
When David Eager joined KRS in 2016, he introduced four mandates for KRS staff to help us be the best organization that it can for our members, employers and employees. There were four items on that list, but because we are continually striving to be better our list has expanded. Here is what we are doing to strive for excellence:
- Strive for appropriate funding for all plans
- Provide members with efficient access to information and helpful counseling to meet their individual needs
- Manage the assets in accordance with each plan’s needs while adding value to a passive portfolio
- Communicate effectively with all constituents, while ensuring appropriate transparency
- Maintain a work environment that promotes employee inclusion and diversity, effectiveness, morale, safety and retention
- Insist on a culture of continuous enhancement to everything we do
Employee: Lori Wells
Quality Assurance & Employer Outreach
How long have you been at KRS? Worked at KRS for over 21 ½ years.
If you could have another job for one day, what would it be? Work for a florist for the day. It would be so fun to put together an arrangement and make someone’s day brighter by surprising them with beautiful flowers.
What is your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? I love to paint cute doorhangers and I love to bake.
If you could learn any skill, what would it be? Learn to play the piano
What is the one food you cannot resist? Anything savory
Where is your favorite place to vacation? I am a homebody. I love to relax at the house.
What is your most overused word or phrase? “Okay”.
What is your favorite thing about working at KRS? Great coworkers that give a family atmosphere. It is a wonderful place to work!
Employee: Martha Stratton
How long have you been at KRS? I have been with KRS since December of 2018 and transferred from The Office of the Secretary of State where I spent many years.
If you could have another job for one day, what would it be? If I could have another job just for a day it would be an OB Nurse.
What is your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? My favorite indoor activity is crafting or playing board games with my kids.
If you could learn any skill, what would it be? If I could learn any skill it would be woodworking.
What is the one food you cannot resist? The one food I cannot resist is a Hershey Bar with Almonds!
Where is your favorite place to vacation? My favorite place to vacation is anywhere on cruise ship.
What is your most overused word or phrase? My most overused word or phrase is “Ask Your Dad”.
What is your favorite thing about working at KRS? My favorite thing about working at KRS is that I feel like I’m part of a team and appreciated.
Employee: Shannon Jones
How long have you been at KRS? I have been at KRS for 3 years.
If you could have another job for one day, what would it be? My other job would be rescuing people from natural disasters.
What is your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? Reading and swimming
If you could learn any skill, what would it be? I would like to learn how to fly a plane.
What is the one food you cannot resist? Strawberry ice cream
Where is your favorite place to vacation? Favorite place to vacation: the beach.
What is your most overused word or phrase? Overused word or phrase: “whatever”
What is your favorite thing about working at KRS? Learning new skills.
Employee: Amanda Clark
How long have you been at KRS? I have been at KRS since March 2014.
If you could have another job for one day, what would it be? If I could have another job for one day- I would love to do something with animals- maybe rescue abused animals or dog training.
What is your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? Favorite outdoor activity is gardening and taking care of our outside fish. I just bought a new house and we built a fish pond that has koi and goldfish. I am also in the process of making an edible garden that includes raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes and figs - and next spring, a cherry tree. We incorporated perennial plants into the garden, hopefully next spring everything will flourish.
If you could learn any skill, what would it be? If I could learn any skill, I would love to be able to sing and/or play guitar (I can’t do either - nobody needs to hear that haha)
What is the one food you cannot resist? The one food I cannot resist is- hmmmmm…. So many options-, but I am going to say steak or spaghetti
Where is your favorite place to vacation? Favorite vacation spot- Probably the beach, although I would love to go to Ireland one of these days
What is your most overused word or phrase? Most overused word or phrase- I have no idea- maybe I should ask people what it is.
What is your favorite thing about working at KRS? Favorite thing about working at KRS- there are lots. 1) I have a great supervisor, director, and co-workers. We all get a long great and I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with. We help each other, motivate each other, build each other up, and teach each other and we all work as a team. 2) Although it can be stressful, the position I am in here at KRS challenges my brain, and that makes me feel accomplished at the end of the day.
Employee: Tracy Allnutt
How long have you been at KRS? 22 years
If you could have another job for one day, what would it be? I wouldn’t trade for another job. I love working on the School Board team. But if I had to choose, I would love to be working in my own craft store.
What is your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? Indoor activity is to cross stitch or crochet/ outdoor, riding on the farm in my John Deere Gator, sitting on my front porch swinging in my bed porch swing.
If you could learn any skill, what would it be? Reading minds or twitching my nose, like Samantha on Bewitched; to make time go back to the way it was, where everyone gets along, no more COVID, and we are able to live our lives the way it was.
What is the one food you cannot resist? PIZZA and CHOCOLATE.
Where is your favorite place to vacation? Destin, Florida.
What is your most overused word or phrase? “I don’t care”.
What is your favorite thing about working at KRS? My co-workers in ERCE, I consider each and everyone, not only a co-worker, but a friend and my work family.
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