KPPA: New Agency Name - Same Dedicated Service
As of April 1, 2021 the agency formerly known as Kentucky Retirement Systems is now the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA), as legislated by House Bill 484 (2020 RS).
Despite the new name and the new logos, we are the same people, carrying out the same mission for our Members, and we will continue to deliver the exceptional service our Members and other stakeholders have come to expect.
Kentucky Public Pensions Authority is responsible for the investment of funds and administration of pension and health insurance benefits for over 401,000 active and retired state and local government employees, state police officers, and nonteaching staff of local school boards and regional universities.
Leadership, Trustees of Governing Boards in Place
The boards of the governing bodies for KPPA, the County Employees Retirement System (CERS), and the Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), are largely set following the recent CERS Election, appointments by Governor Andy Beshear, and the inaugural meetings for all three bodies. Read our recent press release for more details, and visit the About section of KPPA's website to learn more about our boards.
Visit our Board Elections section to learn more about our next elections in 2022.
Governing Structure (Effective April 1, 2021)
KPPA Continues to Livestream Board and Committee Meetings
Following Governor Beshear’s Healthy at Work guidelines, the CERS, KRS, and KPPA Boards and committees will continue to hold meetings via live video teleconference until further notice. Videos of previous meetings are available on the KPPA Facebook page.
We invite you to join us for future meetings by going to the KPPA Facebook page on the date and time of the meeting and clicking on the live feed.
Here is a list of upcoming meetings that are scheduled to be livestreamed in the next few weeks (all times Eastern):
KPPA Pension and Insurance Funds Combined Earned 25% Net Return in Fiscal Year 2021
The strong performance pushed total Kentucky Public Pensions Authority assets to $22.7 billion. The returns will help reduce the amounts that employers would have otherwise been scheduled to pay.
Last year’s performance also marks the highest single-year investment return in the history of the organization, eclipsing the 24% return recorded in 1997.
Combined Pension Fund and Insurance Fund Assets
(Expressed in Billions)
 The second chart shows the annualized investment returns for all plans for the fiscal year and the trailing 3-, 5-, and 10-Year periods.
 The actuarial assumed rate of return for the KERS Nonhazardous and State Police Retirement System pension funds is 5.25%; it is 6.25% for all other pension funds and all insurance trust funds.
For more information about investments, visit the Investments section of our website. There you can find more detailed information about performance, holdings, managers and manager contracts, fees, and read monthly and quarterly investment reports.
Legislative Highlights- 2021 Regular Session
The 2021 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.
Here are a few significant bills passed this Session that will have an impact on the systems operated by KPPA:
- Passage of House Bill 8 to Help Ensure Agencies Pay Their Fair Share of Unfunded Liability
House Bill 8 (Rep. DuPlessis) changes the current method for calculating employer contributions from a percent of payroll model to a fixed allocation funding method. This is only a change for KERS nonhazardous employers.
Beginning July 1, 2021 employers are paying the normal cost for all employees, plus their agency’s actuarially-calculated portion of the unfunded liability specifically attributable to that employer’s current and former employees who participate in KERS. Because the actuarially accrued contribution is no longer tied to the fluctuating size of the employer’s payroll, KERS will receive the contribution required to reduce its unfunded liability regardless of reductions in covered payroll.
To learn more about these positive changes please read House Bill 8 Overview and Actuarial Analysis.
- CERS Separation Clean-Up Bill
House Bill 9 (Rep. Webber) is the CERS separation (House Bill 484 - 2020 Regular Session) cleanup bill.
Key elements of this bill include the creation of separate statutes for the CERS as provided by intent language included in HB 484 during the 2020 Regular Session. The bill also amends current statutes to allow KRS and CERS to use the existing registration of assets in order to avoid additional expenses. There were no changes to benefits as a result of this bill.
- KPPA Housekeeping Bill Passes
House Bill 87 (Rep. Decker), the KPPA Housekeeping bill, makes notable changes to current benefits procedures to improve efficiencies. In addition, the bill provides that members dually employed in full-time hazardous and part-time nonhazardous positions may elect to opt out of nonhazardous participation if eligible; and amends pension spiking to establish a $25 monthly threshold.
Beneficiary Changes after Retirement
Perhaps most significantly, House Bill 87 allows retired members to change their beneficiary and/or retirement payment option in certain circumstances:
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Non-Survivorship Payment Options: Effective June 29, 2021, retired members may change their beneficiary if they selected a non-survivorship payment option. Members can verify their current payment option using Self Service.
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Marriage or Remarriage: Within 120 days of the date of marriage or remarriage, a retired member may name his/her new spouse as beneficiary and elect a new survivorship payment option. The survivorship payment option will be recalculated and must be actuarially equivalent to the retirement allowance at the original retirement date. This bill also establishes a window for retired members who married or remarried prior to June 29, 2021 to do the same if the beneficiary change and new survivorship payment option election is filed with KPPA on or before January 1, 2022. Members must provide a marriage certificate and date of birth verification to name their spouse as beneficiary and elect a survivorship payment option.
For more information please refer to Marital Status and Beneficiary Change on our website.
- Other Retirement-Related Bills and Resolutions
To read summaries of the other retirement-related bills and resolutions that passed during the 2021 Regular Session please visit the Legislative Updates section of our website.
A Fiduciary Obligation to Protect Confidential Member Account Information
The passage of House Bill 8 (2021 Regular Session) provided a much-needed change to the outdated method of calculating the annual Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) Nonhazardous employer contribution. The new calculation method requires each KERS Nonhazardous employer to begin paying their own portion of the total KERS Nonhazardous unfunded pension liability, regardless of their current covered payroll, as determined by the Systems’ actuary.
Unfortunately, House Bill 8 has also revealed a fundamental misunderstanding among some legislators and employers about the Systems’ fiduciary obligation to its members and retirees. At issue is whether KERS employers should be given access to the confidential member information used by GRS, the Systems’ actuary, in order to attempt to independently calculate their portion of the unfunded liability.
KPPA could not comply with those requests and our rationale is spelled out in a letter contained in this link.
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