Officials discussed legislative and economic updates following this year’s General Assembly short session. The number of employees participating in retirement systems through counties, state government, and Kentucky State Police has dropped since 2015. However, for teachers statewide, preliminary numbers on their retirement annuity trusts are continuing to show positive gross returns. In the last thirty years, these accounts have seen a return of nearly eight percent.
New bills passed through the legislature this session affecting policies for teachers. One of these is House Bill 694, changing how health insurance is funded for retired teachers. Beau Barnes, Deputy Executive Secretary for the Teacher’s Retirement System, said the system has greatly improved over the last few decades.
“Before 2010, as most people on this board I think realize and know, retired teacher health insurance was paid for on a pay as you go basis,” said Barnes. “We had dollars in, dollars out. That was unsustainable. The Commonwealth was paying most of that cost voluntarily.”
One key change HB 694 makes is allowing money for these health insurance plans, once the package is already fully funded, to be moved into the employee’s teacher retirement annuity trust.
Barnes also highlighted a new law, Senate Bill 9, which broadens what parts of sick leave and retirement that school districts have to pay.
“Now, the state, the Commonwealth, pays by statute the actuarial cost of that application of sick leave for retirement salary credit. What Senate Bill 9 does, it’s going to change that a little bit,” said Barnes.
In this bill, an actuarial cost is the amount of money paid out into the teacher’s retirement, calculated every year to account for salary changes and cost of living adjustments. The state will now pay for 13 accrued sick days per year, and the Teacher’s Retirement System will bill the school district for the rest.
Senate Bill 9 also requires school districts to make plans to provide 30 days of paid maternity leave to employees by the year 2030. Those paid days don’t include paternity or adoption leave, but schools can also provide more than 30 days or other benefits in addition.