'If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.' -Will Rogers
Kentucky faces one of the nation's most severely underfunded public pension systems.
We maintain that past pension commitments to retirees must be honored, despite the significant cost to the state. However, future benefits must be affordable, protect taxpayers and require beneficiaries to take greater responsibility for their own financial futures.
No other issue better highlights the Bluegrass Institute's role in educating policymakers and the impact of making government transparent and accountable to citizens. By educating policymakers about how previous legislators from both parties leveraged public retirement systems to gain political favor with state workers through unaffordable - and unsustainable - benefits, and by insisting politicians’ pensions be subject to the Kentucky Open Records Act, we have fostered an environment conducive to meaningful reform.
In 2021, the Bluegrass Institute's pension-reform proposal influenced legislation that established a new pension system for new teachers. This innovative approach combines defined-benefit and defined-contribution elements, ensuring Kentucky's teachers receive robust retirement benefits while safeguarding taxpayers from additional unfunded pension liabilities.