General Assembly To Examine Pension System

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…Kentucky's pension system could be the toughest problem facing the 2013 General Assembly. For many years, governors and legislators knowingly failed to put enough money in the state pension fund at the Kentucky Retirement Systems which is responsible for providing lifetime pensions to 117,000 current, former and retired state employees. The $11 billion Kentucky Retirement Systems has only 44 percent of the money it needs to meet future obligations to state workers, local government employees and state police. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, says he wants the legislature to dedicate a funding source to shore up the pensions, possibly a higher cigarette tax or the closure of some tax breaks.