HB219
Log in to followAN ACT relating to retiree health provisions of the Kentucky Retirement Systems.
Amend KRS 61.702, relating to the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and the State Police Retirement System, to increase the nonhazardous and hazardous duty under age 65 retiree health subsidy to $40 and $50 per month for each year of service, respectively, for those members who meet the "career threshold" who began participating in the system on or after July 1, 2003, and who are eligible for a fixed-dollar retiree health subsidy not tied to the premium; extend the employee contribution used to fund retiree health benefits to include members who began participating in the system on or after July 1, 2003, and increase the current hazardous employee contribution rate to 2% of pay for those eligible for the fixed-dollar retiree health subsidy; make technical amendments regarding the retiree health premium reimbursement program to conform to current policy; provide that the amendments to the employee contributions shall be effective July 1, 2027; for calculation of the retiree health subsidy increase, provide that the change shall apply to service earned prior to the effective date of this Act by eligible members, including retirees, and shall prospectively be adjusted annually by the 1.5% increase currently provided in statute; provide that subsidies payable to impacted retirees shall begin on or after January 1, 2027, to coincide with the next health plan year; direct the Public Pension Oversight Board to continue to review the retiree health fund actuarial data and evaluate potential legislative options to address any future continued improvements in the funds; RETROACTIVE.
Introduced: January 7, 2026
Last action: January 14, 2026
Plain-language summary
This bill would increase the monthly health insurance subsidy paid to certain retired state and state police employees who joined the Kentucky Retirement Systems on or after July 1, 2003, raising it to $40 or $50 per month for each year they worked, depending on their job type. It also adjusts the contribution rates employees pay into the fund that covers retiree health benefits, with those changes taking effect in 2027. The increased subsidies for current retirees would begin in January 2027, and the oversight board would be directed to keep monitoring the health fund's financial condition. Who it may affect: current and future retirees of the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and the State Police Retirement System, as well as active state and state police employees who contribute to retiree health benefits.
Legislative History
Primary Sponsor
Co-sponsors (1)
