Bevin's Pension Madness | Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

Bevin's Pension Madness

This message is from John Wade, a retired Professor of Economics from Eastern Kentucky University and KFTC member from Madison County:

Dear Friend,

Take Action Now!

Attend May 16th Board Meeting

Show up to the next KRS Board Meeting and tell them to end the madness. The meeting starts at 10am and it's being held at 1270 Louisville Road in Frankfort.

Call the KRS Board of Trustees

Call 502-696-8800 between 8am-4:30pm EST, press 0 for the operator and then ask to leave a message for the entire Board of Trustees

Email the KRS Board of Trustees 

Send a message to the Board of Trustees members at [email protected]

The Message

They can end the budget crises sweeping Kentucky with a stroke of their pens. Tell them to vote to support assumptions that take a realistic look at how investment returns and payroll will grow over the next 30 years.

As a retired public educator, I have had a front-row seat to the madness surrounding Kentucky’s public pension crisis and the crippling budget cuts it's causing across our Commonwealth.

I'm writing today to tell you that Gov. Bevin and the Kentucky Retirement System Board of Trustees have the power to end this madness as early as next week, and they need to hear from you.

Why has Eastern Kentucky University, from where I retired, eliminated 200 positions and fired many of my old colleagues?

Why is there a $35 million budget shortfall in Louisville, resulting in $9.6 million in proposed cuts to public safety and the elimination of 81 public safety positions?

Why did Knott County vote for a partial government shutdown, including the elimination of a program that delivers food to seniors?

Why are 42 health departments in Kentucky in danger of shutting their doors before the end of the year?

The answer to these questions can be found in a single vote set up by Gov. Bevin and taken by the Kentucky Retirement Systems Board in 2017.

On May 18th, 2017, the KRS Board – newly stacked with Gov. Bevin’s own people – adopted more conservative assumptions about investment returns for Kentucky public pensions and payroll growth for public agencies, despite concerns from several Board members that this was a dangerous and unnecessary move. Bevin's appointees knew this change would cause chaos in our communities but they voted for it anyways!

This politically-driven change, intended to lower public employee pension benefits, caused the required pension payments for agencies and institutions offering vital public services to skyrocket, putting the people they serve across Kentucky at risk.

The KRS Board can correct their miscalculation at their May 16th meeting and bring immediate relief to our communities – without damaging the financial health of the pension fund – by voting to review their numbers and adopting more reasonable assumptions.

If no action is taken by the KRS Board or Gov. Bevin, there is a good chance that several health departments (in the middle of a Hepatitis A outbreak), rape crisis centers, and domestic violence shelters across Kentucky will go bankrupt before the end of the year.

Please contact the Board today! They need to hear from you so they make the right choice.

 

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