The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky Bill allows local employers to move hazardous duty employees from Tier III to Tier II retirement benefits
Last action · March 11, 2026: to State Government (H)Sponsors: Matt Lehman and 1 other
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Effective July 1, 2027, participating employers in the County Employees Retirement System may make a one-time irrevocable election to provide Tier II retirement benefits instead of to employees in hazardous positions. Eligible employees have 30 days from the employer's effective election date to individually elect the conversion for future and past service accrued on or after January 1, 2014.
Changes pension benefit structures and contribution allocation rules for local government hazardous duty personnel, requiring adopting employers to cover additional actuarial costs.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
County Employees Retirement System hazardous duty employees
Eligible employees are granted the option to convert their Tier III retirement benefits to Tier II benefits upon employer election.
Participating local employers
Employers are permitted to make a one-time irrevocable election to provide Tier II benefits and are required to pay additional actuarial costs.
Key Facts
- Employers participating in the County Employees Retirement System may make a one-time irrevocable election effective July 1, 2027, to provide Tier II benefits to employees in hazardous positions.
- Adopting employers must adopt a resolution and submit it to the board at least six months prior to the effective date, and agree to pay additional actuarial costs.
- Eligible employees in hazardous positions may within 30 days of the effective election date make an irrevocable election to convert service accrued on or after January 1, 2014, to Tier II service.
- Employees hired on or after the employer's effective election date who would otherwise participate in Tier III benefits in a hazardous position shall instead participate in Tier II benefits.
Show all 7 facts
- Section 2 requires a favorable private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service before members may elect to change certain system benefits.
- Employers who make the one-time irrevocable election must pay an additional actuarially accrued liability contribution sufficient to fund the conversion of benefits.
- The legislation becomes effective on July 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the Tier II benefit conversion under this bill?
What must an employer do to provide Tier II benefits under this legislation?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 11, 2026HouseCommitteeto State Government (H)
- Mar 4, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Retirement Tier Conversion Option
The bill creates a mechanism for certain employees under Tier III hazardous duty benefits to transition back to Tier II benefit structures upon employer election and cost coverage.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools