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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Public Employees Plead with Governor to Leave Pensions Alone

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Tuesday, October 17, 2017   

FRANKFORT, Ky. – What Kentucky's governor and state lawmakers are going to do to solve the state's public pension crisis should be known very soon. They've been mulling over plans that include cutting payments to existing retirees and forcing most current and future hires into 401-K-style retirement plans.

That's caused a large number of public employees to decide to end their careers in recent weeks. It's also caused panic among those who aren't close to retirement age.

State Rep. Regina Huff is a teacher in Whitley County. She says her office has been flooded with calls from state employees who are worried about their financial future. She says she is as well because that's her only retirement plan.

"I am a legislator but I do not have a legislative pension," she says. "I hold a Rank 1, which is 30 hours above a master's, so it's essentially two master's degrees, and I now make $54,000 a year."

The Teachers' Retirement System has received applications from more than 120 members who have decided to retire on November first. That's up 64 percent over last year. Hundreds of other state and local government employees across the state also have decided to retire this year.

Justice Laurance B. VanMeter sent a three-page letter last week to Gov. Matt Bevin and top legislative leaders, saying the retirement plan for judges is in sound shape and should be left alone. Huff says many public employees work hard to provide needed services to their communities, and most rely on their pensions as a way to continue in a job that has a low salary.

"We go into this career knowing that we're never going to get wealthy," Huff adds. "However, we see it as a continuum of salary from the beginning of our career to the end of our lives."

A consultant hired by the state recommended sweeping changes to the pension system, including increasing the retirement age to 65 for most workers. For those already retired, the consultant recommended taking away all cost-of-living benefits that state and local government retirees received between 1996 and 2012, a move that could significantly reduce the monthly checks that many retirees receive.


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