FRANKFORT, KY – The Kentucky Public Pensions Authority has released its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the Fiscal Year (FY) ended June 30, 2021. The report serves as a detailed resource for understanding the structure, financial status, investments, and governance of the funds operated by KPPA. As such it is a critical component of KPPA’s effort to maintain transparency for all stakeholders.
The FY 2021 ACFR highlights the record investment performance for all County Employees Retirement System (CERS), Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS), and State Police Retirement System (SPRS) pension and insurance funds. Collectively, all funds operated by KPPA earned an investment return of 25% net of fees for the Fiscal Year. The returns for each of the 10 pension and insurance funds was significantly above their actuarial assumptions – 5.25% for the KERS Nonhazardous and State Police pension funds and 6.25% for all other pension and insurance funds.
Record investment returns helped drive asset growth, which in turn led to improvements in the financial positions of all 10 pension and insurance plans operated by KPPA. Actuarial valuations conducted by KPPA’s actuary, GRS, show that the funded status each of the plans improved in Fiscal Year 2021. As a result, the recommended actuarially determined employer contribution rates for fiscal years ending on June 30, 2023 and 2024 will in all but one case be lower than in recent years.
GRS projects that all pension and insurance plans will be fully funded in Fiscal Year 2049, provided KPPA receives the full Actuarially Determined Contribution (ADC) each year and all actuarial assumptions are met.
The report also shows that the systems operated by KPPA paid out $2.1 billion in monthly pension payments in FY 2021, 93% of which went to Kentucky residents. Total payments per county for the fiscal year ranged from $1.1 million in Robertson County to $362 million in Jefferson County. These payments represent a consistent revenue stream for all local economies.
The average age for a retired CERS Nonhazardous member was 70.9 years and the average retiree received $12,017 per year in payments. The average KERS Nonhazardous retiree was 70.0 year old and received annual payments totaling $21,328.
All retirement systems continued their downward employment trends, led by the KERS Hazardous plan, which saw a 7.4% decrease in active employees from FY 2020. The KERS Nonhazardous plan workforce shrunk by 4.7%, followed by CERS Nonhazardous (down 3.7%), SPRS (down 2.9%), and CERS Hazardous (down 2.3%).
The FY 2021 report can be found on the Annual Reports page on the KPPA website. The FY 2021 Summary Annual Financial Report, which highlights key points from the ACFR, can be found on the Summary Annual Reports page.
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The Kentucky Public Pensions Authority is responsible for the investment of funds and administration of pension and health insurance benefits for over 401,000 active and retired state and local government employees, state police officers, and nonteaching staff of local school boards and regional universities.
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https://kyret.ky.gov