HB 58 was recently introduced in the General Assembly. This bill is designed to raise the state-tax exclusion for pension income from $31,110 to $41,110 and retroactively apply to this exclusion to the 2018 tax year. This bill also would require the Kentucky Department of Revenue to automatically issue any applicable refunds.
If you recall, the 2018 state budget lowered the tax-exclusion amount for pensions from $41,110 to $31,110, one of the changes approved by the General Assembly when it rushed to approve a pension-reform bill at the end of the last legislative session.
Unfortunately, HB 58 appears to be stalled in the House A&R committee. We need for you to contact your legislators via email by clicking here or by calling 1-800-372-7181 to encourage them to pass HB 58 to return the pension income tax-exclusion limit to $41,110.
As the 2019 Kentucky legislative session moves forward, the KRTA remains heavily engaged in Frankfort to ensure our current and future members continue to enjoy the retirement benefits they have rightfully earned. Our primary goals for this session continue to be:
As previously mentioned, the General Assembly’s Public Pension Working Group decided to suspend its meetings until after the legislative session is over.
However, Rep. Scott Lewis, R-Hartford, a former educator, this week introduced HB 504, which creates a new retirement tier for future teachers hired after January 1, 2020.
At this time, neither KRTA nor any other state educational group has endorsed this bill. We are reserving judgment until we have had ample time evaluate the bill in detail, including reviewing an analysis by the Legislative Research Commission comparing HB 504 with the other pension reform bills – SB 151 and HB 504 – and undertaking an actuarial-impact analysis of HB 504.
Some highlights of HB 504:
We are currently working on creating a FAQ sheet about the new bill, which we intend to distribute once it is complete.