Issue Position: Pension System

Issue Position

The financial health of Kentucky matters to businesses looking to move here. Many states across the nation are in financial trouble due to their unfunded liability obligations and Kentucky has the second most underfunded pension system in the United States.

The states that begin to address their financial problems are the ones who will benefit from economic growth and revitalization. Businesses don't want to move to a state with large amounts of debt because debt creates volatility and an environment where taxes could potentially increase.

Unfortunately, the other side of the aisle is just not serious about addressing this problem. Their solution is to take out a $3.3 billion loan at 5% and hope that we can earn 7% on the money invested in the market.

We should honor our commitments to current beneficiaries, but we must change retirement benefits for new hires going forward if we ever want a solvent system.

As Governor, I will push to privatize the management of our state pension systems. Kentucky domiciled investment firms can manage our pension systems better than bureaucrats in Frankfort.

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