Local
Written by: Press Release Posted by David Elliott
Publication date: 05-12-2022
Governor Laura Kelly signed bipartisan legislation, Senate Bill 421, that transfers more than $1 billion from the state’s General Fund to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS).
Senate Bill 421 will provide immediate and long-term benefits to the state by eliminating debt from state balance sheets and reducing future employer assessments.
“Balancing the budget, paying down the debt and providing financial relief to Kansans has always been my top priority – and today we delivered on that promise,” he added. said Governor Laura Kelly. “We are repairing the damage done to KPERS because our public service employees and retirees deserve to have their pension funds replenished after the previous administration skipped payments to cover reckless tax policy.”
“This legislation reimburses all delayed KPERS contributions, which is a great relief to KPERS members and their beneficiaries,” said State Treasurer Lynn Rogers. “Governor Kelly’s record of paying down large debts gives us the ability to better serve the people of Kansas and focus on investing in our future.”
In addition to funding KPERS, the state should repay hundreds of millions of dollars in bond debt, as recommended by the governor in January. The Governor also repaid a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Board two years ahead of schedule.
“Since being elected Governor, Laura Kelly has demonstrated her unwavering support for improving the financial strength and resilience of our state’s public employee retirement system,” said Alan D. Conroy, Executive Director of KPERS. “SB 421 not only makes significant progress in reducing our long-term unfunded actuarial liability, it also completely eliminates long-term KPERS debt from the books. Taken together, this one-time funding injection will provide immediate savings to the state, it will result in a significant reduction in KPERS payments over the long term, and it will further confirm to our retirees that they will receive the full pension they have earned through their public service in Kansas to the state, cities and counties and to local school districts.”
More information on Senate Bill 421 can be found here.
(Information courtesy of the Governor’s Office.)
