Kentucky House of Representative OKs Pension Bill

A pension reform bill has been approved by the House and is now headed to the Senate.

House Bill 1 passed 98-0 with little discussion. The Senate is expected to act on the bill quickly so the special session can adjourn by tomorrow.

HB 1 -- the only measure on the session's agenda -- not only reduces benefits for future hires but also contains a timeline to gradually increase state funding for the retirement systems, which face a nearly $27 billion shortfall.

For the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2010, the bill commits the legislature to providing 44 percent of the amount experts say is needed that year to fund the pension plan for employees in non-hazardous positions -- by far the largest of the public employee retirement plans

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