Section 6.525 - Statutes governing plan - Exceptions - Consolidation of accounts - Combining service creditThe Legislators' Retirement Plan shall be governed by KRS 21.560 and by provisions identical in terms with those provided in KRS 21.345(1), 21.345(3) to (6), 21.357, 21.360(1), 21.370 to 21.410, 21.374, 21.420, 21.425, 21.450, 21.460, 21.470, 21.480, 21.525, 21.540, and 61.552 for the Judicial Retirement Plan, except that:
(1) Five (5) years of service as a legislator will be sufficient for vesting; and(2)(a) A member of the Legislators' Retirement Plan may combine his or her service credit with his or her service credit in the Teachers' Retirement System, Kentucky Employees Retirement System, County Employees Retirement System, and State Police Retirement System at the time of his or her retirement, according to the procedure of KRS 61.680(2)(a), except that the salary used to determine final compensation, if applicable, shall be based on the creditable compensation in KRS 61.510(13) for service while a member of the General Assembly whether or not a member of the Legislators' Retirement Plan.(b) For members contributing on or after June 20, 2005, but prior to January 1, 2014: Upon retirement, a member's accounts under the Legislators' Retirement Plan, State Police Retirement System, Kentucky Employees Retirement System, County Employees Retirement System, and Teachers' Retirement System shall be consolidated for the purpose of determining eligibility and amount of benefits as provided in KRS 61.680(2)(a) and in the same manner as for the other retirement systems using the highest salary regardless of the system in which it was earned. For purposes of this paragraph, "retirement" means the month in which the member elects to begin receiving benefits or benefits become payable due to the member's death.(c) A member who has an account in the Legislators' Retirement Plan and the Judicial Retirement Plan may combine his or her service in both plans for purposes of determining: 1. Eligibility and the amount of benefits; and2. Final compensation, provided the member began participating in the Legislators' Retirement Plan prior to January 1, 2014.(d) A member who began participating in the Legislators' Retirement Plan prior to January 1, 2014, may retire at the completion of twenty-seven (27) or more years of combined service credit, so long as at least fifteen (15) years of such credit were earned after January 1, 1960, and there shall be no reduction in the retirement allowance because of retirement before the age of sixty-five (65).(e) For the purposes of this section, any reference in the KRS sections listed above to the Judicial Retirement Plan shall also be read as a reference to the Legislators' Retirement Plan, and any reference to the Legislators' Retirement Plan shall also be read as a reference to the Judicial Retirement Plan.(3) Any other statute to the contrary notwithstanding, a member of any state-administered retirement system who has ceased to qualify for membership but subsequently returns to a qualified status, shall, for the purposes of determining the date of entry into the state-administered retirement system for the subsequent period or periods of service, be deemed to have never left the retirement system.Amended by 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 55,§ 6, eff. 7/13/2022.Amended by 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 107,§ 4, eff. 7/14/2018.Amended by 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 125,§ 9, eff. 3/27/2017.Amended by 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 12,§ 2, eff. 7/14/2016.Amended by 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 120,§ 17, eff. 7/1/2013.Effective:7/15/2010
Amended 2010, Ky. Acts ch. 148, sec. 1, effective7/15/2010. -- Amended 2005, Ky. Acts ch. 86, sec. 5, effective 6/20/2005. -- Amended 2003, Ky. Acts ch. 128, sec. 3, effective 6/24/2003. -- Amended 2002, Ky. Acts ch. 90, sec. 5, effective 7/15/2002. -- Amended 1998, Ky. Acts ch. 389, sec. 5, effective 7/15/1998. -- Amended 1996, Ky. Acts ch. 31, sec. 1, effective 7/15/1996. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 266, sec. 7, effective 7/15/1994. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 489, sec. 14, effective 7/13/1990. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 299, sec. 5, effective 7/15/1988. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 326, sec. 13, effective 7/1/1982; and ch. 458, sec. 5, effective 4/15/1982. -- Created 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 407, sec. 16, effective 7/1/1980.