KRS 6.525: Statutes governing plan -- Exceptions -- Consolidation of accounts --

Combining service credit.

The 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 Reti rement 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; and

2. 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' Re tirement

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.