KRS 78.5522: Disability retirement for person whose last date of employment was

in nonhazardous position.

The disability retirement provisions contained in this section shall apply to a person

whose last date of paid employment was in a nonhazardous position.

(1) Any person may qualify to retire on disability, subject to the following

conditions:

(a) The person shall have sixty (60) months of service, twelve (12) of which

shall be current service credited under KRS 16.543(1), 61.543(1), or

78.615(1);

(b) For a person whose membership date is prior to August 1, 2004, the

person shall not be eligible for an unreduced retirement allowance;

(c) The person's application shall be on file in the retirement office no later

than twenty-four (24) months after the person's last day of paid

employment in a regular full-time position, as defined in KRS 78.510; and

(d) The person shall receive a satisfactory determination pursuant to KRS

61.665.

(2) A person's disability reapplication based on the same claim of incapacity shall

be accepted and reconsidered for disability if accompanied by new objective

medical evidence. The reapplication shall be on file in the retirement office no

later than twenty-four (24) months after the person's last day of paid

employment in a regular full-time position.

(3) Upon the examination of the objective medical evidence by licensed physicians

pursuant to KRS 61.665, it shall be determined that:

(a) The person, since his or her last day of paid employment, has been

mentally or physically incapacitated to perform the job, or jobs of like

duties, from which he or she received his or her last paid employment. In

determining whether the person may return to a job of like duties, any

reasonable accommodation by the employer as provided in 42 U.S.C.

sec. 12111(9) and 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630 shall be considered;

(b) The incapacity is a result of bodily injury, mental illness, or disease. For

purposes of this section, "injury" means any physical harm or damage to

the human organism other than disease or mental illness;

(c) The incapacity is deemed to be permanent; and

(d) The incapacity does not result directly or indirectly from bodily injury,

mental illness, disease, or condition which pre-existed membership in the

system or reemployment, whichever is most recent. For purposes of this

subsection, reemployment shall not mean a change of employment

between employers participating in the Kentucky Retirement Systems or

the County Employees Retirement System with no loss of service credit.

(4) Subsection (3)(d) of this section shall not apply if:

(a) The incapacity is a result of bodily injury, mental illness, disease, or

condition which has been substantially aggravated by an injury or

accident arising out of or in the course of employment; or

(b) The person has at least sixteen (16) years' current or prior service for

employment with employers participating in the Kentucky Retirement

Systems or the County Employees Retirement System.

(5) (a) 1. An incapacity shall be deemed to be permanent if it is expected to

result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of

not less than twelve (12) months from the person's last day of paid

employment in a regular full-time position.

2. The determination of a permanent incapacity shall be based on the

medical evidence contained in the member's file and the member's

residual functional capacity and physical exertion requirements.

(b) The person's residual functional capacity shall be the person's capacity

for work activity on a regular and continuing basis. The person's physical

ability shall be assessed in light of the severity of the person's physical,

mental, and other impairments. The person's ability to walk, stand, carry,

push, pull, reach, handle, and other physical functions shall be considered

with regard to physical impairments. The person's ability to understand,

remember, and carry out instructions and respond appropriately to

supervision, coworkers, and work pressures in a work setting shall be

considered with regard to mental impairments. Other impairments,

including skin impairments, epilepsy, visual sensory impairments, postural

and manipulative limitations, and environmental restrictions, shall be

considered in conjunction with the person's physical and mental

impairments to determine residual functional capacity.

(c) The person's physical exertion requirements shall be determined based

on the following standards:

1. Sedentary work shall be work that involves lifting no more than ten

(10) pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles

such as large files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary

job primarily involves sitting, occasional walking and standing may

also be required in the performance of duties.

2. Light work shall be work that involves lifting no more than twenty

(20) pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects

weighing up to ten (10) pounds. A job shall be in this category if

lifting is infrequently required but walking and standing are

frequently required, or if the job primarily requires sitting with

pushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. If the person has the

ability to perform substantially all of these activities, the person shall

be deemed capable of light work. A person deemed capable of light

work shall be deemed capable of sedentary work unless the person

has additional limitations such as the loss of fine dexterity or inability

to sit for long periods.

3. Medium work shall be work that involves lifting no more than fifty

(50) pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects

weighing up to twenty-five (25) pounds. If the person is deemed

capable of medium work, the person shall be deemed capable of

light and sedentary work.

4. Heavy work shall be work that involves lifting no more than one

hundred (100) pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of

objects weighing up to fifty (50) pounds. If the person is deemed

capable of heavy work, the person shall also be deemed capable of

medium, light, and sedentary work.

5. Very heavy work shall be work that involves lifting objects weighing

more than one hundred (100) pounds at a time with frequent lifting

or carrying of objects weighing fifty (50) or more pounds. If the

person is deemed capable of very heavy work, the person shall be

deemed capable of heavy, medium, light, and sedentary work.

(6) Upon disability retirement, an employee may receive a disability retirement

allowance during his or her lifetime which shall be:

(a) For a member who began participating prior to August 1, 2004, an annual

retirement allowance payable monthly and determined in the same

manner as for retirement at his or her normal retirement date with years of

service and final compensation being determined as of the date of his or

her disability, except that service credit shall be added to the person's

total service beginning with his or her last date of paid employment and

continuing to his or her sixty-fifth birthday; however, the maximum service

credit added shall not exceed the total service the person had upon his or

her last day of paid employment, and the maximum combined service

credit for calculating his or her disability retirement allowance, including

total service and added service, shall not exceed twenty-five (25) years.

If, however, a person covered by this paragraph has accumulated

twenty-five (25) or more years of total service, he or she shall receive

added service necessary to bring his or her combined service credit,

including total and added service, to twenty-seven (27) years;

(b) For a member who began participating on or after August 1, 2004, but

prior to January 1, 2014, the higher of twenty percent (20%) of the

member's monthly final rate of pay or the monthly retirement allowance

determined in the same manner as for retirement at his or her normal

retirement date with years of service and final compensation being

determined as of the date of his or her disability; or

(c) For a member who begins participating on or after January 1, 2014, in the

hybrid cash balance plan as provided by KRS 78.5512, the higher of

twenty percent (20%) of the member's monthly final rate of pay or the

retirement allowance determined in the same manner as for retirement at

his or her normal retirement date under KRS 78.5512.

(7) No benefit provided in this section shall be reduced as a result of any change

in the extent of disability of any retired member who is normal retirement age or

older.

(8) A person whose last day of paid employment was in a nonhazardous position

who is totally and permanently disabled due to a duty-related injury may be

eligible for benefits based upon the definitions, criteria, and requirements

specified by KRS 61.621.