{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-21.372","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 21.372","heading":"Limitations and exclusions on increases in final compensation  for","body":"members  retiring on or after January 1, 2018 -- Exception for bona fide\npromotion  or career development  -- Exclusion -- Determination by board\n-- Administrative regulations -- Inapplicability to hybrid cash balance plan\nparticipants.\n(1) For purposes of this section:\n(a) \"Bona fide promotion or career advancement\":\n1. Means  a professional advancement in substantially the same line of\nwork held by the member  in the four (4) years immediately prior to\nthe final sixty (60) months preceding retirement or a change in\nemployment  position based on the training, skills, education, or\nexpertise of the member  that imposes a significant change in job\nduties  and  responsibilities to  clearly justify the  increased\ncompensation to the member, including any circumstance when a\nmember  is elected or appointed to another court within the Court of\nJustice; and\n2. Does  not include any circumstance where  a judge or justice\nparticipating in the Judicial Retirement Plan takes a position of\nemployment  with an employer participating in any of the other\nstate-administered retirement systems; and\n(b) \"Year\" has the same meaning as in KRS 21.345(3).\n(2) (a) For members  retiring on or after January 1, 2018, the plan shall identify\nany  consecutive year utilized in determining the member's  final\ncompensation in which the member's compensation increased at a rate of\nten percent (10%) or more  over the member's  compensation in the\nimmediately preceding year.\n(b) Except as limited or excluded by subsections (3) and (4) of this section,\nany  amount  of increase in compensation for a year identified under\nparagraph (a) of this subsection that exceeds ten percent (10%) more\nthan the member's compensation from the immediately preceding year\nshall not be used in the calculation of the member's final compensation\nfor the purposes of determining the member's monthly pension benefit\nunder KRS 21.400.\n(c) If the member's  final compensation is reduced for the purposes of\ndetermining the member's pension benefit under KRS  21.400 as provided\nby  paragraph (b) of this subsection, the retirement system  shall,\nnotwithstanding KRS  21.460 and as applicable, refund the member\ncontributions attributable to the reduction in creditable compensation.\n(3) In order to ensure the prospective application of the potential reduction in\npension benefits as provided in subsection (2) of this section, only the\ncompensation earned by the retiring member  on or after July 1, 2017, shall be\nsubject to reduction under subsection (2) of this section. Compensation earned\nby the retiring member  prior to July 1, 2017, shall not be subject to reduction\nunder subsection (2) of this section.\n(4) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall not apply to increases that are the\ndirect result of a  bona  fide promotion or career advancement  or to\ncompensation used in accordance with KRS  61.680(7) in which the member\ndoes not have sixty (60) months of service in the Judicial Retirement Plan.\n(5) The  board of trustees shall determine whether increases in compensation\nduring the final sixty (60) months preceding retirement constitute a bona fide\npromotion  or career advancement  and  may  promulgate administrative\nregulations in accordance with KRS  Chapter 13A to administer this section. All\nstate-administered retirement systems shall cooperate to implement this\nsection.\n(6) This section shall not apply to employees participating in the hybrid cash\nbalance plan as provided by KRS 21.402.","path":["KRS Chapter 21"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50813","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:41Z","sha256":"eda0933bae0472c0868335530996da51f9246f30ea7fdf647a543ec10e673573","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-21.370","next":"us-ky/krs-21.374"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}