{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-21.427","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 21.427","heading":"Health insurance and benefits for recipients -- Premium reimbursement","body":"plan -- Coordination with all state-administered retirement systems or plans.\n(1) (a) The board of trustees of the Judicial Form Retirement System shall arrange by\nappropriate contract or on a self-insured basis for a group hospital and medical\ninsurance plan for recipients of a retirement allowance from the Judicial\nRetirement Plan, and their dependents. For recipients, or dependents, eligible\nfor Medicare coverage, the board shall  provide Medicare supplement hospital\nand medical insurance coverage. For recipients, or dependents, not eligible for\nMedicare coverage, the board shall provide hospital and medical insurance\ncoverage comparable to that provided under the major state emplo yees' group\ninsurance, and the board may arrange for the recipients to be included in the\nmajor state employees group. For recipients of a retirement allowance who are\nnot eligible for the same level of hospital and medical benefits as recipients\nliving in  Kentucky, the board shall provide a medical insurance premium\nreimbursement plan as described in subsection (3) of this section.\n(b) For the purpose of this section, the \"dependent\" of a recipient means the\nspouse or minor children, or both, of a recipien t who is a living former\nmember of the Judicial Retirement Plan, or the minor children of a deceased\nformer member whose surviving spouse is the recipient.\n(2) (a) Depending upon the number of months of service credit upon which the\nretirement allowance wa s based, and upon there having been at least forty -\neight (48) months of judicial service, all or a portion of the premium required\nto provide hospital and medical benefits under this section shall be paid from\nthe judicial retirement fund, as follows:\nMonths of Judicial Service Percentage of Premium\n240 or more  100%\n180 to 239, inclusive  75%\n120 to 179, inclusive  50%\n48 to 119, inclusive  25%\nThis paragraph shall not apply to members who begin participating in the\nJudicial Retirement Plan on or after January 1, 2014.\n(b) For members who begin participating in the Judicial Retirement Plan on or\nafter January 1, 2014:\n1. Participation in the health insurance coverage and benefits provided\nunder this section shall not be allowed until th e member has earned at\nleast one hundred eighty (180) months of service credited under KRS\n21.345 to 21.580 or another state-administered retirement system.\n2. A member who meets the minimum service requirements as provided by\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be eligible for a monthly\ninsurance benefit upon retirement of ten dollars ($10) for each year of\nservice as a participating member of the Judicial Retirement Plan.\n3. The minimum service required to participate in benefits as provided by\nsubparagraph 1. of this subparagraph shall be waived for a member who\nis disabled in the line of duty as defined in KRS 61.621, and the member\nshall be entitled to th e health benefits payable under this subsection as\nthough the member has twenty (20) years of service in the Judicial\nRetirement Plan.\n4. The minimum service required to participate in benefits as provided by\nsubparagraph 1. of this subparagraph shall be w aived for a member who\nis killed in the line of duty as described in KRS 61.621, and the\nmember's spouse and eligible dependents shall be entitled to the health\nbenefits the member would have received if he or she had retired with\ntwenty (20) years of service in the Judicial Retirement Plan.\n5. The monthly insurance benefit amount provided by this paragraph shall\nbe increased July 1 of each year by one and one-half percent (1.5%). The\nincrease shall be cumulative and shall continue to accrue after the\nmember's retirement for as long as a monthly insurance benefit is\npayable to the retired member.\n6. Under no circumstances shall the cost of coverage be paid for the\nspouse, dependents, or beneficiaries of a member who began\nparticipating in the Judicial Retirement Plan on or after January 1, 2014,\nexcept as provided by subparagraph 4. of this paragraph.\n(c) The health insurance payments provided by this subsection shall be made by\nthe fund only if the recipient agrees to pay the remaining, if any, amount of the\npremium by deduction from his retirement allowance or by another method\nequally insuring the payment by him.\n(d) Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, any member with the\nminimum number of months of judicial service required by paragraph (a) or\n(b) of this subsection who is also eligible for benefits, or who is receiving\nbenefits from any retirement plan or system administered by the\nCommonwealth shall be entitled to hospital and medical benefits as described\nin paragraph (a) of this subsection except that the number of months of service\ncredit used in calculating the level of benefits shall be the sum of service\ncredited to the member in all the state -administered retirement systems or\nplans.\n1. Upon request of the member, the Judicial Retirem ent System shall\ncompute the member's combined service in all the state -administered\nretirement systems or plans and calculate the portion of the member's\npremium to be paid by the Judicial Retirement Plan, according to the\ncriteria established in paragraph (a) of this subsection. For members who\nbegin participating in the Judicial Retirement Plan prior to January 1,\n2014, the state-administered retirement systems or plans shall pay to the\nJudicial Retirement Plan the applicable percentage of the plan's cos t of\nthe retiree's hospital and medical premium which shall be equal to the\npercentage of the member's number of months of service in the\napplicable state-administered retirement systems or plans divided by his\ntotal combined service. The amounts paid by a ll the state -administered\nretirement systems or plans shall not be more than one hundred percent\n(100%) of the premium amount adopted by the respective boards of\ntrustees.\n2. A member who elects hospital and medical benefits under this\nsubsection shall los e any claim to insurance benefits under any of the\nother state-administered retirement systems or plans.\n(3) The board shall establish a medical insurance premium reimbursement plan for\nrecipients of a retirement allowance who are not eligible for the same  level of\nhospital and medical benefits as recipients living in Kentucky having the same\nMedicare hospital and medical insurance eligibility status. An eligible recipient\nshall file proof of payment for hospital and medical insurance premiums at the\nretirement office. Reimbursement to eligible recipients shall be made on a quarterly\nbasis. The recipient shall be eligible for reimbursement of substantiated medical\ninsurance premiums for an amount not to exceed the total monthly contribution\ndetermined by the  board of trustees. The plan shall not be made available if all\nrecipients are eligible for the same level of coverage as recipients living in\nKentucky.\n(4) Premiums paid for hospital and medical insurance procured under this section shall\nbe exempt from a ny premium tax which might otherwise be required under KRS\nChapter 136. The payment of premiums by the judicial retirement fund shall not\nconstitute income to the recipient. No commission shall be paid for hospital and\nmedical insurance procured under this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 21"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=44945","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:41Z","sha256":"2e671b50d139a2f58a562fd41f6b50807044abcf7689340103b2c779935afe4f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-21.425","next":"us-ky/krs-21.430"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}