{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-61.600","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 61.600","heading":"Disability retirement.","body":"(1) Any  person may  qualify to retire on  disability, subject to the following\nconditions:\n(a) The person shall have sixty (60) months of service, twelve (12) of which\nshall be current service credited under KRS  16.543(1), 61.543(1), or\n78.615(1);\n(b) For a person whose membership date is prior to August 1, 2004, the\nperson shall not be eligible for an unreduced retirement allowance;\n(c) The  person's application shall be on file in the retirement office no later\nthan  twenty-four (24) months  after the person's last day  of paid\nemployment, as defined in KRS  61.510, in a regular full-time position, as\ndefined in KRS 61.510; and\n(d) The  person shall receive a satisfactory determination pursuant to KRS\n61.665.\n(2) A person's disability reapplication based on the same claim of incapacity shall\nbe accepted and reconsidered for disability if accompanied by new objective\nmedical evidence. The reapplication shall be on file in the retirement office no\nlater than twenty-four (24) months  after the person's last day  of paid\nemployment in a regular full-time position.\n(3) Upon  the examination of the objective medical evidence by licensed physicians\npursuant to KRS 61.665, it shall be determined that:\n(a) The person, since his last day of paid employment, has been mentally or\nphysically incapacitated to perform the job, or jobs of like duties, from\nwhich he received his last paid employment. In determining whether the\nperson may return to a job of like duties, any reasonable accommodation\nby the employer as provided in 42 U.S.C. sec. 12111(9) and 29 C.F.R.\nPart 1630 shall be considered;\n(b) The incapacity is a result of bodily injury, mental illness, or disease. For\npurposes of this section, \"injury\" means any physical harm or damage  to\nthe human organism other than disease or mental illness;\n(c) The incapacity is deemed to be permanent; and\n(d) The  incapacity does not result directly or indirectly from bodily injury,\nmental illness, disease, or condition which pre-existed membership in the\nsystem or the County Employees Retirement System or reemployment,\nwhichever is most recent. For purposes of this subsection, reemployment\nshall not mean a change of employment between employers participating\nin the retirement systems administered by the Kentucky Retirement\nSystems  or the County Employees Retirement System with no loss of\nservice credit.\n(4) Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of this section shall not apply if:\n(a) The  incapacity is a result of bodily injury, mental illness, disease, or\ncondition which has been  substantially aggravated by an  injury or\naccident arising out of or in the course of employment; or\n(b) The  person has at least sixteen (16) years' current or prior service for\nemployment  with employers participating in the retirement systems\nadministered by  the Kentucky Retirement Systems  or the County\nEmployees Retirement System.\n(5) (a) 1. An  incapacity shall be deemed  to be permanent if it is expected to\nresult in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of\nnot less than twelve (12) months from the person's last day of paid\nemployment in a regular full-time position.\n2. The determination of a permanent incapacity shall be based on the\nmedical evidence contained in the member's file and the member's\nresidual functional capacity and physical exertion requirements.\n(b) The  person's residual functional capacity shall be the person's capacity\nfor work activity on a regular and continuing basis. The person's physical\nability shall be assessed in light of the severity of the person's physical,\nmental, and other impairments. The person's ability to walk, stand, carry,\npush, pull, reach, handle, and other physical functions shall be considered\nwith regard to physical impairments. The person's ability to understand,\nremember,  and  carry out instructions and  respond appropriately to\nsupervision, coworkers, and work pressures in a work setting shall be\nconsidered with regard to mental impairments. Other impairments,\nincluding skin impairments, epilepsy, visual sensory impairments, postural\nand  manipulative limitations, and environmental restrictions, shall be\nconsidered in conjunction with the person's physical and  mental\nimpairments to determine residual functional capacity.\n(c) The  person's physical exertion requirements shall be determined based\non the following standards:\n1. Sedentary work shall be work that involves lifting no more than ten\n(10) pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles\nsuch as large files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary\njob primarily involves sitting, occasional walking and standing may\nalso be required in the performance of duties.\n2. Light work shall be work that involves lifting no more than twenty\n(20) pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects\nweighing up to ten (10) pounds. A job shall be in this category if\nlifting is infrequently required but walking and  standing are\nfrequently required, or if the job primarily requires sitting with\npushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. If the person has the\nability to perform substantially all of these activities, the person shall\nbe deemed  capable of light work. A person deemed  capable of light\nwork shall be deemed  capable of sedentary work unless the person\nhas additional limitations such as the loss of fine dexterity or inability\nto sit for long periods.\n3. Medium  work shall be work that involves lifting no more than fifty\n(50) pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects\nweighing up to twenty-five (25) pounds. If the person is deemed\ncapable of medium  work, the person shall be deemed  capable of\nlight and sedentary work.\n4. Heavy  work shall be work that involves lifting no more than one\nhundred (100) pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of\nobjects weighing up to fifty (50) pounds. If the person is deemed\ncapable of heavy work, the person shall also be deemed  capable of\nmedium, light, and sedentary work.\n5. Very heavy work shall be work that involves lifting objects weighing\nmore  than one hundred (100) pounds at a time with frequent lifting\nor carrying of objects weighing fifty (50) or more pounds. If the\nperson is deemed  capable of very heavy work, the person shall be\ndeemed  capable of heavy, medium, light, and sedentary work.","path":["KRS Chapter 61"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50833","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:15Z","sha256":"93e651b36bc04c434bc7ad6b7751d268f86fc9cf00197fcc91fbe05772a6a40a","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-61.5991","next":"us-ky/krs-61.605"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}