{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-78.530","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 78.530","heading":"Participation by political subdivisions -- Payment -- Closing of participation","body":"in local government systems -- Hazardous duty coverage option.\n(1) (a) Each county and school board, as defined in KRS 78.510, will participate in\nthe system by appropriate order authorizing such participation which has been\nentered and duly recorded in the records of the governing body of the county\nor school board. In cases where general purpose county government does not\nparticipate, but the sheriff and hi s or her employees or the county clerk and\nhis or her employees do, the sheriff or the clerk shall retain the order in his or\nher office. The authority to issue and properly record such order of\nparticipation being hereby granted, permits such county to pa rticipate in the\nsystem. The effective date of such participation shall be fixed in the order.\n(b) Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary, after April 9, 2002, the systems\nshall deny the request for participation of any agency which does not have an\nirrevocable contract with the state Personnel Cabinet for health insurance\ncoverage under KRS 18A.225 to 18A.229 for its active employees, except\nthat:\n1. County governments entering the system between April 9, 2002, and\nJuly 1, 2003, under this section shall be excluded from this requirement;\n2. Agencies entering the system on or after April 9, 2002, which were\nestablished by a merger or an interlocal agreement to provide public\nservices shall be excluded from this requirement if any agencies entering\ninto the merger or interlocal agreement had an initial participation date\nwith the system prior to April 9, 2002; and\n3. Any consolidated emergency services district.\n(2) Once a county or school board participates, it shall thereafter continue to\nparticipate, except as provided in KRS 78.535.\n(3) (a) Concurrent with the adoption of the appropriate resolution to participate in the\nsystem, a county may elect the alternate participation plan which will require\nthe county to purchase on behalf of each employee elect ing coverage, at the\ntime the county elected to participate in the system as provided under KRS\n78.540(1)(b), current service credit for employment in regular full -time\npositions between July 1, 1958, and the participation date of the county. Cities\nwhich participate in the system pursuant to subsection (6) of this section, KRS\n79.080, 90.400, 90.410, 95.520, 95.621, 95.761, 95.768, 95.852, or 96.180\nshall be required to purchase on behalf of each employee electing coverage\nonly as much service credit as th e employee has accumulated in the city -\nadministered plan, up to the participation date of the city. Accumulated\nservice shall include service for which an employee received a refund\npursuant to KRS 95.620 or 95.866, if such refund has been repaid. If the\nemployee has not yet repaid the refund, he or she may make payment to the\nsystem by any method acceptable to the system, and the requirement of five\n(5) years of continuous reemployment prior to repayment of refunds shall not\napply. Upon the employee's repa yment, the city shall purchase the associated\nservice credit for the employee. Cost of such service credit over and above\nthat which would be funded within the existing employer contribution rate\nshall be determined by the board's consulting actuary. The e xpense of such\nactuarial service shall be paid by the county.\n(b) The county shall establish a payment schedule subject to approval by the\nboard for payment of the cost of such service over and above that which\nwould be funded within the existing employer contribution rate. The\nmaximum period allowed in a payment schedul e shall be thirty (30) years,\nwith interest at the rate actuarially assumed by the board. A shorter period is\ndesirable and the board may approve any payment schedule provided it is not\nlonger than a thirty (30) year period, except that cities which partic ipate in the\nsystem pursuant to subsection (6) of this section, KRS 79.080, 90.400,\n90.410, 95.520, 95.621, 95.761, 95.768, 95.852, or 96.180 may, at their\noption, extend the payment schedule to a maximum of thirty (30) years, may\nchoose to make level paym ents at the interest rate actuarially assumed by the\nboard over the life of the payment schedule chosen, and may retain employer\ncontributions and the earnings thereon attributable to employees electing\ncoverage.\n(c) A city entering the system under the al ternate participation plan, may, by\nordinance, levy a special property tax to pay for current service credit\npurchased for the period between July 1, 1958, and the participation date of\nthe city. The special tax shall be to pay, within a period of no more than\nfifteen (15) years, for the cost of such service credit over that which would be\nfunded within the existing employer contribution rate, as determined by the\nboard's consulting actuary. The reason for levying the special tax and the\ndisposition of the proceeds shall be part of the ordinance levying the tax. The\nspecial tax shall be rescinded when the unfunded prior service liability has\nbeen amortized, and shall not be subject to the provisions of KRS 132.017 or\n132.027. In addition, the city may mainta in any tax, the proceeds of which\nhad been devoted to funding pension obligations under the locally\nadministered plan prior to participation in the system, for the purpose of\nfunding current service costs incurred after the date of participation. The city\nmay increase the tax to pay current service costs which exceed the local\npension system costs to which the tax had been devoted, but the city shall not\ncollect from the tax more revenues than are necessary to pay current service\ncosts incurred after the da te of participation. The city may continue the tax so\nlong as it participates in the system, and the tax shall not be subject to the\nprovisions of KRS 132.017 or 132.027. The city shall not collect either tax\nauthorized by this paragraph if its participati on has been terminated pursuant\nto KRS 78.535.\n(d) The county may at a later date purchase current service credit from July 1,\n1958, to the participation date of the county by alternate participation plan for\nthose employees who rejected membership in the system at the time the\ncounty first participated. In addition, the employer shall pay the employer\ncontributions on the creditable compensation of the employees who later elect\nmembership from the participation date of the county to the date the member\nelects participation. The employee shall pay the employee contributions on his\nor her creditable compensation from the participation date of the county to the\ndate he or she elects membership plus interest at the current actuarial rate\ncompounded annually on the employee and employer contributions. Cost of\nthe service credit over and above that which would be funded within the\nexisting employer contribution rate shall be determined by the board's\nconsulting actuary. The expense of the actuarial service shall b e paid by the\ncounty. The county shall pay the cost of the service by lump sum or by adding\nit to the existing payment schedule established under paragraph (b) of this\nsubsection.\n(e) A county which did not participate by alternate participation may, until July 1,\n1991, purchase current service credit for those employees who rejected\nmembership in the system at the time the county first participated. The\nemployer shall pay the employer contributions on the creditable compensation\nof the employees who later elect membership from the participation date of\nthe county to the date the member elects participation. The employee shall\npay the employee contributions on his or her creditable compensation from\nthe participation date of the county to the date he or she elects membership\nplus interest at the current actuarial rate compounded annually on the\nemployee and employer contributions. The county shall pay the cost of the\nservice credit by lump sum or by establishing a payment schedule under\nparagraph (b) of this subsection.\n(f) A county which participated in the system but did not elect the alternate\nparticipation plan may at a later date elect the alternate participation plan. In\nthis case, the county shall purchase on behalf of each employee participating\nin the  system current service credit for employment in regular full -time\npositions between July 1, 1958, or a later date selected by the county\ngovernment, and the participation date of the county. The county shall also\npurchase, for employees who decide to part icipate when the county elects the\nalternate participation plan, current service credit for employment in regular\nfull-time positions between July 1, 1958, or the later date selected by the\ncounty government, and the participation date of the county. In ad dition, the\ncounty shall pay the employer contributions on the creditable compensation of\nthe employees who later elect membership from the participation date of the\ncounty to the date the member elects participation. The employee shall pay\nthe employee co ntributions on his or her creditable compensation from the\nparticipation date of the county to the date he or she elects membership plus\ninterest at the current actuarial rate compounded annually on the employee\nand employer contributions. Cost of the serv ice credit over that which would\nbe funded within the existing employer contribution rate shall be determined\nby the board's consulting actuary. The expense of the actuarial service shall be\npaid by the county. The county shall pay the cost of the service by lump sum\nor by a payment schedule established under paragraph (b) of this subsection.\n(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes to the\ncontrary, this subsection shall not apply to members who begin participating\nin the sys tem on or after January 1, 2014, and no county that elects to\nparticipate in the system on or after January 1, 2014, shall be eligible to\nparticipate under the alternate participation plan.\n(4) Every school board not participating on June 21, 1974, shall e nact a resolution of\nparticipation no later than July 1, 1976.\n(5) The order of the governing body of a county, as provided for in subsection (1) of\nthis section, may exclude from participation in the system hospitals and any other\nsemi-independent agency.  Each such excluded agency shall be identified in the\norder authorizing participation and such excluded agency may participate in the\nsystem as a separate agency.\n(6) (a) After August 1, 1988, except as permitted by KRS 65.156, no local\ngovernment retireme nt system shall be created pursuant to KRS 70.580 to\n70.598 and any local government retirement systems created pursuant to KRS\n79.080, 90.400, 90.410, 95.768, and KRS Chapter 96 shall be closed to new\nmembers. New employees who would have been granted mem bership in such\nretirement systems shall instead be granted membership in the County\nEmployees Retirement System. Employees who would have been granted\nmembership in retirement systems created pursuant to KRS 95.768, or any\nother policemen or firefighters who would have been granted membership in\nretirement systems created pursuant to KRS 79.080, 90.400, or 90.410, or any\nsuch policemen or firefighter members employed on or prior to August 1,\n1988, who transfer to the County Employees Retirement System, sha ll be\ncertified by their employers as working in hazardous positions. Each city\nparticipating in the County Employees Retirement System pursuant to this\nsubsection shall execute the appropriate order authorizing such participation,\nshall select the alterna te participation plan as described in subsection (3) of\nthis section, and shall pay for the actuarial services necessary to determine the\nadditional costs of alternate participation. Cities which closed their local\npension systems to new members and partic ipated in the system prior to July\n15, 1988, whose employees at the time of transition were given the option to\njoin the system shall not be required to offer said employees a second option\nto join the system.\n(b) Notwithstanding any statute to the contrar y, after April 9, 2002, the system\nshall deny the request for participation of any agency which does not have an\nirrevocable contract with the state Personnel Cabinet for health insurance\ncoverage under KRS 18A.225 to 18A.229 for its active employees, except that\nagencies entering the system on or after April 9, 2002, which were established\nby a merger or an interlocal agreement to provide public services shall be\nexcluded from this requirement if all agencies entering into the merger or\ninterlocal agreement had an initial participation date with the system prior to\nApril 9, 2002.\n(7) Any city which closed a police and firefighter pension plan to new members\nbetween January 1, 1988, and July 15, 1988, and participated in the system under\nthe alternate partic ipation plan shall, if its police and firefighters were not covered\nby Social Security, or any city which operates a pension under KRS 90.400 or\n90.410, shall be required to certify that its police and firefighters are working in\nhazardous positions, and s hall offer its police and firefighters in service at the time\nof entry a second option to participate under hazardous duty coverage if they were\nnot offered hazardous duty coverage at the time of their first option. The provisions\nof subsection (3)(b) of t his section notwithstanding, a city affected by this\nsubsection may, at its option, extend its payment schedule to the County Employees\nRetirement System for alternate participation to thirty (30) years at the rate\nactuarially assumed by the board.","path":["KRS Chapter 78"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54863","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:38Z","sha256":"3d0b0d6b8a5490f9ebdcf5cb68ab13276d0da11c66cfdd7e0458c1ca7f7c125e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-78.520","next":"us-ky/krs-78.5302"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}