{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-78.5524","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 78.5524","heading":"Disability retirement for person whose  last date of employment  was","body":"in hazardous position.\nThe disability retirement provisions contained in this section shall apply to a person\nwhose  last date of paid employment was in a hazardous position.\n(1) (a) For purposes of this section:\n1. \"Total and permanent disability\" means a disability which results in\nthe  member's  incapacity to engage  in any  occupation for\nremuneration or profit. Loss by severance of both hands at or above\nthe wrists, or both feet at or above the ankles, or one (1) hand above\nthe wrist and one (1) foot above  the ankle, or the complete,\nirrevocable loss of the sight of both eyes shall be considered as total\nand permanent; and\n2. \"Hazardous  disability\" means  a  disability which results in an\nemployee's  total incapacity to continue as an  employee  in a\nhazardous position, but the employee is not necessarily deemed  to\nbe totally and permanently disabled to engage in other occupations\nfor remuneration or profit.\n(b) In determining whether the disability meets  the requirement of this\nsection, any reasonable accommodation  provided by the employer as\nprovided in 42 U.S.C. sec. 12111(9) and 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630 shall be\nconsidered.\n(c) If the board determines that the total and permanent disability of a\nmember  receiving a retirement allowance under this section has ceased,\nthen the board shall determine if the member  has a hazardous disability\nas defined by KRS 78.510.\n(2) Any person may qualify to retire on disability, subject to the following:\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). The service requirement shall be waived if the disability is a\ntotal and permanent disability or a hazardous disability and is a direct\nresult of an act in line of duty;\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  78.510, in a regular full-time position that\nhas  been approved as a hazardous position in accordance with KRS\n78.5520;\n(d) The  person shall receive a satisfactory determination pursuant to KRS\n61.665; and\n(e) A  person's disability application based on the same  claim of incapacity\nshall be accepted and reconsidered for disability if accompanied by new\nobjective medical evidence. The  application shall be on file in the\nretirement office no later than twenty-four (24) months after the person's\nlast day of paid employment in a regular full-time hazardous 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  incapacity results from 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(b) The incapacity is deemed to be permanent; and\n(c) The incapacity does not result directly or indirectly from:\n1. Injury intentionally self-inflicted while sane or insane; or\n2. Bodily injury, mental illness, disease, or condition which pre-existed\nmembership  in the system or reemployment, whichever is most\nrecent, unless:\na. The disability results from bodily injury, mental illness, disease,\nor a condition which has been substantially aggravated by an\ninjury or accident arising out of or in the course of employment;\nor\nb. The  person has at least sixteen (16) years' current or prior\nservice for employment  with employers participating in the\nCounty  Employees  Retirement System  or the Kentucky\nRetirement Systems.\nFor purposes of this subparagraph, \"reemployment\" shall not mean\na  change of employment between employers participating in the\nCounty Employees Retirement System or the Kentucky Retirement\nSystems with no loss of service credit.\n(4) (a) 1. An  incapacity shall be deemed  to be permanent for the purpose of\nhazardous disability if it is expected to result in death or can be\nexpected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12)\nmonths  from the person's last day of paid employment  in a\nhazardous position.\n2. The  determination of a permanent incapacity for the purpose of\nhazardous  disability shall be  based  on  the medical evidence\ncontained in the member's file and the member's residual functional\ncapacity and physical exertion requirements.\n3. The  determination of a total and permanent incapacity shall be\nbased on the medical evidence contained in the member's file and\nthe member's residual functional capacity.\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.\n(5) Upon  disability retirement, an employee may  receive a disability retirement\nallowance payable during his or her lifetime which shall be:\n(a) For a member  who began participating in the system prior to August 1,\n2004, an annual retirement allowance payable monthly and determined in\nthe same manner as for retirement at his or her normal retirement date\nwith years of service and final compensation being determined as of the\ndate of his or her disability, except that service shall be added beginning\nwith his or her last date of paid employment and continuing to his or her\nfifty-fifth birthday. The maximum  service credit added shall not exceed the\ntotal service the member  had on his or her last day of paid employment,\nand  the maximum  service credit for calculating his or her retirement\nallowance, including his or her total service and service added under this\nsection, shall not exceed twenty (20) years;\n(b) For a member  who begins participating on or after August 1, 2004, but\nprior to January 1, 2014, the higher of twenty-five percent (25%) of the\nmember's  monthly final rate of pay  or the retirement allowance\ndetermined in the same  manner as for retirement at his or her normal\nretirement date with years of service and final compensation being\ndetermined as of the date of his or her disability; or\n(c) For a member  who begins participating on or after January 1, 2014, in the\nhybrid cash balance plan as provided by KRS  78.5516, the disability\nretirement allowance shall be the higher of twenty-five percent (25%) of\nthe member's  monthly final rate of pay or the retirement allowance\ndetermined in the same  manner as for retirement at his or her normal\nretirement date under KRS 78.5516.\n(6) If the member  receives a satisfactory determination of hazardous disability\npursuant to KRS  61.665 and the disability is the direct result of an act in line of\nduty as defined in KRS  78.510, the member's retirement allowance shall be\ncalculated as follows:\n(a) For the disabled member, benefits as provided in subsection (5) of this\nsection except that the monthly retirement allowance payable shall not be\nless than twenty-five percent (25%) of the member's monthly final rate of\npay; and\n(b) For  each  dependent child of the member  on his or her disability\nretirement date, who is alive at the time any particular payment is due, a\nmonthly payment equal to ten percent (10%) of the disabled member's\nmonthly final rate of pay; however, total maximum  dependent children's\nbenefit shall not exceed forty percent (40%) of the member's monthly final\nrate of pay. The payments shall be payable to each dependent child, or to\na legally appointed guardian or as directed by the system.\n(7) If the member  receives a satisfactory determination of total and permanent\ndisability pursuant to KRS  61.665 and the disability is the direct result of an act\nin line of duty as defined in KRS  78.510, the member's retirement allowance\nshall be calculated as follows:\n(a) For the disabled member, the benefits as provided in subsection (5) of\nthis section, except that the monthly retirement allowance payable shall\nnot be less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the member's monthly\naverage pay; and\n(b) For  each  dependent child of the member  on his or her disability\nretirement date, who is alive at the time any particular payment is due, a\nmonthly payment equal to ten percent (10%) of the disabled member's\nmonthly average pay, except that:\n1. Member  and dependent children payments under this subsection\nshall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the member's\nmonthly average pay; and\n2. Total maximum  dependent children's benefits shall not exceed\ntwenty-five percent (25%) of the member's monthly average pay\nwhile the member  is living and forty percent (40%) of the member's\nmonthly average pay after the member's death. The payments shall\nbe  payable to each dependent child, or to a legally appointed\nguardian or as directed by the system, and shall be divided equally\namong  all dependent children.\n(8) No  benefit provided in this section shall be reduced as a result of any change\nin the extent of disability of any retired member  who is normal retirement age or\nolder.\n(9) If a regular full-time member  in a hazardous position has been approved for\nbenefits under a hazardous disability, the board shall, upon request of the\nmember,  permit the member  to receive the hazardous disability allowance\nwhile accruing benefits in a nonhazardous position, subject to proper medical\nreview of the nonhazardous position's job description by the Authority's medical\nexaminer.","path":["KRS Chapter 78"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52274","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:38Z","sha256":"52fe4895d1ecd9c6c2aed941d527b597638bbcbb7d89e2c092580316eb4c7c1f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-78.5522","next":"us-ky/krs-78.5526"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}