Kentucky Employees Retirement Systems is currently funded at 28%, less than any state fund in the country, KRS Trustee Chris Tobe said.
"Underfunding each year is like a hurricane devastating the pension," Tobe said. He predicts that within three to five years the pension system will require $600 million a year from the legislature just to make annual payments.
The lack of understanding in the legislature on this issue is made clear by the way House Bill 300 is flying through on its way to becoming law.
The problem is that both parties in both chambers of the legislature and much of the executive branch are caught up in a desire to keep this quiet. And the media blackout is at least somewhat understandable; if this were a Republican-only scandal there would already be a thousand news stories and editorials calling for blood.
As it is, there is zero chance of an Attorney General investigation. We need federal intervention quickly. The Securities and Exchange Commission is already looking into the placement agent problem just as the legislature is covering tracks with House Bill 300.
Tobe said requiring placement agents to register as executive branch lobbyists will actually make the problems worse.
He calls placement agents "looters" and says HB 300 "encourages looting with unlimited and undisclosed looting allowed as long as you
sign in as a looter."
Senators Paul and McConnell have the biggest megaphones in the state. They should do us all a favor and use them to put a stop to this.
