Posts tagged KTRS
Kentucky’s Proposed Pension Reform Plan

On October 18, 2017, Governor Matt Bevin and state Republican leaders unveiled a plan that transitions Kentucky Retirement Systems’ traditional pension plans and hybrid ‘Cash Balance’ plans into Defined Contribution Plans for all newly enrolled (and many current) employees.  If the bill passes, substantial changes will be made, impacting participant benefits, retiree healthcare, disability, and death benefits. 

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2017Eileen ZellKTRS, KRS, KERS, KY, Kentucky, Retirement
The case that keeps on giving...

Shown v. Shown, No. 2013-CA-001523-MR (Ky. Ct. App. 2015)
Social Security Offset - Consideration Under KRS 403.190(1) When Dividing KTRS Pensions In Divorce

Rendered: December 18, 2015
To Be Published
Opinion Vacating and Remanding

Author’s Note: Thank you Tom Pugh (of Pugh & Roach, Attorneys at Law, PLLC) for sharing this case with me the day it came out - actually that very morning. A holiday gift from a fellow nerd. Just what I always wanted, and it fits me perfectly!!

Just in time for the holidays… the case that keeps on giving. As you will see, Shown has been around the block once before, all the way up to the Kentucky Supreme Court, in fact. In the first round, the landmark Supreme Court decision resulted in Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS) pensions being considered marital property subject to equitable division in divorce (in certain statutorily proscribed circumstances). This time around, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has followed suit by issuing an equally momentous decision with regard to KTRS pensions, but this time concerning the applicability of Social Security offset when dividing KTRS benefits in divorce.

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2015Eileen ZellQDRO, Kentucky, KY, KTRS, Equitable Division
Non-Employee Spouse is Entitled to Proportional Marital Share of COLAs
Non-Employee Spouse is Entitled to Proportional Marital Share of COLAs

Brown v. Brown, NO. 2013-CA-001515-MR (Ky. App. 2015)
When a Decree Utilizes the Deferred Distribution Method (via QDRO or Similar Court Order), Post-Retirement Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) to the “Marital Portion” of a Pension are Subject to Equitable Division

Rendered: January 16, 2015
To Be Published
Opinion Affirming

I will not hide my enthusiasm for the Kentucky Court of Appeals’ recent opinion in Brown. Anyone who has ever utilized my services, or heard me speak at a CLE or other event, knows exactly where I stand on this issue. COLAs are a ‘negotiable’ marital asset in divorce, just like any other marital asset.  Meaning, if you have not negotiated the distribution of COLAs in a divorce or dissolution action, you have not fully divided the pension.

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2015Eileen ZellKY, Kentucky, COLA, QDRO, KTRS, KERS
Valuing KTRS Pensions in Divorce: Where Do We Go From Here?

How Does the Family Law Practitioner Properly Advise a Client in Divorce When One Party Participates in KTRS?

This blog post is based upon a topic I have researched over the past year, and am continuing to explore with the intention of ultimately submitting something more formal for publication.  This post follows my general blogging trend.  I present a problem – for instance, in this case arising from legislative and judicial ambiguity – and then submit to my reader a possible solution to chew on.  It is a longer post than usual, and is not for the faint at heart.  Venture at your own risk...

Recently, in Eden v. Eden, No. 2012-CA-000819-MR (Ky. App. 2014), the Kentucky Court of Appeals considered the proper classification and division of a Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System Pension (“KTRS Plan” or “KTRS Pension”) in divorce pursuant to the governing statutes and regulations (see my blog post dated March 25, 2014).   Although not directly at issue in Eden, because the participant was already retired and drawing his monthly retirement allowance, this author could not help but to be reminded of the uncertainty under state law when valuing, classifying, and dividing a KTRS pension in divorce.

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2014Eileen ZellKTRS, KY, QDRO, Kentucky, NPV, Coverture