Kentucky business leaders tell lawmakers to dump teachers defined-benefits pensions

[TexasTowelie]

Some of Kentucky’s wealthiest business leaders and best-connected Republican activists sent a letter to state legislators Friday warning that school teachers and other public employees are getting too sweet a deal on their pensions.

The one-page letter, apparently emailed to all members of the General Assembly, said any pension changes made during the 2018 legislative session must include “moving all future employees from a defined-benefits system to a defined-contribution system.”

Any pension bill that does not cut this benefit “willfully ignores the inherent structure problems at the heart of the crisis” and “is a disservice to the people of Kentucky,” the letter said.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin likewise called for a switch to 401(k)-style accounts in a proposal he unveiled with GOP legislative leaders last October. But rank-and-file lawmakers rejected Bevin’s plan after facing protests from teachers in their home districts. So far, with the 60-workday legislative session nearly half over, legislative leaders say they are not yet ready to file a pension bill of their own.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article199570769.html