Beech Tree News Network

There has been a great deal of conversation in the press lately about public pensions – and there should be.  It is a critical issue facing our Commonwealth, possibly the most critical issue for at least the next decade.  The question of “How did we get here?” has shifted to the more important one of “How do we fix this?”  Governor Bevin and today’s Legislators must do what their predecessors, in large part¸ failed to do – honor the full obligation of the state to its retired public employees – and provide the revenue necessary to resolve the problem while mitigating the impact on the rest of the state budget.

We retirees have an expectation that the pension contract will be honored. This is not unfair nor unreasonable.  During our working years, money was taken from each of our paychecks for the purpose and with the promise of an earned benefit in retirement.  We had no option other than to participate and if there were issues with the state doing the same, it was not our doing nor our fault.  Whether we were a Correctional Officer, Maintenance Worker, Accountant, State Trooper, Social Service Worker, Auditor, or any of the hundreds of other classifications, we met our obligation under this contract and now expect the state to do the same.  

Every public retiree - and active employee - must speak up and make their elected representatives aware of our expectations.  The time has passed to sit back and wait for “they” to do this.

Larry P. Totten, President

Kentucky Public Retirees

www.kentuckypublicretirees.org