(A) Employees who work in a regular full-time position must be enrolled in the State Retirement Systems/State Public Pension Authority (KPPA). City employees are covered under the County Employees Retirement System (CERS) portion of the plan. Regular part-time employees must also be covered if they average 100 or more hours of work per month over a calendar or fiscal year, including employees who work a total of more than 100 hours per month in two or more positions with employers under the same retirement system.
(B) The retirement plan is a qualified public defined benefit plan and was established under I.R.C. § 401(a). A defined benefit plan pays benefits based upon a formula rather than on an account balance. The formula used to compute CERS benefits provides participating members with a guaranteed lifetime payment at retirement based on beginning participation date, the number of years of service, average salary and a multiplying factor.
(C) Employees and the city contribute to the plan. The percentage of contribution may change annually and is based on hazardous and nonhazardous positions. The contribution amount is set by the commonwealth. For more information about the KPPA, contact the City Clerk, the KPPA via their website (https://kyret.ky.gov) or by phone at 800-928-4646.
(D) The city participates in the federal social security program and will contribute a percentage of salary to the extent required by law to the Social Security Administration for each employee.