FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Independent consultants say Kentucky taxpayers need to spend an extra $700 million each year to keep their troubled public pension systems afloat.
That's on top of the nearly $2 billion taxpayers are scheduled to spend on all of the state's retirement systems in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
State lawmakers were briefed on the report Monday. It's the second of three commissioned studies to study the state's pension system and come up with solutions. The final report will detail recommendations about how the state can meet that goal.
Kentucky has one of the worst-funded public pension systems in the country. Last week, the governing board of the Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered long-held investment assumptions that added an extra $2 billion to the state's debt.
Overall, the state's unfunded liability is more than $30 billion.