61.592 Retirement of persons working in hazardous positions.
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(a)"Hazardous position" for employees participating in the Kentucky Employees
Retirement System means:
1. Any position whose principal duties involve active law enforcement,
including the positions of probation and parole officer and
Commonwealth detective, active fire suppression or prevention, or other
positions, including but not limited to pilots of the Transportation
Cabinet and paramedics and emergency medical technicians, with duties
that require frequent exposure to a high degree of danger or peril and
also require a high degree of physical conditioning;
2. Positions in the Department of Corrections in state correctional
institutions and the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center with
duties that regularly and routinely require face-to-face contact with
inmates; and
3. Positions of employees who elect coverage under KRS 196.167(3)(b)2.
and who continue to provide educational services and support to inmates
as a Department of Corrections employee.
(b)The effective date of participation under hazardous duty coverage for
positions in the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control shall be April 1,
1998. The employer and employee contributions shall be paid by the
employer and forwarded to the retirement system for the period not previously
reported.
(2)Each employer may request of the board hazardous duty coverage for those
positions as defined in subsection
(1)of this section. Upon request, each employer
shall certify to the system, in the manner prescribed by the board, the names of all
employees working in a hazardous position as defined in subsection
(1)of this
section for which coverage is requested. The certification of the employer shall bear
the approval of the agent or agency responsible for the budget of the department or
county indicating that the required employer contributions have been provided for
in the budget of the employing department or county. The system shall determine
whether the employees whose names have been certified by the employer are
working in positions meeting the definition of a hazardous position as provided by
subsection
(1)of this section. This process shall not be required for employees who
elect coverage under KRS 196.167(3)(b)2.
(a)An employee who elects coverage under KRS 196.167(3)(b)2., and an
employee participating in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System who is
determined by the system to be working in a hazardous position in accordance
with subsection
(2)of this section, shall contribute, for each pay period for
which he or she receives compensation, eight percent (8%) of his or her
creditable compensation.
(b)Each employer shall pay employer contributions based on the creditable
compensation of the employees determined by the system to be working in a
hazardous position at the employer contribution rate as determined by the
board. The rate shall be determined by actuarial methods consistent with the
provisions of KRS 61.565.
(c)If the employer participated in the system prior to electing hazardous duty
coverage, the employer may pay to the system the cost of converting the
nonhazardous service to hazardous service from the date of participation to
the date the payment is made, or the employer may establish a payment
schedule for payment of the cost of the hazardous service above that which
would be funded within the existing employer contribution rate. The employer
may extend the payment schedule to a maximum of thirty
(30)years.
Payments made by the employer under this subsection shall be deposited to
the retirement allowance account of the proper retirement system and these
funds shall not be considered accumulated contributions of the individual
members. If the employer elects not to make the additional payment, the
employee may pay the cost of converting the service and provide payment for
the cost as provided by KRS 61.552(9). Payments made by the employee
under this subsection shall not be picked up, as described in KRS 61.560(4),
by the employer. If neither the employer nor employee makes the payment,
the service prior to hazardous coverage shall remain nonhazardous. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to members who begin
participating in the systems administered by Kentucky Retirement Systems on
or after January 1, 2014.
(4)The normal retirement age, retirement allowance, hybrid cash balance plans except
as provided by KRS 16.583(2)(b)2. and 16.584, other benefits, eligibility
requirements, rights, and responsibilities of a member in a hazardous position, as
prescribed by subsections (1), (2), and
(3)of this section, and the responsibilities,
rights, and requirements of his or her employer shall be as prescribed for a member
and employer participating in the State Police Retirement System as provided for by
KRS 16.505 to 16.652.
(5)Any person employed in a hazardous position after July 1, 1972, shall be required
to undergo a thorough medical examination by a licensed physician, and a copy of
the medical report of the physician shall be retained on file by the employee's
department or county and made available to the system upon request.
(6)If doubt exists regarding the benefits payable to a hazardous position employee
under this section, the board shall determine the benefits payable under KRS 61.510
to 61.705 or 16.505 to 16.652.