Pew report cites $23B shortfall in public pensions

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky has a shortfall of more than $23 billion in pension funds for retired public employees in the state, two independent groups said in a report released Thursday.

The Pew Center for the States and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation said the shortfall is more than twice the amount of all revenue generated from all state taxes in Kentucky last year.

Republican Sen. Damon Thayer and Democratic Rep. Mike Cherry, co-chairmen of the Kentucky Public Pensions Task Force, said in a joint statement that the report makes the case for comprehensive pension reforms in Kentucky.

They also said achieving that will require "hard choices, good information and thoughtful analysis."

The Public Pensions Task Force faces a Dec. 7 deadline for recommending ways to shore up all the state's pension plans that cover state government workers, teachers and local government employees.

Kentucky lawmakers have been wrestling with the public pension issue for years, and have made minor changes intended to whittle down the shortfall.