Kentucky’s Proposed Pension Reform Plan

On October 18, 2017, Governor Matt Bevin and state Republican leaders unveiled a plan that transitions Kentucky Retirement Systems’ traditional pension plans and hybrid ‘Cash Balance’ plans into Defined Contribution Plans for all newly enrolled (and many current) employees.  If the bill passes, substantial changes will be made, impacting participant benefits, retiree healthcare, disability, and death benefits. 

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2017Eileen ZellKTRS, KRS, KERS, KY, Kentucky, Retirement
Do as I Say and Not as I Do
Do as I Say and Not as I Do

Priest v. Priest, No. 2016-CA-001270-MR (Ky. App. 2017) 

Court of Appeals Makes a Plea to the Kentucky Supreme Court Regarding the Inequity Caused by a Diminishing Coverture Fraction as Directed under Current Law

Rendered: November 9, 2017
To Be Published
Opinion Affirming In Part, Reversing in Part, and Remanding 

Author’s Note: Thank you Tim Theissen, Esq., of Strauss Troy, for sharing this case with me the day it came out - actually that very afternoon during a lunch meeting.  (Thanks for ruining my lunch, Tim!)

“Houston, we have a problem.”  This is the essence of Priest v. Priest.  Priest involves the division and assignment of a military pension in divorce, and you may remember it from the first time it came through the Court, in 2015, wherein the Court remanded back to the trial court for findings consistent with Poe v. Poe, 711 S.W.2d 849, 850 (Ky. App. 1986), and Snodgrass v. Snodgrass, 297 S.W.3d 878, 890-891 (Ky. App. 2009).  See my prior blog post at:  http://www.ezlawpllc.com/blog/2015/5/17/qdro-catch-up-case-law-legislative-updates-in-ohio-kentucky.

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2017Eileen ZellKY, Kentucky, Coverture, Equitable Division, Military
The case that keeps on giving...

Shown v. Shown, No. 2013-CA-001523-MR (Ky. Ct. App. 2015)
Social Security Offset - Consideration Under KRS 403.190(1) When Dividing KTRS Pensions In Divorce

Rendered: December 18, 2015
To Be Published
Opinion Vacating and Remanding

Author’s Note: Thank you Tom Pugh (of Pugh & Roach, Attorneys at Law, PLLC) for sharing this case with me the day it came out - actually that very morning. A holiday gift from a fellow nerd. Just what I always wanted, and it fits me perfectly!!

Just in time for the holidays… the case that keeps on giving. As you will see, Shown has been around the block once before, all the way up to the Kentucky Supreme Court, in fact. In the first round, the landmark Supreme Court decision resulted in Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS) pensions being considered marital property subject to equitable division in divorce (in certain statutorily proscribed circumstances). This time around, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has followed suit by issuing an equally momentous decision with regard to KTRS pensions, but this time concerning the applicability of Social Security offset when dividing KTRS benefits in divorce.

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2015Eileen ZellQDRO, Kentucky, KY, KTRS, Equitable Division
QDRO Catch-Up: Case Law & Legislative Updates in Ohio & Kentucky
QDRO Catch-Up: Case Law & Legislative Updates in Ohio & Kentucky

I have felt your distress from my lack of monthly posts since February. I have felt your yearning for EZ QDRO Law Updates. I have felt your hunger for more more more. Alas, I have been juggling multiple QDRO balls lately, and let this one drop. Before I leave for my QDRO sabbatical (I bet those two words have never met before in the same sentence), I wanted to post a few recent case law updates for Kentucky and a legislative update for Ohio. Of note, the 12th District Ohio Court of Appeals & Supreme Court of Ohio have been QDRO-quiet so far this year.

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2015Eileen ZellQDRO, OH, Ohio, KY, Kentucky, Coverture, Avoiding Pitfalls, Plan Document Rule, IRA, Military, Equitable Division, Statute of Limitations, SOL