The original item was published from October 2, 2018 12:28 PM to October 2, 2018 12:40 PM
Every year the Kansas Department of Legislative Research publishes a volume, "Kansas Legislator Briefing Book," summarizing the major issues facing the upcoming Legislative session. Though intended for legislators it is a wonderful tool for anyone interested in the issues of the day facing state government in Kansas.
Every now and then I come across an article within the Legislator Briefing Books that stands out as a great summary of a program or service. Last week I blogged about an article in the 2018 Legislator Briefing Book about opioid addiction. I recently came across another article, this one in the 2013 volume, that made me go, 'Wow!' as well: "Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and Other State Retirement Plans." The author of this article, Julian Efird, gives a succinct history of the different retirement systems for government employees in Kansas from their beginnings with added information on the state of the different retirement plans for Kansas government workers in 2012. Information is included on the retirement systems for state employees, teachers, judges, police and firefighters and other plans. Though dated, this is an excellent summary of the different approaches to civil service pensions in Kansas through the years.
Just to give you an idea of what's in this article here are the content headings:
KPERS Overview and Brief History of State Retirement Plans -- Brief History of KPERS -- Calculation of Retirement Benefits and Eligibility for KPERS -- Other Factors Determining Retirement Benefits -- Contribution Rates for KPERS -- Retirement Benefits and Adjustments -- Special and Shared Funding for KPERS -- KPERS Tier 2 and Tier 3 -- Judicial and Public Safety Retirement Plans -- Early Judicial Branch Retirement Plans -- Early Public Safety Retirement Plans -- Current Judicial Retirement Plan -- Current KP&F Retirement Plan -- Disability Benefits -- Tier I Service-Connected Disability Benefits -- Tier 2 Disability Benefits -- Working While Receiving Disability Benefits -- Death Benefits for Active Members -- Service-Connected Death -- Non-Service-Connected Death -- Kansas Defined Contribution Retirement Plans -- Regents Plan (KSA 74-4925) -- Other State Plans (KSA 74-49b01, et seq., and 74-4911f) -- Summary: State Defined Contribution Plans.
You can view this publication here. Again, keep in mind that the "current" information within the publication is dated. It was intended for readers in 2013:
Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and Other State Retirement Plans