Kentucky Employees Retirement System
Substantially all other full-time University employees are required by law to participate in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS), a cost sharing multiple-employer, public employee retirement system. KERS provides retirement benefits based on an employee's final average salary and number of years of service. Benefits are subject to certain reductions if the employee retires before reaching age sixty-five, or less than twenty-seven years of service. The plan also provides for disability retirement, death and survivor benefits and medical insurance.
The Kentucky Employees Retirement System issues a publicly available financial report that includes financial statements and required supplementary information. That report may be obtained by writing to Kentucky Employees Retirement System, 1260 Louisville Road, Perimeter Park West, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 or by calling (502) 564-4646.
Funding for the plan is provided from eligible employees who contribute 5.00% of their salary through payroll deductions and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which also indirectly contributes 16.98% of current eligible employees' salaries to the KERS through appropriations to the University. Employees hired on or after July 1, 2008 contribute 6.0% of their salary through payroll deductions and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which also indirectly contributes 16.98% to the KERS through appropriations to the University. The University contribution rates are determined by the Kentucky Revised Statute and the Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Retirement System each biennium. The University's contributions to KERS for the year ending June 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010 were $1,041,753, $929,940, and $647,378, respectively, and equaled the required contribution for that year.
All faculty and exempt employees who are eligible to participate in the KTRS retirement plan may elect to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) instead of KTRS. In doing so, the employee may choose both Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, (TIAA-CREF) or The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC). Both offer a defined contribution, 403b plan.
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), is one of the largest and most respected financial service providers in the world. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, Inc. distributes CREF and TIAA Real Estate Account variable annuities. Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc. distributes Personal Annuity variable annuities, TIAA-CREF Mutual Funds, TIAA-CREF Institutional Mutual Funds, and TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. products. TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB, provides trust services. Located in New York, NY, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company issue insurance and annuities. Financial statements are available on the website, www.tiaa-cref.com.
AIG VALIC is the marketing name for the family of companies comprising VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc.; VALIC Retirement Services Company; VALIC Trust Company; and The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC); all members of American International Group, Inc. complete information.