Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) vs Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) and Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) grades C while Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) grades F. Funding ratios: 55% vs 20%.
Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) comes out ahead on the composite rubric. For a participant in either plan, the spread is informative but not directly actionable — pension participation is not portable, so the relevant question is what each plan's funded-status trajectory means for that participant's benefit security.
Verdict
Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 54/100 (C) compared to Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) at 32/100 (F). Funding ratios differ by 34.9 percentage points (55.3% vs 20.4%). Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) covers 152,000 participants.
| Metric | Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) | Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 54/100 (C)* | 32/100 (F) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 55.3%* | 20.4% |
| Total Assets | $21.0B | $7.2B |
| Total Liabilities | $38.0B | $35.3B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $17.0B* | $28.1B |
| Participants | 152,000 | 142,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.0%* | 4.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | high | critical |
| Sponsor | State of Kentucky | State of Kentucky |
Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 54/100 (C) compared to Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) at 32/100 (F). Funding ratios differ by 34.9 percentage points (55.3% vs 20.4%). Kentucky Teachers Retirement System (KTRS) covers 152,000 participants.