KRS § 61.607 — KY Code / Title VIII / Chapter 61 / Section 61.607
61.607 Maximum disability benefit -- Determination -- Combined payments not increased as a result of legislation -- Annual report by disability recipient
Status: in_force

61.607 Maximum disability benefit -- Determination -- Combined payments not

increased as a result of legislation -- Annual report by disability recipient.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of KRS 16.505 to 16.652 or 61.510 to 61.705, a

maximum disability benefit is hereby established which shall apply, upon disability

retirement, to any disabled employee's account to which service credit is added to

determine disability benefits or in any case where disability benefits are determined by

computing a percentage of the disabled employee's final monthly rate of pay or monthly

average pay. The maximum disability benefit shall be determined by the following

formula:

(1) Add the monthly benefit payable to the disabled employee from the Kentucky

Retirement Systems and the County Employees Retirement System, using the

monthly disability retirement allowance without any reduction due to the selection

of an optional payment plan under KRS 61.635 but excluding dependent children's

allowances, if any, to his or her monthly benefit, if any, from Social Security, even

though these payments may not begin for a period of time as required for

qualification under the federal Social Security law, excluding spouse or dependent

benefits, and his or her monthly benefit, if any, from workers' compensation, even

though these payments may not have begun as of the date the disabled member

applies for disability retirement benefits, excluding spouse or dependent children's

allowances, from workers' compensation, to arrive at a projected combined monthly

benefit.

(2) If the projected combined monthly benefit exceeds one hundred percent (100%) of

the disabled employee's final rate of pay or his or her final compensation, whichever

is greater, his or her disability retirement allowance from the Kentucky Retirement

Systems and the County Employees Retirement System shall be reduced to an

amount which would cause his or her projected combined monthly benefit to equal

one hundred percent (100%) of his or her final rate of pay or his or her final

compensation, whichever is greater; however, the disability retirement allowance

shall not be reduced below an amount which would result from a computation of his

or her disability retirement allowance from the Kentucky Retirement Systems and

the County Employees Retirement System using the disabled employee's actual total

service.

(3) The system may pay estimated benefits to a disabled employee, upon qualification

for disability retirement, based on an estimate of his or her Social Security and

workers' compensation benefits until the amounts are actually determined, at which

time a final calculation of the member's actual benefits shall be determined and his

or her account corrected retroactive to his or her effective retirement date.

(4) Any increase in Social Security benefits or workers' compensation benefits which

becomes law, regardless of their effective date, subsequent to the disabled

employee's effective retirement date, shall not be considered in determination of the

maximum benefit payable, as the maximum benefit payable is based on the amount

of combined benefits under these programs as of the disabled employee's effective

retirement date.

(5) Any disabled recipient whose potential payments from the system were reduced as

provided for in this section shall advise the Authority if his or her payments under

the Federal Social Security Act or Workers' Compensation Act cease at any time

subsequent to his or her effective retirement date. Upon investigation, if the system

determines that the disabled recipient continues to be eligible for disability benefits,

the system may increase his or her retirement allowance by adding to his or her

payment an amount equal to the reduction applied upon the effective retirement date

in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.

(6) The amount of combined disability benefit payments made to an individual on or

after April 1, 2021, from the Kentucky Retirement Systems or the County

Employees Retirement System shall not be increased as a result of the passage of

2021 Ky. Acts ch. 102.

(7) Subsequent to his or her effective retirement date, each disability recipient who is

still eligible to receive disability payments based upon a total and permanent

disability that occurred as a direct result of an act in line of duty as defined in KRS

16.505 or a disablement that occurred as a result of a duty-related injury as defined

in KRS 61.621, shall annually file on a form or via an electronic method established

by the Authority, information on whether payments to the recipient have ceased or

began under the federal Social Security Act or Workers' Compensation Act and the

Authority shall make any necessary adjustments as provided by this section.