Kansas House Passes Bill To Fix Pension Plan

The Kansas House has approved a bill to use revenues from state-owned casinos to help close a long-term funding shortfall facing the state pension system for teachers and government workers.

The measure, approved Tuesday on a 92-33 vote, also would require public employees hired after 2013 to choose between two new pension plans. Neither would be a traditional plan guaranteeing
benefits up front based on a worker’s salary and years of experience, and one would be a 401(k)-style plan.

The measure goes to the Senate, which is working on its own bill.

The state pension system projects an $8.3 billion gap between anticipated revenues and retirement benefits promised through 2033.

Supporters hope that over the next two decades, several billion dollars in casino revenues could go to the pension system.