In Tough Times, Legislators meeting the needs of legislators

This, and photo, from the Herald-Leader:

Lawmakers who switch jobs get pension boost

FRANKFORT — Thanks to a provision lawmakers quietly approved in 2005, many former legislators who switch to judicial or executive branch jobs will see their annual retirement benefits double, quadruple or even increase six-fold.

Most recently, Democratic state Rep. Frank Rasche of Paducah chose this week to leave the General Assembly after 15 years to accept a job at the state Department of Education.

By doing so, he will join the first dozen former lawmakers who can qualify to draw much higher retirement checks from the legislative retirement system now that they've taken better-paying positions elsewhere in government.

Lawmakers who serve more than five years in the General Assembly are eligible to join the legislative retirement system, which pays retirees a pension based on the number of years served and their legislative salary, which is usually between $15,000 and $22,000 a year for most.

But a technical provision buried in a 2005 retirement system bill altered the pension program so that lawmakers who become judges or take a position in the executive branch will get a pension benefit based on their highest three years of salaries in state government — not just as a lawmaker.

The former lawmakers' more robust pension checks from the legislative retirement system are in addition to any retirement benefits they'll receive for their new job in the judicial, general government or county pension systems.

That would mean, for instance, that if Rasche works in the Department of Education for at least three years, his legislative pension payments would be calculated on his 15 years in the General Assembly and his new $80,000 salary instead of the $15,000 to $22,000 he's been earning as a lawmaker...

...Former lawmakers with pension boosts include but are not limited to:

Jon Draud, 69, served nine years in the legislature, became state education commissioner in 2007 earning $220,000.

Frank Rasche, 61, served 15 years in legislature, accepted post as Education Department legislative liaison in 2008 earning $80,000.

...and a few more names you may know: Steve Nunn, Daniel Mongiardo, J.R. Gray, Greg Stumbo, Carolyn Belcher, and Judges Tim Feeley, Frederic J. Cowan, Kelsey E. Friend Jr. and Martin J. Sheehan.