Kentucky 2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 5 R · 2 D cosponsors

HB 98 — AN ACT relating to retiree health provisions of the Kentucky Retirement Systems.

Last action — to State Government (H)

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 07, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    7 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (5 R · 2 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Amend KRS 61.702, relating to the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and the State Police Retirement System, to increase the nonhazardous and hazardous duty under age 65 retiree health subsidy to $40 and $50 per month for each year of service, respectively, for those members who meet the "career threshold" who began participating in the system on or after July 1, 2003, and who are eligible for a fixed-dollar retiree health subsidy not tied to the premium; extend the employee contribution used to fund retiree health benefits to include members who began participating in the system on or after July 1, 2003, and increase the current hazardous employee contribution rate to 2% of pay for those eligible for the fixed-dollar retiree health subsidy; make technical amendments regarding the retiree health premium reimbursement program to conform to current policy; provide that the amendments to the employee contributions shall be effective July 1, 2027; for calculation of the retiree health subsidy increase, provide that the change shall apply to service earned prior to the effective date of this Act by eligible members, including retirees, and shall prospectively be adjusted annually by the 1.5% increase currently provided in statute; provide that subsidies payable to impacted retirees shall begin on or after January 1, 2027, to coincide with the next health plan year; direct the Public Pension Oversight Board to continue to review the retiree health fund actuarial data and evaluate potential legislative options to address any future continued improvements in the funds; RETROACTIVE.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

3 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Kentucky Revised Statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends existing law to clarify health insurance provisions for retirees within the Kentucky Retirement Systems.

  • KRS 61.702

    not provided → subject to the terms and conditions established by the chief governing body of the county, urban-county, or consolidated local government.

    This amendment allows local governments to provide health insurance coverage for certain retirees.

  • KRS 61.702

    not provided → Notwithstanding anything in KRS Chapter 16 or 61 to the contrary, the board of trustees, in its discretion, may take necessary steps to ensure compliance with 42 U.S.C. secs. 300bb-1 et seq.

    This change ensures that the board of trustees may take necessary actions to comply with federal health insurance continuation requirements.

  • KRS 61.702

    not provided → The system shall continue to provide the same hospital and medical insurance plan coverage for recipients and qualifying dependents after the age of sixty-five (65) as before the age of sixty-five (65), if: ...

    Clarifies that health coverage for retirees remains the same after age sixty-five under specific conditions.

Action History

  1. to State Government (H)

  2. to Committee on Committees (H)

  3. introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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7 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 131 not signed on

Sponsors (7)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (131)

131 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 131 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

finance veterans healthcare labor health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 98 do?
Amend KRS 61.702, relating to the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and the State Police Retirement System, to increase the nonhazardous and hazardous duty under age 65 retiree health subsidy to $40 and $50 per month for each year of service, respectively, for those members who meet the "career threshold" who began participating in the system on or after July 1, 2003, and who are eligible for a fixed-dollar retiree health subsidy not tied to the premium; extend the employee contribution used to fund retiree health benefits to include members who began participating in the system on or after July 1, 2003, and increase the current hazardous employee contribution rate to 2% of pay for those eligible for the fixed-dollar retiree health subsidy; make technical amendments regarding the retiree health premium reimbursement program to conform to current policy; provide that the amendments to the employee contributions shall be effective July 1, 2027; for calculation of the retiree health subsidy increase, provide that the change shall apply to service earned prior to the effective date of this Act by eligible members, including retirees, and shall prospectively be adjusted annually by the 1.5% increase currently provided in statute; provide that subsidies payable to impacted retirees shall begin on or after January 1, 2027, to coincide with the next health plan year; direct the Public Pension Oversight Board to continue to review the retiree health fund actuarial data and evaluate potential legislative options to address any future continued improvements in the funds; RETROACTIVE.
Who sponsors HB 98?
HB 98 is sponsored by William Lawrence (Republican), Erika Hancock (Democrat), Deanna Gordon (Republican), Al Gentry (Democrat), Jennifer Decker (Republican), John Blanton (Republican), and James Tipton (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 98?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 07, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 98?
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