Kentucky’s Top Court Upholds Law That Combats Pension Spiking

A Kentucky law forcing cities to foot the bill when they allow employees to boost their pensions through bogus pay raises was upheld by the commonwealth’s top court, which ordered a city to pay $210,894 toward a retired police officer’s pension.

The Supreme Court of Kentucky’s opinion, issued Thursday, considered a law aimed at discouraging “pension spiking"—increasing an employee’s late-career pay in an effort to increase pension benefits—for municipal employees who retired between 2014 and 2017. For these employees, the city they work for—and not the retirement system—must cover pension costs attributable to salary increases that aren’t tied to a ...