CERS Board Sets FY 2027 Employer Rates

Employers will see another reduction in their County Employees Retirement Systems (CERS) employer contribution rates for the fiscal year 2027, beginning July 1, 2026.  

The CERS Board of Trustees approved the fiscal year 2027 employer contribution rates for the CERS non-hazardous and hazardous plans at its November meeting. Employers can expect to pay a contribution rate of 17.43% for non-hazardous employees and 34.72% for CERS hazardous-duty employees beginning in July of 2026. These are decreases of 1.19 percentage points and 1.01 percentage points for the non-hazardous duty plan and hazardous duty plan, respectively, from FY 2026. 

These rates are based on membership and assets data as of June 30, 2025. The change is attributed to a combination of factors, including payroll increases, investment gains, and changes to member contributions and insurance benefits due to the passage of 2025 Senate Bill 10 — a KLC initiative. SB10 provides a significant health retirement benefit by increasing the subsidy for under-65 County Employees Retirement System (CERS) retirees who have spent their careers in public service. For more information on SB 10, including a downloadable handout, click here.  

Actuaries expect the CERS employer contribution rates to continue to decline as funding ratios improve. The CERS non-hazardous pension system is now 61% funded, while the CERS hazardous pension is 57% funded through June 30, 2025. For comparison, the state plan, the Kentucky Employer Retirement System (KERS), is funded at 28.6% for the non-hazardous pension plan and 72.3% for the hazardous pension plan. 

The CERS insurance funds were funded at 106.5% for the non-hazardous plan and 90.9% for the hazardous plan for the year ending June 30, 2025. The increase in unfunded liability for insurance funds was due to health care inflation, causing more costly 2026 health insurance premiums. The KERS non-hazardous insurance fund is 73.4% funded. 

Overall, favorable investment returns and increases in membership payroll have decreased contribution rates, and the unfunded liability funded ratios for both pension funds continue to improve. 

The CERS rate projections through 2054 can be found here.