In 2024, Kentucky received $4.5 billion in contributions to its public pension funds, according to data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Pensions.
Of that amount, $4.5 billion went to state pension funds, and the remaining $58.5 million went to local government pension funds.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Pensions covers defined-benefit pension systems sponsored by recognized government units whose membership consists of public employees compensated with public funds. Local governments in the survey are defined as counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts.
The survey provides data on revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership for these pension systems, and detailed questionnaires can include additional measures such as liabilities.
Not all respondents provide complete information for every item; response rates vary by data element, which can affect the availability of certain figures in the published tables.
Kentucky reported data from 30 pension systems, including six state-level pension funds and 24 local-level systems. The total number of pension system members was 628,704 (624,607 at the state level and 4,097 at the local level).
| Local | State | Local & State | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee Contributions | $12,465,688 | $733,882,197 | $746,347,885 |
| Government Contributions | $46,000,765 | $3,717,650,573 | $3,763,651,338 |
| Total Contributions | $58,466,453 | $4,451,532,770 | $4,509,999,223 |
