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HB 2130

Repealing new taxes imposed by Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill No. 5814 during the 2025 regular legislative session.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Hunter Abell and 5 co-sponsors

The bill lets KPERS retirees choose biweekly or monthly benefit payments, start July 1, 2026, but could raise unfunded liabilities and employer costs.

Prefiled for introduction.
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 2130

Summary — HB 2130 (Introduced January 28, 2025)

Authorizing retirement and disability benefits under KPERS, KP&F and the judges’ retirement system to be paid biweekly or monthly at the option of a member or recipient.

Purpose / Intent

Allow KPERS members and benefit recipients (including State/School, KP&F, Judges, and local system groups) to elect to receive retirement and disability benefit payments on a biweekly schedule instead of the current monthly schedule, beginning July 1, 2026.

Key provisions

  • Adds an option for members/recipients to elect biweekly or monthly benefit payments.
  • Elections may be made after a member/recipient receives their first month’s benefit payment; the election must be made on a board-prescribed form and be effective no later than 60 days from the election date (text includes explicit provisions for judges; similar language applies in amended KPERS sections).
  • Amends/repeals relevant Kansas statutes (indicated: K.S.A. 20-2609, 20-2610, 74-4915, 74-4962) to implement the payment-frequency option.
  • Effective operational start for member elections: July 1, 2026 (bill language / fiscal note).

Who is affected

  • KPERS membership and beneficiaries across State/School group, KP&F (State Police & Fire), Judges’ retirement system, and local employer groups (approximately 1,400 local employers).
  • KPERS administration (operational/IT workload and staffing).
  • Employers (state and local) and the KPERS Trust Fund, through actuarial and contribution impacts.

Fiscal and actuarial impacts (from Division of the Budget / KPERS fiscal note)

Administrative costs (KPERS Trust Fund):
- Pension administration system vendor work: estimated one-time contractual cost ≈ $800,000 (12‑month development/testing timeline).
- Additional staff: 3.00 FTE estimated to begin Jan 2026; salaries/benefits = $153,426 (second half FY2026), $265,768 (FY2027 full year).

Actuarial impacts (increase in present value because payments are made earlier):
- Unfunded actuarial liability (UAL) increases depend on percentage electing biweekly. KPERS actuary scenarios:

State/School KP&F (State) Judges Total UAL increase
50% elect $19.3M $0.4M $0.2M
75% elect $26.5M $0.5M $0.2M
100% elect $36.1M $0.7M $0.3M
  • Estimated FY2026 employer contribution increases (state groups + judges):
    • 50% scenario: ~$2.06M total (State and judges)
    • 75% scenario: ~$2.58M
    • 100% scenario: ~$3.31M

Local employers (separate estimate):
- UAL increases total: ~$9.2M (50%), $12.5M (75%), $17.1M (100%).
- Estimated FY2026 contribution increases for local employers: ~$960K (50%), $1.28M (75%), $1.61M (100%).

Other notes:
- The UAL increase could be covered by a one-time State General Fund appropriation, but the actual cost is uncertain because member election uptake is unknown. If no lump-sum funding is provided, employer contribution rates would reflect the change over time.
- Local employers generally lack a mechanism to make a lump-sum payment for the UAL increase unless the state pays on their behalf.

Timeline / procedure

  • Introduced: January 28, 2025. Hearing scheduled: February 5, 2025 (House Committee on Financial Institutions & Pensions).
  • System development estimated to take 12 months; KPERS would not implement member elections before July 1, 2026 per bill language.
  • Administrative staffing changes anticipated to begin Jan 2026.

Bottom line

HB 2130 gives retirees and disabled members the choice of biweekly payments, which would require one-time system development (~$800K) and ongoing administrative costs (3 FTE). Because biweekly payments shift the timing of benefit outflows earlier in each month, actuarial liabilities and employer contribution requirements would increase materially—dependent on how many members elect biweekly payments—potentially raising unfunded liabilities by tens of millions of dollars statewide and increasing FY2026 contribution needs by roughly $2.1M–$3.3M for state groups (additional costs for local employers).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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