KPERS Archives - Kansas Policy Institute

KPERS pension distribution creates 327 new ‘millionaires’0
- Tax & Spending
- May 12, 2018
An Open Records request fulfilled by the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) shows record-setting payouts in 2017 of $1.64 billion. The number of KPERS ‘millionaires’ also set a new record, with 2,334 government retirees expected to receive more than $1 million in pension benefits over the first 20 years of retirement; that’s 327 more
READ MORE
Kansas Legislature Broke a Lot of Promises 0
- Tax & Spending
- June 15, 2017
Last September I made a very safe prediction for the 2017 session of the Kansas Legislature – “Regardless of who is elected to the 2017 Legislature, January will bring turmoil and major disappointment for many Kansans.” Like I said, a pretty safe bet…but the rationale ruffled a few feathers. “Many candidates and special interests say
READ MORE
$1.6 Billion Pension Payouts; Over 2,000 KPERS ‘Millionaires’0
- Education, Tax & Spending
- June 10, 2017
An Open Records request fulfilled by the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) shows record-setting payouts in 2016 of $1.6 billion. The number of KPERS ‘millionaires’ also set a new record, with 2,007 government retirees expected to receive more than $1 million in pension benefits over their first 20 years of retirement. Pensions are paid
READ MORE

$11 Billion School Debt Exceeds State Debt 0
- Education, Tax & Spending
- June 5, 2017
Given media and legislative hyperventilation over state debt levels, one would never know that Kansas’ 286 school districts are deeper in hock than the State of Kansas and its component units (universities, turnpike authority, etc.). School districts set a new record last year of $5.56 billion in bonded indebtedness and they also have $5.4 billion
READ MORE
Kansas Budget can be balanced without a tax increase 1
- Tax & Spending
- May 13, 2017
Ronald Reagan could have been speaking of the 2017 Kansas Legislative Session when he said, “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” Despite knowing that state spending is morbidly inefficient (27 percent more per-resident than states without an income
READ MORE
Fake news in Kansas promotes political agenda 0
- Tax & Spending
- March 28, 2017
An editorial in the Wichita Eagle reminded me that it’s been awhile since I wrote about fake news in Kansas, and there’s a lot. The Eagle editorial bemoaned a loss of 400 jobs in February but failed to disclose that private sector employment set a new record! The Bureau of Labor Statistics data comparing February 2016
READ MORE