Devil's Cut | A Retiree’s Message To The Federal Government w Larry Totten
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey everyone, welcome back to a new Devil's Cut edition of Truth in the Barrel. Do you think you could live off what you were making in 2011? From tariffs to skyrocketing grocery and housing prices, the answer is pretty obvious, no.
What challenges do Kentucky retirees face with their pensions?
Unfortunately, that has been the reality for retirees on the Kentucky public pension system. Today on Truth in the Barrel, we're joined by Larry Totten, the president of the Kentucky public retirees, to talk about the challenges facing people on state pensions and what they need from the Kentucky legislature right now.
Why is there a need for a 13th check for retirees?
Larry, great to have you with us today. Thank you for being here.
I appreciate being here.
Yeah. And you are currently the president of the Kentucky Public Retirees and have been doing that for a while, right?
How is the pension funding situation in Kentucky improving?
Right. This is my 10th year. Okay. And I'll probably get two more coming this summer.
What role does advocacy play for retirees in Kentucky?
So that's fine. I enjoy doing it.
What is Larry Totten's vision as he runs for KERS Trustee?
This is what I call my retirement job.
Yes.
And so I enjoy doing it because what I found...
How do rising living costs affect retirees in Kentucky?
was that right after I retired was that my retirement system was not in as good a shape as what I had thought after getting nice little statements every August for 35 years. And I'd gone to a pension board meeting and it wasn't, Didn't sound good. So I thought this bears some just watching, paying attention.
Right. You got to take care of this. Now, let's start back, though, because you said 35 years. That is a long time to be in a job. And you've been a public servant here in Kentucky working with the Kentucky Park system, right? How did you start out?
I met some gentlemen.
What message does Larry Totten have for the Kentucky State Legislature?
We were going to Kentucky Business College in Lexington back in 1975. And I met, there was like three or four of the gentlemen from the Frankfurt office going to there. And we just sat around one evening during break and talking about it. And they said, well, you need to come and work for Parks. At the time, I was at Howard Johnson's in Lexington, which is no longer there. Right. But I went up and interviewed and talked to them. And before I knew it, May 16th, 1975, I was at Fort Boonesboro's snack bar as a cook.
Nice. And you went from there and worked yourself up? And retired as deputy commissioner. Nice. So you've been to all of the state parks in Kentucky?
All but one. Okay. One historic site.
And so which one is your favorite?
Well, I spent most of my time at Lake Cumberland and did a lot of work there during renovations and all this other stuff. So Lake Cumberland was mine. Now, my wife and daughter will say it should have been Kentucky Dam Village because they liked that better. But I like Lake Cumberland better. And Kentucky Dam was right under that. But I like Lake Cumberland better.
Very good. I mean, I love Lake Cumberland too. I remember going there as a kid. I mean, it's so beautiful and be able to swim and boat and everything. It's such a treasure for here in Kentucky.
Yeah, I never did any of that stuff, but yeah, I liked it.
And one of the things that we sometimes tend to forget is that these parks have to be managed. They have to be, you know, groomed. They have to be taken care of. And that requires, you know, public servants. And those public servants, you know, they're not billionaires, right?
No, no, no. I mean, I could have probably made more money in the private sector.
Yeah.
But, no, I think at one point we probably had the best staff of any. I'd have put them up against anybody in the system.
Mm-hmm.
And after those many years serving us here in Kentucky, you took on being an advocate for retirees because of the pension system and what was happening. Can you give us an idea of sort of the state of the state for retirees right now in Kentucky in 2026?
for we retirees. It's far better than it was five, six, seven years ago. All of our pension plans are improving in their funding ratios. The investments are doing well. We have very competent management and staff out at the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority. And they like me. I like them. And they like what we do. The executive director before the current one basically said I was a watchdog. which I never thought of myself that way, but because I watch every meeting, every committee meeting, every board meeting, I think I've done 500 since like 2013, and I write something up and put it on a Facebook page.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:17
2
What challenges do Kentucky retirees face with their pensions?
0:17–0:38
3
Why is there a need for a 13th check for retirees?
0:38–0:48
4
How is the pension funding situation in Kentucky improving?
0:48–0:53
5
What role does advocacy play for retirees in Kentucky?
0:53–0:56
6
What is Larry Totten's vision as he runs for KERS Trustee?
0:56–1:03
7
How do rising living costs affect retirees in Kentucky?
1:03–1:45
8
What message does Larry Totten have for the Kentucky State Legislature?
1:45–26:13