...NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Sept. 3, 2015--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its issuer credit rating on Kentucky to 'A+' from '##-' and its rating on the commonwealth's appropriation debt to 'A' from 'A+'. At the same time, Standard & Poor's has lowered its rating on debt backed by the commonwealth state aid intercept programs for schools and universities to 'A' from 'A+' and on lease debt issued by various Kentucky county public property corporations, backed by the appropriations from the Administration Office of the Courts (AOC) to 'A-' from 'A'. The outlook for all is stable. "The downgrade reflects our view of Kentucky's substantially underfunded pension liabilities that are the result of chronic underfunding and that we view as placing long-term pressures on the state's finances," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst John Sugden. "The Kentucky Retirement System includes various funds, with the two largest substantially underfunded and the rest having below-average funded...
