State employees have been getting 2% and 3% raises the past few years because of budget concerns. There are about 30,000 state employees and any increase in salary costs tens of millions of dollars. Henry is also promising not to cut state employees' retirement benefits for current and future workers. The Kentucky Retirement System has an unfunded liability of more than $10 billion. Lawmakers and a blue ribbon panel are currently looking for ways to cut benefits for future employees to keep the system solvent in future years. There seems to be a near-consensus, even from some state employee groups, that the number of years needed for full retirement will have to be raised above the current 27 years. The most talked about proposal being bounced around include 32 years of service or age 55 (with years attached), whichever comes first, for all future hires. Henry did partially back off his promise by saying the current years of service threshold of 27, might have to be looked at/