Iowa
Overview
The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) is the primary public retirement system in the state, administering pension and other benefits for employees of more than 2,200 public entities in the state, including the state, school districts, and cities and counties. The IPERS Investment Board, whose members include the state treasurer and others appointed by the governor, manages IPERS assets. A separate system--the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa--administers pension benefits for many public safety personnel for cities with a population greater than 8,000.
Plan Design
Defined benefit plans serve as the primary retirement benefit for substantially all public employees in Iowa.
According to the US Government Accountability Office, 96 percent of employees of state and local government in Iowa participate in Social Security.
Authorizing Statutes and Board Structure
IA Code § 97B.1 establishes the Iowa Public Retirement System. IPERS is housed within the Iowa Governor's Office. The Governor is the plan sponsor and determines benefit levels. IPERS staff administers those benefits to IPERS members.
IA Code § 97B.8A creates the Investment Board, which includes 11 members.
IA Code § 97B.8B creates the Benefits Advisory Committee, which is comprised of nine voting members representing constituent groups that have an interest in the retirement system and member benefits.
Details regarding the composition of these and other retirement boards is accessible via the Retirement and Investment Board Characteristics search tool located at the bottom of this page.
Fiduciary Duty/Prudence Standard
IA Code § 97B.7A states:
1. Investment and investment policy standards. In establishing the investment policy of the retirement fund and providing for the investment of the retirement fund, the system and board shall do the following:
a. Exercise the judgment and care, under the circumstances then prevailing, which persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not for the purpose of speculation, but with regard to the permanent disposition of the funds, considering the probable income, as well as the probable safety, of their capital.
b. Give appropriate consideration to those facts and circumstances that the system and board know or should know are relevant to the particular investment or investment policy involved, including the role the investment plays in the total value of the retirement fund.
c. For the purposes of this subsection, appropriate consideration includes, but is not limited to, a determination that the particular investment or investment policy is reasonably designed to further the purposes of the retirement system, taking into consideration the risk of loss and the opportunity for gain or income associated with the investment or investment policy and consideration of the following factors as they relate to the retirement fund:
- The composition of the retirement fund with regard to diversification.
- The liquidity and current return of the investments in the retirement fund relative to the anticipated cash flow requirements of the retirement system.
- The projected return of the investments relative to the funding objectives of the retirement system.
Legal Protections of Retirement Benefits
Campbell v. City of Marshalltown, 235 N.W. 764 (Iowa 1931)(indicating that duty to pay police pensions is purely statutory and not contractual); City of Iowa City v. White, 111 N.W.2d 266 (Iowa 1961)(holding that pension is protected once a member applies for retirement). (lA CONST., Article 1, §21) Source: Robert Klausner, Esq., State Constitutional Protections for Public Sector Retirement Benefits
See also the following search tools:
Retirement System Account Interest Policies | Economic Actuarial Assumptions | Retirement and Investment Board Characteristics |
Information about interest rates applied to account balances of inactive plan participants | Assumed rates of investment return and inflation | Composition and characteristics of public retirement and investment oversight boards |
Mortality Assumptions | Plan Design Features | Post-retirement Employment Policies |
Public retirement system actuarial assumptions for mortality | Numerous elements of retirement plan design | Policies governing return-to-work for retirement system annuitants |
More Data
![]() |
|
Population (2024) 3,241,488 |
|
---|---|
Iowa public pension statistics, |
|
Assets |
$48.1 billion |
Active Members |
188,546 |
Annuitants |
141,774 |
Benefits Paid |
$2.9 billion |
Employee Contributions |
$678.7 million |
Employer Contributions |
$1.1 billion |
Systems |
Four state systems that together account for just under 100 percent of assets and public pension plan participants in the state. The Census Bureau also reports 6 local systems. |
Other Resources
- Public Pensions in Perspective: Why Foundations of Iowa, Many State Pension Systems Are Strong, The Iowa Policy Project
More Data
-
Roll Call (members-only)