Indiana

Overview

Most retirement benefits to public employees in Indiana are administered through the Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS), which was created through legislation that merged the Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund and the Indiana Teachers' Retirement Fund effective July 1, 2011. INPRS also administers and manages:
  • 1977 Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension and Disability Fund (1977 Fund)
  • State Excise Police, Gaming Agent, Gaming Control Officer and Conservation Enforcement Officers’ Retirement Plan (C&E)
  • Judges’ Retirement System (JRS)
  • Legislators’ Retirement System (LRS)
  • Prosecuting Attorneys’ Retirement Fund (PARF)
And INPRS oversees three non-retirement funds:
  • Pension Relief Fund - created by the Indiana General Assembly in May 1977, to address the unfunded pension obligations of the police officers' and firefighters' pension systems of Indiana's cities and towns. INPRS is not responsible for the administration of those local pension funds addressed by the Pension Relief Fund. Those local funds have been closed to new members since the creation of the 1977 Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension and Disability Fund.
  • Public Safety Officers’ Special Death Benefit Fund
  • State Employees’ Death Benefit Fund.
The Public Employers' Retirement Fund (PERF) administers pension and other benefits to nearly all public employees in the state. PERF provides coverage for more than 90 percent of all active members. The fund is a hybrid plan, which features a defined benefit component funded with employer contributions and a defined contribution component funded with employee contributions. In 1996, Indiana voters approved for the first time investment of PERF assets in equities.
 
The Teachers' Retirement Fund (TRF) administers pension and other benefits to all certified teachers of public school districts in Indiana. Faculty members of the state's public universities may elect to join TRF.
 

Plan Design

Most Indiana state employees and teachers participate in a combination hybrid plan composed of a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan. State employees hired since 3/1/13 and employees of participating political subdivisions hired since 6/1/15 may elect to participate in a defined contribution plan.

Public safety officers participate in a defined benefit plan. 

According to the US Government Accountability Office, 92 percent of employees of state and local government in Indiana participate in Social Security.

Access plan design detail

Authorizing Statutes and Board Structure

IN Code § 5-10.5-2-1 establishes the Indiana Public Retirement System. 

IN Code § 5-10.5-3-2 establishes the Board of Trustees, which includes 12 members. 

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

IN Code § 5-10.3-5-3 (Public Employees’ Retirement Fund):
Sec. 3. (a) The board shall invest its assets with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character with like aims. The board shall also diversify such investments in accordance with prudent investment standards.

IN Code § 5-10.4-3-10 specifies the same requirement pertaining to the Teachers’ Retirement Fund

Legal Protections of Retirement Benefits

Courts treat compulsory and noncontributory pensions as a mere gratuity. An employee has no entitlement to vested rights until all eligibility requirements are satisfied. See Haverstock v. State Public Employees Retirement Fund, 490 N.E.2d 357 (Ind. Ct.App. 1986)("1n order for a right to vest or liability to be incurred it must be immediate, absolute, complete, unconditional, perfect within itself and not dependent upon a contingency. Moreover, it is well settled a mere expectance of a future benefit, or a contingent interest in property founded on anticipated continuance of existing laws does not constitute a vested right."); Bd. of Trs. of the Pub. Emps.' Ret. Fund v. Hill, 472 N.E.2d 204, 208-09 (lnd.1985)(voluntary retirement system, in contrast to mandatory retirement system, creates contractually vested property rights which are protected from impairment of contract). (IN CONST., Article 1, §24) 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

Flag of Indiana (October 21, 1917)

Population (2024) 6,924,475

Indiana public pension statistics,
per U.S. Census Bureau as of FY 2024

Assets

$47.2 billion

Active Members

212,680

Annuitants

182,200

Benefits Paid

$3.0 billion

Employee Contributions

$95.8 million

Employer Contributions

$2.5 billion

Systems

One state systems that accounts for 95 percent of assets and 96 percent of public pension plan participants in the state. The Census Bureau also reports 242 local systems.

More Data

Other Resources


Become A Member

Becoming a member of NASRA offers a unique opportunity to join a community committed to the sound, efficient, and innovative stewardship of public retirement systems. Membership connects you with a network of professionals and experts, providing valuable insights into managing public retirement systems with a focus on sustainability and risk-averse strategies.

By joining NASRA, you gain the tools and resources to enhance the management of public retirement systems, ensuring their long-term success and reliability for generations to come.

What's New at NASRA: Updated Cost of Living Issue Brief

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) play a significant role in public pensions. They help retirees keep up with rising prices, but they also add costs to pension plans. Policymakers and plan sponsors are tasked with balancing three things: benefits adequacy, plan sustainability, and affordability for members and plan sponsors.
The recent increase in inflation caused many policymakers and, in some cases pension trustees, to review how benefits are designed and paid for, including the way COLAs are granted and funded. NASRA’s recently updated issue brief on the lates trends in COLAs is available in the NASRA Research Center.