2015 Indiana Code TITLE 2. GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARTICLE 3.5. LEGISLATIVE RETIREMENT BENEFITS CHAPTER 4. LEGISLATORS' DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN
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IC 2-3.5-4
Chapter 4. Legislators' Defined Benefit Plan
IC 2-3.5-4-1
Application
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to each member of the general
assembly who:
(1) is serving on April 30, 1989; and
(2) files an election under IC 2-3.5-3-1(b).
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-2
Members 65 and older; monthly retirement benefit; conditions
Sec. 2. A participant who is at least sixty-five (65) years of age is
entitled for the remainder of the participant's life to a monthly
retirement benefit computed under section 3 of this chapter,
beginning on the date specified by the participant in a written
application, if all of the following conditions are met on the date on
which the benefit begins:
(1) The participant's service as a member of the general
assembly is terminated.
(2) The participant:
(A) has at least ten (10) years of service as a member of the
general assembly; or
(B) meets the requirements for disability benefits under
section 5 of this chapter.
(3) The participant is not receiving and is not entitled to receive
a salary from the state.
(4) The participant is not receiving and has not previously
received a reduced monthly retirement benefit under section 4
of this chapter.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.13-2001, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-3
Monthly retirement benefit; computation
Sec. 3. The monthly retirement benefit payable for life to a
participant who is eligible under section 2 of this chapter is the lesser
of:
(1) forty dollars ($40) multiplied by the total years of service
completed by the participant as a member of the general
assembly before November 8, 1989; or
(2) the highest consecutive three (3) year average annual salary
of the participant attributable to the participant's service as a
legislator, as reported on the participant's W-2 federal income
tax withholding statement and determined without regard to any
salary reduction agreement established under Section 125 of the
Internal Revenue Code, at the date the participant's service as a
member of the general assembly is terminated, divided by
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twelve (12).
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.5-1992, SEC.2;
P.L.4-1992, SEC.3.
IC 2-3.5-4-4
Participants 55 and older; reduced monthly retirement benefit;
computation
Sec. 4. (a) A participant who is at least fifty-five (55) years of age
is entitled, for the remainder of the participant's life, to a reduced
monthly retirement benefit computed under subsection (b), beginning
on the date specified by the participant in a written application, if all
of the following conditions are met on the date on which the benefit
begins:
(1) The participant's service as a member of the general
assembly is terminated.
(2) The participant has at least ten (10) years of service as a
member of the general assembly.
(3) The participant is not receiving and is not entitled to receive
a salary from the state.
(b) The reduced monthly benefit payable for life to a participant
eligible under this section is the benefit calculated under section 3 of
this chapter, multiplied by a percentage determined as follows:
STEP ONE: From seven hundred eighty (780) months, which
equals sixty-five (65) years, subtract the age of the participant
at the participant's retirement date expressed in whole months
(retirement age in months) and obtain a remainder (X).
STEP TWO:
(A) If the remainder (X) is less than or equal to sixty (60),
multiply the remainder (X) times one-tenth percent (0.1%)
and obtain a product (Y).
(B) If the remainder (X) is greater than sixty (60), multiply
five-twelfths percent (5/12%) times the difference obtained
by subtracting sixty (60) from the remainder (X) and obtain
a product. Add to this six percent (6%) and obtain a sum (Y).
STEP THREE: From one hundred percent (100%) subtract the
appropriate (Y). This equals the percentage used to determine
the reduced monthly benefit.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.13-2001, SEC.2.
IC 2-3.5-4-4.1
Monthly retirement benefit; conditions
Sec. 4.1. (a) This section applies to a participant who:
(1) is at least fifty-five (55) years of age and whose years of
service as a member of the general assembly plus years of age
are equal to at least eighty-five (85); or
(2) is at least sixty (60) years of age and has at least fifteen (15)
years of service as a member of the general assembly.
(b) A participant who is described in subsection (a) is entitled, for
the remainder of the participant's life, to a monthly retirement benefit
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calculated under section 3 of this chapter, if all of the following
conditions are met on the date on which the benefit begins:
(1) The participant's service as a member of the general
assembly is terminated.
(2) The participant has at least ten (10) years of service as a
member of the general assembly.
(3) The participant is not receiving and is not entitled to receive
a salary from the state.
(c) A participant who receives a benefit under this section is not
entitled to a benefit under section 4 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.10-1995, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.13-2001, SEC.3.
IC 2-3.5-4-5
Disabled participant; benefits; transcripts, records, and other
materials
Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a participant who
becomes disabled while in active service as a member of the general
assembly may retire for the duration of the disability, beginning on
the date specified by the participant in a written application, if:
(1) the participant has at least five (5) years of service;
(2) the participant has qualified for Social Security disability
benefits and has furnished proof of the Social Security
qualification to the board; and
(3) at least one (1) time each year until the participant becomes
sixty-five (65) years of age, a representative of the board
verifies the continued disability.
For the purposes of this section, a participant who has qualified for
disability benefits under the federal civil service system is considered
to have met the requirement of subdivision (2) if the participant
furnishes proof of the qualification to the board.
(b) Benefits may not be provided under this chapter for a
disability:
(1) resulting from an intentionally self-inflicted injury of
attempted suicide while sane or insane; or
(2) resulting from the participant's commission or attempted
commission of a felony.
(c) The disability benefit provided under this section is equal to
the benefit computed under section 3 of this chapter.
(d) To the extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act,
the transcripts, records, and other material generated to prove that an
individual is qualified for disability benefits under this section shall
be:
(1) kept in separate medical files for each member; and
(2) treated as confidential medical records.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.4-1992, SEC.4.
IC 2-3.5-4-6
Surviving spouse; benefits
Sec. 6. (a) The surviving spouse of a participant who:
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(1) dies; and
(2) on the date of death:
(A) was receiving benefits under this chapter;
(B) had completed at least ten (10) years of service as a
member of the general assembly; or
(C) had a permanent disability and was receiving benefits
under section 5 of this chapter;
is entitled, regardless of the participant's age, to the benefit prescribed
by subsection (b).
(b) The surviving spouse is entitled to a benefit for life equal to
fifty percent (50%) of the amount of retirement benefit that:
(1) the participant was receiving at the time of death; or
(2) the participant would have been entitled to receive at
fifty-five (55) years of age, or at the date of death, whichever is
later.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.99-2007, SEC.2.
IC 2-3.5-4-7
Dependent children; benefits
Sec. 7. (a) If a participant's spouse would have qualified for a
benefit under section 6 of this chapter, but the spouse does not
survive the participant, the dependent child of the participant is, upon
the death of the participant, entitled to the same benefit the
participant's spouse would have received under section 6 of this
chapter.
(b) If a surviving spouse of a decedent participant dies while
receiving benefits under section 6 of this chapter, and a dependent
child of both the surviving spouse and the decedent participant
survives them, that dependent child is entitled to receive the same
benefit the spouse was receiving under section 6 of this chapter.
(c) If there is more than one (1) dependent child qualified for the
benefit under subsection (a) or (b), the dependent children are entitled
to share the monthly benefit equally.
(d) Each dependent child is entitled to receive the child's share
until the child becomes eighteen (18) years of age or during the entire
period of the child's physical or mental disability (using disability
guidelines established by the Social Security Administration),
whichever period is longer.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-8
Manner of payment; application for benefits; termination
Sec. 8. (a) All benefits payable under this chapter shall be paid in
equal monthly installments. The date on which payments begin must
be the first day of a month and must be after the date on which the
participant's service as a member of the general assembly is
terminated.
(b) Retirement dates specified by a participant under sections 2, 4,
and 5 of this chapter may not be more than six (6) months before the
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date the retirement application is received by the board.
(c) All applications for benefits under this chapter must be made
on forms provided by the board.
(d) If a participant who is receiving retirement benefits under this
chapter again becomes a member of the general assembly, the
participant's retirement benefit shall stop. Upon the participant's
subsequent retirement or death, the participant's benefits shall be
recalculated on an actuarial basis, taking into account:
(1) benefit payments previously received; and
(2) the date of subsequent termination of employment as a
member of the general assembly.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-9
Actuarial valuation; annual determinations
Sec. 9. Based on an actuarial valuation, the board shall annually
determine:
(1) the normal contribution;
(2) the unfunded accrued liability of the defined benefit fund,
which is the amount by which the defined benefit plan's total
accrued liability exceeds the fund's total assets; and
(3) the payments necessary to amortize the unfunded accrued
liability over a term determined by the board that does not
exceed thirty (30) years.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.111-2015, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-10
Biennial appropriations
Sec. 10. (a) For purposes of this chapter, there is appropriated for
each biennium the following sums of money:
(1) From the state general fund, the amount required to
actuarially fund participants' retirement benefits under this
chapter, as determined by the board on the recommendation of
an actuary.
(2) From the defined benefit fund, the amount required for
administration of this chapter.
(b) The biennial appropriation provided in this section shall be
credited to the defined benefit fund annually in equal installments in
the month of July of each year of the biennium.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-11
Exemptions; criminal taking of state property
Sec. 11. All benefits and assets in the defined benefit fund are
exempt from levy, sale, garnishment, attachment, or other legal
process. However, a participant's benefits may be transferred to
reimburse the state for loss resulting from the participant's criminal
taking of state property if the board receives adequate proof of the
loss. The loss must be proven by conviction of a felony or
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misdemeanor.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-12
Assignment of benefits
Sec. 12. A participant or beneficiary may not assign any payment
under this chapter except for:
(1) premiums on a life, hospitalization, surgical, or medical
group insurance plan maintained in whole or in part by a state
agency; and
(2) dues to an association that proves to the board's satisfaction
that the association has as members at least twenty percent
(20%) of the retired participants in the legislators' defined
benefit plan.
As added by P.L.6-1989, SEC.1.
IC 2-3.5-4-13
Benefit increases payable after June 30, 1992; calculation
Sec. 13. Subject to IC 2-3.5-3-3(7), the monthly benefit payable
under this chapter after June 30, 1992, to participants, survivors, and
beneficiaries shall be increased by the same percentages and under
the same conditions as monthly benefits are increased under
IC 5-10.2-5 for members of the public employees' retirement fund
and their survivors and beneficiaries.
As added by P.L.6-1992, SEC.1.
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