The Pension Management Oversight Commission (PMOC), led by State Rep. Woody Burton, held its third and final meeting earlier this week to finalize its recommendations for the upcoming legislative session. The committee is charged with studying topics related to pensions, annuities and retirement benefits for public employees, teachers and public safety officers.
The Commission studied various methods by which post-retirement adjustments to benefits of members of the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF) and the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF) might be made. They considered preliminary drafts regarding cost of living adjustments (COLA), 13th checks and minimum monthly benefits. The Commission found all three of the methods positive and viable. It also recommended that the decision, as to how to adjust PERF and TRF retiree benefits, be left to the discretion of the General Assembly.
The Commission reviewed adjustments to the Public Employee Pension Benefit as well. They established a formula for annual post-retirement benefit adjustments for members, survivors and beneficiaries of PERF and TRF.
“The adjustments recommended by the committee will factor in both years of experience and a percentage increase for PERF and TRF,” said Rep. Burton. “We are fortunate to be one of the few states that has a retirement plan that is financially sound.”
PMOC also reviewed the process of pension plan reporting and recommended that various local retirement plans report annually to the State Board of Accounts. They suggested requiring the State Examiner to submit an annual report to the General Assembly that summarizes the information received by the State Board of Accounts concerning various local retirement plans.
“I fully support the recommendations made by the committee,” said Rep. Burton. “The proposed adjustments to PERF and TRF are a win-win for the teachers, public employees and the state of Indiana. I look forward to discussing these issues further before the General Assembly this session.”
