Indiana weighing pension protections

Indiana state lawmakers will debate measures designed to protect the pensions of public employees who lose their jobs due to privatization or cutbacks.

Governor Mitch Daniels has proposed awarding contracts to private firms for services now provided by state agencies. This could result in office closures and job eliminations. Two Republican state senators are introducing a bill containing several protections for public employees, including:

- Workers within two years of certain retirement options could opt to retire when their jobs are lost.

- The state could pay workers their current salaries if they take another state job with a lower classification. For example, if someone made $40,000 at the Department of Transportation and the job was lost, the person could take a $35,000-a-year DOT job and still be paid $40,000. However, it would be up to the DOT to opt to pay the higher salary.

- Workers would become vested in their pensions at the time they lose their jobs, regardless of the number of years they worked for the state. Currently, state employees’ pensions are vested only after 10 years. The worker’s benefit received at retirement would reflect the difference.