Prosecuting Attorneys' Retirement Fund Member Handbook
Applicability
If you were serving as a prosecuting attorney, chief deputy prosecuting attorney, deputy prosecuting attorney appointed under IC 33-39-6-2 and paid from the state general fund, or the executive director or the assistant executive director of the prosecuting attorneys council of Indiana on or after Jan. 1, 1990, you are a member of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Retirement Fund (PARF). The Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) is the administrator of your benefit system, and the Board of Trustees determines your eligibility for benefits under Indiana law.
Summary of PARF Benefits
The Prosecutors’ Fund benefits are detailed in this handbook. These benefits will be offset by the applicable PERF benefit entitlement, if any, on the date you begin benefits from the Prosecutors’ Fund.
The PERF benefit entitlement may completely offset any monthly benefits due from the Prosecutors’ Fund. If this situation occurs, you will receive a one-time payment of your Prosecutors’ Fund contributions plus interest credited annually at a rate set by the Board. Under this circumstance, you will not receive a monthly benefit from the Prosecutors’ Fund.
To initiate a request for a distribution of your contributions and earned interest, you can log in to your PERF Online account. You may also call (888) 526-1687 to initiate a distribution request by phone with a customer service representative.
Contributions
If you are a prosecuting attorney or chief deputy prosecuting attorney, you must contribute 6 percent of the state paid portion of your salary. This 6 percent contribution will be withheld by the Auditor of the State.
In addition to the state paid portion of your salary, you may receive a salary from the county. Contributions are not required on any salary you receive from the county. The county paid portion of your salary is not used in the benefit calculation.
Important reminder about PERF: As prosecuting attorneys and chief deputy prosecuting attorneys, you are also PERF members, and your 3 percent PERF contributions are paid on your behalf by the state.
Withdrawal
If you cease service as a prosecuting or chief deputy prosecuting attorney and are not eligible for retirement benefits, you are entitled to receive a distribution of your total contributions plus interest at an annual rate set by the Board. Once you have withdrawn your contributions plus interest, you are not entitled to receive service credit prior to the date of your withdrawal. There are no provisions to allow a repayment of the funds withdrawn; therefore, you cannot recover this service credit. Please be sure you are confident you will not return to a prosecuting or chief deputy prosecuting attorney position prior to requesting a distribution.
Important Notice: In general, federal law prohibits the Prosecutors’ Fund from making distributions from the fund prior to "separation from employment."
The general rule is that benefits cannot commence until the participant terminates employment with the employer who sponsors the plan. This general rule is found in both Indiana pension law and federal law. There are exceptions to the rule, and indeed Indiana pension law provides for these exceptions in some instances in concurrence with the federal regulations. For example, a vested (age and service eligible to receive a PARF benefit) member of PARF who transfers to a position covered by the Judges’ Retirement System has reached his or her normal retirement age for PARF. The person is eligible for a permissible in-service distribution from PARF. Another related example is a vested PARF member who separates from a PARF-covered position and becomes employed by a county as a deputy prosecuting attorney in a PERF-covered position would be eligible to elect a distribution from PARF because they have separated from the state.
Benefits
Retirement Benefits
Eligibility
You are entitled to receive a monthly retirement benefit if you:
- Are at least 62 years of age, and
- Have at least eight years of creditable service if you were serving on or began service for the first time after July 1, 2006, or
- Have at least 10 years of creditable service if you ended service before July 1, 2006, or if you
- Meet the requirements for disability benefits.
However, you must not be receiving any salary or be entitled to receive any salary for services currently performed, except for services rendered as a senior prosecuting attorney under IC 33-39-1.
Your retirement date must be:
- After the cessation of service,
- On the first day of the month, and
- Not more than six months before the date the retirement application is received by the INPRS board.
Amount
If you are eligible and apply for a benefit at 65 years of age, you are eligible for an annual retirement benefit that equals the product of: the highest annual salary (state salary only) paid to the participant before separation from service. Under current rules, the highest salary is the sum of the highest completed consecutive four quarters of salary paid to the participant before retirement multiplied by the percentage prescribed in the following table:
Table A
| Years of Service | Percentage |
| Less than 8 | 0 |
| 8 | 24% |
| 9 | 27% |
| 10 | 30% |
| 11 | 33% |
| 12 | 50% |
| 13 | 51% |
| 14 | 52% |
| 15 | 53% |
| 16 | 54% |
| 17 | 55% |
| 18 | 56% |
| 19 | 57% |
| 20 | 58% |
| 21 | 59% |
| 22 or more | 60% |
A PARF member who separates from a PARF-covered position and then returns to a PARF-covered position must work at least one full quarter upon reemployment in order to have the reemployment factored into his or her benefit calculation.
You will also qualify for Social Security benefits. After retirement, Social Security is the largest source of income for most elderly Americans. More information on Social Security benefits is available online at http://www.ssa.gov/.
Early Retirement
If you are not 65 years of age, you are entitled to receive a reduced annual retirement benefit that equals the benefit that would be payable if you were age 65 reduced by .25 percent for each month that your age at retirement precedes your 65th birthday. Benefits payable to a participant are reduced by the pension, if any, that would be payable to the participant from PERF if the participant had retired from PERF on the date of the participant's retirement from the PARF.
NOTE: PERF benefit payments attributed to the employee’s Annuity Savings Account (ASA) are not a part of the pension benefits and do not reduce the Prosecutors’ Fund benefits.
Benefit Overpayment or Underpayment
Errors may occur when determining benefits provided by the Prosecuting Attorneys' Retirement Fund. This could be due to incorrect or incomplete data or for other reasons. If such an error is discovered, INPRS reserves the right to correct the error at any time, including after you take a distribution of your account balance. If you receive an overpayment as a result of any error, you will be notified of the amount and will be required to repay it to INPRS. If you have an underpayment you will receive an additional payment from INPRS.
Disability Benefits
Eligibility
If you become disabled while in active service as a prosecuting attorney or chief deputy prosecuting attorney, you may receive monthly benefits for the duration of your disability if:
- You have at least five years of creditable service; and
- You have qualified for Social Security disability benefits (or you have qualified for federal civil service disability benefits and have provided proof of qualification).
Your disability is subject to verification at least once a year until you reach age 65.
Exclusions
Benefits may not be provided for a disability:
- Resulting from an intentionally self-inflicted injury or attempted suicide while sane or insane;
- Resulting from the participant’s commission or attempted commission of a felony or
- That begins within two years after a participant’s entry or re-entry into active service as a prosecuting attorney or chief deputy prosecuting attorney and that was caused or contributed to by a mental or physical condition that manifested itself before the participant entered or re-entered active service.
Amount
If you qualify for disability under the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Retirement Fund, the amount of your annual benefit will equal the product of:
- The annual salary (state portion only) that you were receiving at the time of separation from service, multiplied by
- The percentage described in the following table:
Disability Benefits
Table B
| Your Years of Service | Percentage |
| Less than 5 | 0 |
| 5-10 | 40% |
| 11 | 41% |
| 12 | 42% |
| 13 | 43% |
| 14 | 44% |
| 15 | 45% |
| 16 | 46% |
| 17 | 47% |
| 18 | 48% |
| 19 | 49% |
| 20 or more | 50% |
Disability benefits paid from the Prosecutors’ Fund are reduced by pension benefits paid from PERF.
NOTE: PERF benefit payments attributed to the employee’s Annuity Savings Account (ASA) are not a part of the pension benefits and do not reduce the Prosecutors’ Fund benefits.
Survivor Benefits
Survivors of Members Entitled to Benefits:
If you should die and on the date of your death you:
- Were receiving benefits, or
- Had completed eight years of creditable service as a prosecuting or chief deputy prosecuting attorney, or
- Met the requirements for disability benefits.
Your survivors are entitled to receive benefits as follows:
Spouse (IC 33-39-7-19): The surviving spouse is entitled to a benefit for life which is equal to the greater of:
- An annual benefit of $7,000 payable in monthly installments; or
- 50 percent of the monthly retirement benefit you were drawing at the time of death, or to which you would have been entitled had you retired and begun receiving retirement benefits on the date of death (including the pre-age 65 retirement reductions set forth in the early retirement section of this handbook).
NOTE: Benefits payable to a surviving spouse are reduced by the amounts, if any, payable to the surviving spouse under the PERF program as a result of the participant's death.
Dependent Child (IC 33-39-7-20): If your spouse does not survive you or if your spouse survives you but then dies, your dependent child is entitled to the benefit your spouse would receive (or was receiving). If there is more than one dependent child, the dependent children will share the benefit equally. Each dependent child is entitled to receive the benefit until the child becomes 18 years of age, or during the entire period of the child’s physical or mental disability, whichever period is longer. Benefits payable to a dependent child are reduced by any benefits payable from the PERF program.
Survivors of Members NOT Entitled to Benefits:
If there are no benefits payable to your survivors, and if a withdrawal application is filed with the INPRS board by your survivors or your estate, the total of your contributions plus interest minus any payments made to you, will be paid to:
- Your surviving spouse,
- Any dependent(s) if your spouse does not survive, or
- Your estate, if a spouse or dependent does not survive.
You can log in to the enhanced PERF Online to manage your personal and pension benefit information. You will need your Social Security number (SSN) and passcode to get started. If you do not have your SSN or passcode, call our office at (888) 526-1687.
Income Tax Concerns
Distribution Before Retirement
If you terminate employment prior to being eligible for monthly pension benefits, you can withdraw your 6 percent contributions and accumulated interest from the fund. The interest portion of your distribution will be taxable (as ordinary income) in the year you received the distribution. If you are under the age of 59 ½ at the time you separate from service, an additional 10 percent penalty may be imposed on the taxable amount. The 6 percent contributions that were withheld from your pay are not subject to further taxation. An explanation of your three payment choices and the tax consequences of those choices follows:
- Choice A: To have the total amount of your Prosecutors’ Fund account (less the mandatory withholding for federal income tax) paid directly to you.
- Choice B: To have all of the taxable portion of your Prosecutors’ Fund account paid in the form of a DIRECT ROLLOVER to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Qualified Retirement Plan which has provisions allowing it to accept the rollover on your behalf. The remaining non-taxable portion of your account is paid directly to you.
- Choice C: (may be selected only if you want a partial rollover amount of at least $500) To have a part of the taxable portion of your Prosecutors’ Fund account paid in the form of a DIRECT ROLLOVER to an IRA or a Qualified Retirement Plan which has provisions allowing it to accept the rollover on your behalf. The remaining balance of your account is paid directly to you.
NOTE: The Prosecutors’ Fund is required to withhold 20 percent of any taxable portion of your account which is paid directly to you and not paid in the form of a direct rollover to an IRA or a Qualified Retirement Plan.
If you elect Choice B or C, the Prosecutors’ Fund will deliver to you a check payable to the trustee of the IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan and a separate check payable to you representing your non-taxable portion and any taxable portion not directly rolled over.You will then be responsible for delivering the check to the trustee of the IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan that you specified on your Prosecutors’ Fund distribution form.
NOTE: There will be no income tax withholding on any amount directly rolled over.
CAUTION: You should consult the trustee of your qualified plan or IRA or your professional tax advisor if you need further information regarding the taxes on your distribution.
Taxation of Retirement Benefit
The taxable portion of your benefit will be computed under the Simplified Method for Reporting Annuities in the IRS regulations. Once the total 6 percent you have contributed to the fund has been excluded from income, all future benefits paid will be taxable. These tax rules are complex. If you need further tax assistance, you should contact your local IRS office or tax consultant.
The Administrative Review Process
Appeals of the Prosecutors' Fund initial determination will be heard by an Administrative Law Judge in compliance with the Indiana Administrative Orders and Procedures Act IC 4-21.5.
You must have standing as a party or a right to intervention to request administrative review. The steps of administrative review are http://www.in.gov/inprs/adminreview.htm.
The appeal process will allow for additional evidence to be presented by all parties. The Administrative Law Judge will submit findings to INPRS. INPRS will review the findings of the Administrative Law Judge and issue a final determination.
All parties will be advised of the final determination.
Every attempt has been made to verify that the information in this handbook is correct and up-to-date. Published content does not constitute legal advice. If a conflict arises between information contained in this publication and the law, the applicable law shall apply.
