How much is your family's financial security worth to you?

Thinking about death and what that’ll mean for your loved ones can feel morbid, even scary. However unpleasant thinking about it can be, there are simple steps you can take to ensure their financial needs are met.

First, review your beneficiaries listed on your financial accounts. Your retirement accounts, like those with INPRS, investment accounts like your 457(b), 401(a), and those from prior employers provide an option for a named beneficiary.

Choose whoever you like, or even name a trust or estate. With INPRS, you can assign whole percentages to both primary and contingent beneficiaries, giving you flexibility for your beneficiary needs.

This step is important, even for those without a defined contribution account. For fund members not yet vested in their defined benefit, a named beneficiary could be eligible for the non-vested employee contributions made to your account.

Members of the 1977 Police Officers and Firefighters’ Fund can designate a beneficiary by filling out a Beneficiary Designation form. Members of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Retirement Fund (PARF), Excise, Gaming and Conservation Plan (EG&C), and Judges’ Retirement System (JRS) can name or update a beneficiary by completing the Application for Change of Beneficiary – Active Member form. Watch our tutorial, to help you get started.

Take the guesswork out of the equation with INPRS's myOrangeMoney® Retirement Calculator

If you’re looking to better understand your future retirement income outlook, check out the myOrangeMoney® retirement calculator. The myOrangeMoney® retirement calculator will show the future monthly income you may need and your progress toward that goal.

Our interactive experience compiles your INPRS benefit, personal savings, and Social Security to give you an estimate of your potential income in your retirement years. Check out our video to see how it works and view more resources, here.

Thinking about retirement? Explore our additional calculators to try different savings and investment return scenarios to help you estimate what your retirement paycheck could be when you plan to retire. If you’re ready to take the next steps toward retirement, we’ll guide you through the process of selecting how you can receive your retirement benefits.

Get to the myOrangeMoney® Retirement Calculators by logging on to your secure account at www.myINPRSretirement.org. We encourage you to review this tool often, especially as your income and retirement plans change.

Give your AMS a double-check

Members who are actively working in one of INPRS’s ’77 Fund, PARF, JRS, LEDB or EG&C Plans or have earned credit in a prior role should have received their annual member statements in their mailboxes last fall. This important annual update can also be found on your secure online account at www.myINPRSretirment.org.

These statements provide a year in review of your account activity from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, and are designed to be a snapshot of your account – allowing you to make informed retirement decisions.

If the information we have is incorrect or outdated, contact our Member Advocate Team at (844) GO-INPRS or (844-464-6777) or email us at questions@inprs.in.gov and we'll look into it. The best time to make us aware is now before you begin the process of submitting your retirement application.

Highlights from INPRS's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report

Check out INPRS’s financial status by viewing the most recent Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). Inside, you’ll read about our performance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. Below are a few highlights:

• On June 30, 2022, INPRS reported a total fund market value of $42.4 billion.
• Supplemental Reserve Accounts (SRAs) on June 30, 2022, totaled $287.0 million.
• Consolidated Defined Benefits assets held assets with a fair value of $36.1 billion over the past fiscal year. INPRS administered defined contribution assets of $6.0 billion.
• Retirement rates were higher in EG&C and were lower for the 1977 Police and Firefighters’ Fund, PARF, LEDB, and JRS for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, compared to the previous year.
• For the 10^th consecutive year, INPRS received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA), the highest recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.
• INPRS was awarded the Public Pension Standards Award for Funding and Administration by the Public Pension Coordinating Council for the 11^th consecutive year.

Learn more about INPRS’s achievements, actuarial reports, contribution rates, investment holdings, pension funds, and defined contribution plans by viewing the 2022 Annual Report.

Things to consider that will shape how you retire

Remember when you bought that one thing that you really didn’t need, and it felt like a waste of money? Chances are you could’ve used that money for something more worthwhile like paying off a debt or even using the money to invest or save for a specific financial goal.

The financial decisions you make today can ultimately have a huge impact on your future – and more specifically, your retirement.

Saving isn’t always easy to do, especially when you have so many other things to do with your money but making the decision to put something aside for tomorrow is a lot easier once you take the time to envision what life in retirement could be if you don’t have enough.

Read more on practical suggestions that can help you make sound financial decisions for today and tomorrow from Voya, our recordkeeper, here.

Source: Voya Financial

Student loan payment pause extension update

Last November, the Biden Administration announced an extension on the federal student loan payment pause.

The U.S. Department of Education is extending the pause until there is a resolution in the courts regarding the administration’s federal student loan relief plan. The pause gives student loan borrowers a break from making monthly payments and accruing interest on their federal student loans.

The payment pause will last until 60 days after the litigation is resolved. If the relief program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, payments will resume 60 days later, which is August 29, 2023.

If you haven’t done so already, you can sign up to receive Federal Student Loan Borrower updates from the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Loan Updates. [Updated 1.31.24: Borrowers may no longer sign up to receive Federal Student Loan Borrower updates.]

If you have been taking advantage of the student loan payment pause, start thinking about how your budget may change once the pause is lifted. Consider small changes you can make now, so you can be prepared for what’s next.

Source: Voya Financial