It was recently announced that Indiana's Pre-1996 Teachers' Retirement Fund is expected to be fully funded a decade earlier than projected. Indiana's fiscal responsibility is paying off for Hoosier teachers and taxpayers.
The Pre-96 fund supports pension payments for Hoosier teachers hired before July 1, 1995. It was designed to be a "pay-as-you-go" model where benefits are paid out as they come due. The fund supports nearly 52,000 retired teachers and will support approximately 3,900 additional currently active teachers.
Statehouse Republicans committed additional payments on top of annual appropriations to make the fund fully vested by 2028 instead of '38. This will save future taxpayers the need to cover over $1 billion annually in defined benefit costs.
The General Assembly earmarked nearly $14 billion to the Pre-96 fund in the last decade. More than $4 billion of that was additional contributions.
These efforts have strengthened retirement security for our teachers, saved our schools billions and reduced a major long-term cost for taxpayers.
House Republicans will continue to protect your tax dollars, uphold our obligations and deliver savings for our state.
Indiana continues to maintain one of the lowest debt burdens among all states. According to S&P Global Ratings, Indiana has the fourth-lowest net tax-supported debt per capita in the country.
