IPERS is the largest public retirement system in Iowa, serving Iowans who work for public schools, state and local governments, law enforcement and other public employers.
Automatic membership
Your membership in IPERS is automatic if you are a permanent full- or part-time public employee, no matter how much you earn, unless you are:
- Specifically excluded from membership by law.
- Allowed to elect out of the IPERS plan.
You become an IPERS member on the first day for which you receive IPERS covered wages. By accepting IPERS-covered employment, or by continuing in your employment, you are consenting and agreeing to deductions from your compensation required by Iowa Code chapter 97B. This means each pay period IPERS will receive a small portion of your wages. These are pooled with other members’ wages – and contributions from employers – and are invested to pay the benefit you’ll receive upon retirement. The best part: IPERS retirement benefits are guaranteed for life. Upon retirement, you will receive a predictable monthly benefit for the rest of your life. That’s what makes IPERS different from traditional 401(k) style plans; your retirement benefit will never run out. Welcome! We’re glad you’re here.
Member statuses
As an IPERS member, it's good to understand the different statuses of IPERS membership.
| Status | Definition |
|---|---|
| Active member | A member who has made contributions to IPERS during the current calendar year and has not applied for a retirement benefit or a refund. |
| Inactive member | A member who has left IPERS-covered employment, has not made contributions during the calendar year and has not applied for a retirement benefit or a refund. |
| Retired member | A member who has applied for and is receiving retirement benefits. |
| Retired remployed member | A member who has retired from IPERS-covered employment but has since returned to work for an IPERS-covered employer. |
Welcome packet
Within two months of receiving your first paycheck you should receive a welcome packet in the mail. Keep your welcome letter because it contains your member ID number and your My Account username. If you didn’t receive a welcome packet or didn’t keep the letter, call IPERS at 800-622-3849, and we will help you access My Account.
Click here to view the New Member publication.
Temporary employees
IPERS defines a temporary employee as an individual hired to work for less than six consecutive months or on an irregular, seasonal or on-call basis. In general, most temporary employees are excluded from IPERS membership. However, in some cases a temporary employee may become eligible for IPERS membership if an “ongoing relationship” with an IPERS-covered employer is established as follows:
- When wages paid are $1,000 or more in two consecutive quarters, OR
- When employed for 1,040 hours or more in a calendar year.
Your IPERS membership begins in the quarter after you establish an ongoing relationship with an IPERS-covered employer. If you have established an ongoing relationship with one employer, you are not automatically eligible for IPERS membership with every employer. As a temporary employee, you must qualify separately with each employer.
Your IPERS coverage ends when you terminate employment or, if there is no formal termination, when you perform no services for an employer during four consecutive calendar quarters.
Optional membership
Iowa state law classifies certain positions as IPERS-covered, unless employees in those positions elect out of IPERS coverage, as follows:
| Optional membership positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Elected officials paid on a fee basis. | Elected officials of townships. | Elected officials of school districts. |
| Part-time elected officials of other political subdivisions, except part-time county attorneys. | Members of the Iowa General Assembly. | Temporary employees of the Iowa General Assembly. |
| Non-vested employees of drainage and levee districts. | Magistrates | Employees of a community action program that is an instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision. |
| Members of the ministry, rabbinate or other religious order who have taken vows of poverty. | Persons employed as city managers, or as city administrators performing the duties of city managers, under Iowa Code chapter 372 or chapter 420. | Members of the Iowa Transportation Commission, the Iowa Board of Parole and the Iowa Health Facilities Council. |
| Part-time members of county boards of supervisors, whether paid a salary or per diem. | Part-time elective members or boards and commissions (other than county boards of supervisors) who receive a salary. | Employees of the Board of Trustees of the Municipal Fire an Police Retirement System of Iowa. |
| Employees of the Regents institutions and community colleges.* | Employees of water utilities/waterworks that have retirement systems established under Iowa Code chapter 412. | |
Each IPERS-covered employer is responsible for notifying employees of their right to this election. Eligible employees hired on or after January 1, 1999, must elect out of coverage within 60 days of hire (or eligibility).
If you are eligible to elect out of coverage and would like to do so, you must complete and return an Election for Termination of IPERS Coverage form to your employer.
If you do not elect out of IPERS coverage within 60 days after you are hired and become eligible for IPERS coverage, you automatically become an IPERS member.
Your decision to elect out of IPERS coverage is irrevocable during employment with a specific employer. You may adjust this election only if you:
- Have an eligible break in service, such as a bona fide termination of employment and return at a later date. The reemployment cannot be prearranged.
- Are elected to a different position with the same covered employer.
- Accept a different eligible position with a different IPERS-covered employer.
*If you are eligible to choose between IPERS and an alternative plan on your date of hire, you must choose the alternative plan coverage within 60 days of your date of hire or your IPERS coverage will be irrevocable. If eligibility for the alternative plan is established after your date of hire, you must choose the alternative plan coverage within 60 days of becoming eligible or your IPERS coverage will be irrevocable.