First came the emails. Then, the phone call.

More than two decades each in public education had qualified Indianapolis residents Susan and David Hunnicutt to tap their state retirement benefits — years before they reached the full federal retirement age of 67.

Susan, who worked more than 24 years as a first-grade teacher, reading specialist and library media manager, retired in 2023.

“We didn’t really have a plan for when I was going to retire. We just kind of made the decision when we saw that … I had the opportunity to care for our grandson, Leo,” she said. “That was important to our family that he had somebody. I was not really of retirement age, so we didn’t really think that I was going to be able to draw those benefits yet.”

David, meanwhile, works full time selling technology to schools and businesses after 26 years in the public sector. He briefly taught computer programing but spent most of his career as a technology director.

“We were pleasantly surprised, to be honest,” he said.

Both are now 62 years old.

Until their benefits began flowing this spring, the Hunnicutts were among the nearly 4,000 Hoosiers — identified by the Indiana Public Retirement System last October — who were eligible to receive retirement benefits but hadn’t yet applied for them. Others had been sent their checks but hadn’t cashed them.

Those people were, on average, about 65 and a half years old with more than 17 years of service to a state or local government employer, according to INPRS Strategic Communications Director Natalie Derrickson.

The agency manages about $50 billion in assets on behalf of more than 540,000 current and former public employees. But some have collectively left behind millions of dollars in benefits.

Last November — after years of brainstorming — INPRS launched the “reclaim your retirement” initiative to connect former public employees to the benefits they earned. More than 20,000 people have accessed it as of this spring.

Hoosiers can search the agency’s database to check their status, then call 844-464-6777 with proof of identity ready. INPRS can also contact you.

“You get those emails every so often, and they’ll just say, like, ‘Hey, you know that you can claim retirement benefits,’ and yada yada,” David said. “And so we would get them occasionally, and then … they started coming in and saying, ‘Hey, you actually qualify at this point.’ And then we got, actually, a phone call, and that’s what spurred it on.”

“I’ve been out of education for, well, this will be the 14th year,” he continued. “For both of us, that was kind of not even top of mind or anything we really thought about or even kept much track of.”

Getting the word out

INPRS keeps a list of members who’ve become eligible but haven’t applied for benefits, according to Derrickson.

The agency began stepping up its efforts to shorten the list in 2018: adding targeted emails, introducing individual representatives in mailers, checking change-of-address data and more.

But the database took longer.

“It’s been a, you know, tabletop discussion to say, like, ‘Can’t we just do a database like Indiana Unclaimed? Why can’t we just put it out there?'” Derrickson recalled. “… But the reality is we can’t share that much information” about INPRS members or their money.

Indiana Unclaimed, run by the Attorney General’s Office, allows Hoosiers to search for and reclaim their forgotten assets. It has returned more than $65 million so far this year, according to the website.

After years of discussion, INPRS employees found themselves with “a little bit more wiggle room on project time” in 2024, Derrickson said. They worked with the Indiana Office of Technology and their legal team to put together a database that wouldn’t reveal too much member data.

Derrickson said the project came at no additional cost — just the salaries of the employees who completed it alongside their other responsibilities.

She and the agency hope to spread the word about benefit eligibility, and combat “misconceptions” about who can collect and when.

“There’s no benefit to waiting” to collect state benefits, Derrickson said.

Federal Social Security retirement benefits normally begin at age 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Americans can start drawing down money as early as 62 — but will receive smaller monthly checks — or delay payments as late as age 70 in exchange for larger monthly checks.

Natalie Derrickson (Photo courtesy of the Indiana Public Retirement System) “Yeah, that’s not how this works,” Derrickson said of Indiana.

The state formula for defined benefits — pensions — includes age, years of service, average salary and a multiplier.

“If you’re age- and service-eligible, please call us,” she said. “Please make an appointment, because (waiting) is not going to make it grow any more.”

That also applies to people who racked up enough years with a public employer but are still working in the private sector.

Former employees with defined contribution — investment — accounts could still see the amount grow based on market performance.

As of March, more than $2.7 million in retirement benefits had been claimed by more than 400 people, according to INPRS.

Approximately 3,800 former public employees were eligible to request their benefits at the time. Another 2,200 retirees, survivors and beneficiaries had funds issued to them but never deposited the money.

The Hunnicutts said a representative “got us both set up” over a phone call that lasted less than an hour. David estimated his was processed in the space of two weeks and Susan’s in a month, shorter than INPRS’ 90-day estimate.

“Several times, (Susan) was like teacher of the year. I won it one time. We were both people that loved education, and still do,” David said. “… This is a really nice program that gives back a little bit.”

The couple also got some back pay. INPRS can issue up to six months of benefits retroactively.

The Hunnicutts want to downsize soon, to a one-story home.

“This is going to help with, you know, if we have to make a house payment again, or whatever we never really need to do,” David said. “But … knowing that this is going to be there to support us for the rest of our lives, basically, you know, it’s changed maybe some options we have for us.”

And they’re celebrating, with a vacation featuring their children and grandchildren.

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.