Indiana state employee benefits include health insurance through Anthem, a pension or defined contribution retirement plan through PERF, paid vacation and sick leave, short- and long-term disability coverage, employer-paid basic life insurance, tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 a year, and access to the Hoosier S.T.A.R.T. supplemental savings plan. Full-time workers qualify from their start date, though a few programs carry waiting periods before you can use them.
Who Qualifies
Full-time status for benefits purposes means a regular schedule of at least 37.5 hours per week, and all active full-time employees plus elected or appointed officials are eligible. Part-time, intermittent, and hourly workers can qualify too if they averaged 30 or more hours per week across a 12-month review period. Anyone averaging fewer than 30 hours is not eligible for insurance or related benefits.1Indiana State Personnel Department. Eligibility Requirements to Enroll
Open enrollment for the next plan year runs from late October through mid-November.2Indiana State Personnel Department. 2026 Open Enrollment Outside that window, you can only change your elections after a qualifying life event such as marriage, the birth of a child, or losing other coverage. Retirement and tuition reimbursement have their own tenure requirements, covered below.
Health Insurance
Three statewide medical plans are available for 2026: Consumer-Driven Health Plan 1, Consumer-Driven Health Plan 2, and the Traditional Plan. All three use the National BlueCard PPO network through Anthem, with prescription coverage through CVS Caremark.3Indiana State Personnel Department. Health Plan Options The two consumer-driven plans pair with a Health Savings Account; the Traditional Plan works more like a conventional PPO with set copays.
CDHPs carry higher deductibles but lower premiums, and HSA balances roll from year to year. The Traditional Plan costs more per paycheck but gives you more predictable out-of-pocket costs if you see doctors often. Dental and vision coverage can be added during open enrollment.
HSA and FSA Rules
If you enroll in a consumer-driven plan, you can contribute to an HSA. For 2026 the IRS caps HSA contributions at $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage.4Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2025-19 Contributions go in pre-tax, growth is tax-free, and qualified medical withdrawals are tax-free.
Traditional Plan members can instead use a Healthcare Flexible Spending Account. The 2026 FSA limit is $3,400, with up to $680 in unused funds eligible to carry over to the following year. IRS rules prevent you from contributing to both an HSA and a standard healthcare FSA in the same plan year, so an HSA holder is limited to a dental-and-vision-only FSA.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 969 – Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans
Retirement Through PERF
The Indiana Public Retirement System runs the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund, the primary retirement vehicle for state workers.6Indiana Public Retirement System. Indiana Public Retirement System If you were hired or rehired after January 1, 2022, you choose between two tracks at onboarding, and the choice is permanent.
The PERF Hybrid plan combines a 3% employee contribution with a traditional defined benefit pension. The pension at retirement equals the average of your five highest annual salaries, multiplied by your years of creditable service, multiplied by 1.1%.7Indiana Public Retirement System. Public Employees You must complete 10 years of creditable service to be fully vested, and benefits are payable starting at age 65.8Indiana Public Retirement System. When Are You Fully Vested in Your Retirement Plan? Leave before 10 years and you forfeit the pension portion, though your own contributions stay yours.
The INPRS My Choice: Retirement Savings plan works more like a 401(k). Your same 3% employee contribution goes into an individual investment account, and the state adds a 1% employer contribution, with additional employer credits possible depending on plan structure.9Indiana Public Retirement System. Contribution Rates and Appropriation Amounts Approved by INPRS Board Your eventual payout depends on how your investments perform rather than on a guaranteed formula.
Hoosier S.T.A.R.T. Supplemental Savings
On top of PERF, you have access to the Hoosier S.T.A.R.T. plan, which includes a 457(b) account in both pre-tax and Roth versions, plus a 401(a) matching plan for eligible employees.10Indiana Comptroller. Hoosier START – Plan Participants
The 2026 contribution limit for the 457(b) is $24,500. If you’re 50 or older you can add $8,000 in catch-up contributions, taking the ceiling to $32,500. Under SECURE 2.0, workers aged 60 through 63 get a higher catch-up limit of $11,250, bringing their maximum to $35,750.11Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 One structural advantage of a 457(b): after separation from service, withdrawals don’t carry the 10% early-withdrawal penalty that 401(k) distributions do.
Paid Leave
Vacation
Full-time employees accrue vacation at a base rate of 7.5 hours per month, which comes to 90 hours (about 12 days) per year.12Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 31 IAC 5-8-2 – Vacation Leave Longevity bumps the accrual up significantly:
- After 5 years: 112.5 hours total per year
- After 10 years: 150 hours total per year
- After 20 years: 187.5 hours total per year
If you separate in good standing after at least six months on the job, you receive a payout for your unused vacation balance up to 225 hours.13Indiana State Personnel Department. Accrual Calendar and Basic Information
Sick and Personal Leave
Sick leave accrues more slowly. Full-time workers earn 7.5 hours every two months plus another 7.5 hours every four months, totaling 67.5 hours (about 9 days) per year. Part-timers earn at half that rate; hourly, temporary, and intermittent workers do not accrue sick leave at all.14Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 31 IAC 5-8-3 – Sick Leave You also earn 22.5 hours of personal leave per year, accrued at 7.5 hours every four months, plus community service leave for volunteer activity.15Indiana State Government. Work For Indiana – Benefits Overview
Family and Medical Leave
The federal FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, or for your own serious medical condition.16U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA Frequently Asked Questions To qualify you must have worked for the state at least 12 months and logged at least 1,250 hours in the year before leave begins.17U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act Group health benefits continue during FMLA leave as if you were still working.
Disability Insurance
The state’s disability program has a 30-day elimination period: you must be unable to perform your job duties for 30 consecutive calendar days before any benefits start.18Indiana State Personnel Department. Medical Leaves After that, coverage runs in two stages.
Short-term disability starts on the 31st day and runs up to six months from the onset of disability, which is a maximum of five months of actual payments at 60% of your base biweekly gross wage. If you remain continuously disabled past six months, you roll into long-term disability without reapplying. LTD pays 50% of your base biweekly gross salary for the first two years, then drops to 40% during years three and four. These are gross figures before taxes and insurance deductions.
Life Insurance
Five types of life coverage are offered: basic, supplemental, voluntary accidental death and dismemberment, spouse and dependent life, and child life.19Indiana State Personnel Department. Life Insurance Basic group term life is provided at no cost to the employee. Supplemental and dependent coverage can be elected during open enrollment or after a qualifying life event, at your cost.
One tax point to know: the IRS excludes the first $50,000 of employer-provided group term life insurance from your taxable income. If your basic coverage exceeds that, the imputed cost of the excess shows up on your W-2 and is subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.20Internal Revenue Service. Group-Term Life Insurance
Tuition Reimbursement
Indiana reimburses eligible employees up to $5,250 per calendar year for tuition. You must have been employed full-time continuously for at least 12 months, with no disciplinary actions in the year before applying.21Indiana State Personnel Department. Education Reimbursement and Tuition Assistance Policy The $5,250 cap matches the IRS threshold for tax-free employer educational assistance, so the full reimbursement reaches you without added tax liability.
Programs from GED and high school equivalency through doctoral degrees at accredited institutions qualify. Only tuition is covered, not fees, books, or supplies. You need a grade of C or better in each course, repeat courses aren’t eligible for a second reimbursement, and scholarships or grants (other than student loans) reduce the reimbursement amount.
Workers’ Compensation
On-the-job injuries and work-related illnesses are covered by Indiana’s workers’ compensation system under Indiana Code Title 22, Article 3, which covers medical treatment, temporary total disability payments, permanent partial impairment compensation, and dispute resolution.22Justia. Indiana Code Title 22 Article 3 Chapter 3 – Workers Compensation The system is no-fault, so you don’t need to show your employer was negligent. You report the injury, file a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board, and receive benefits based on the nature and severity of your condition.
Continuing Coverage After You Leave
If you leave state employment or lose coverage because of reduced hours, federal COBRA rules let you keep your group health plan temporarily. You pay the full premium plus up to a 2% administrative fee, which is well above the employee share you paid while working.23U.S. Department of Labor. Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA)
Duration depends on the triggering event. Job loss and reduced hours qualify for up to 18 months of continuation. Divorce, death of the covered employee, or a dependent aging out of coverage can extend the window to 36 months.24U.S. Department of Labor. COBRA Continuation Coverage COBRA is expensive, but it can bridge a gap between jobs or hold coverage in place during pending medical treatment.