- IPERS has six payment options. All of them pay you for life, and they differ in what is paid after you die. You can't change your option once your first payment is issued.Member Handbook (2025), p. 38, Option Choices
- Option 1 lets you pick a lump-sum death benefit in $1,000 steps, up to your contributions plus interest. Option 2 pays your beneficiary whatever is left of your contributions plus interest after the benefits you received. Option 3 pays the most each month, with nothing after your death.Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39
- Option 4 continues 100%, 75%, 50% or 25% of your payment to a contingent annuitant for life. Option 6 does the same, and if your annuitant dies first, your payment rises to the Option 2 amount. Option 5 guarantees 120 monthly payments. The annuitant for Options 4 and 6 can't be changed after your first payment.Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39
- IPERS's example: Ann is 58 and her husband is 55. Her monthly amounts are $889.52 under Option 2, $889.90 under Option 3, $801.78 under Option 4 at 100%, $795.53 under Option 6 at 100% and $876.76 under Option 5.Member Handbook (2025), p. 39, Example: All Benefit Payment Options
- IPERS publishes no option factor tables. The other options are actuarial equivalents of the formula amount, and IPERS gives you an estimate for each one. Our calculator shows the Option 2 amount, which is what IPERS's own examples use.Iowa Code §97B.51(1); Member Handbook (2025), p. 36, Steps to Take; p. 43
IPERS publishes no factor tables for Options 1 and 3 to 6. Its two worked examples (Ann and David) show how big the differences are, but they can't be applied to anyone else.
We show Option 2 in dollars and explain the others with IPERS's own examples. We don't estimate them.
What would settle it: IPERS's actuarial tables for optional forms (from the actuarial valuation or IPERS).
The six options
Option 1
Annuity with fixed lump-sum death benefit
Monthly benefit for life. You pick a death benefit in $1,000 steps, paid as a lump sum to your beneficiaries; it cannot exceed your contributions plus interest and cannot be changed after retirement.
Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39, Option ChoicesOption 2
Annuity with variable decreasing lump-sum death benefit
Monthly benefit for life. After your death your beneficiary gets your contributions plus interest minus the benefits you received, if anything is left.
Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39, Option ChoicesOption 3
Single life annuity
Monthly benefit for life; nothing is payable after your death.
Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39, Option ChoicesOption 4
Joint and survivor annuity (100%, 75%, 50% or 25%)
Monthly benefit for life; after your death your contingent annuitant gets the chosen percentage for life. Percentages are restricted if a non-spouse annuitant is more than 10 years younger. The annuitant cannot be changed after the first payment.
Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39, Option ChoicesOption 5
120-month term certain annuity
Monthly benefit for life. If you die before 120 payments, a sole beneficiary gets the same monthly amount for the rest of the 120 months; multiple beneficiaries, a trust or an estate get a lump sum of the present value. You must be under 90 to elect it.
Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39, Option ChoicesOption 6
Joint and survivor annuity with pop-up (100%, 75%, 50% or 25%)
Like Option 4, but if your contingent annuitant dies first, your benefit pops up to the Option 2 amount.
Member Handbook (2025), pp. 38-39, Option ChoicesThe Option 1 death benefit amount cannot lower the monthly allowance by more than half the Option 2 amount. Iowa Code §97B.51(1)(a)
IPERS's example: Ann
Ann is 58 and her husband is 55. She has 25.75 years on a $22,136.36 average salary, and $22,861 in contributions plus interest. Member Handbook (2025), p. 39, Example: All Benefit Payment Options
Ann's options
| Option | Ann gets | vs. Opt. 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Option 1$1,000 death benefit | $888.45 | 99.9% |
| Option 1$22,000 death benefit | $858.00 | 96.5% |
| Option 2 | $889.52 | 100% |
| Option 3 | $889.90 | 100% |
| Option 5 | $876.76 | 98.6% |
Ann's survivor options
| Survivor % | Opt. 4: Ann / husband | Opt. 6: Ann / husband |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | $801.78$801.78 | $795.53$795.53 |
| 75% | $822.13$616.60 | $817.20$612.90 |
| 50% | $843.55$421.78 | $840.09$420.05 |
| 25% | $866.10$216.53 | $864.29$216.07 |
The arithmetic IPERS shows
- Options 4 and 6: the survivor's amount is the chosen percentage of the member's amount. Ann at 50% under Option 4: 50% × $843.55 = $421.78. Every row in both examples checks out this way.
- Option 2: the death benefit is your contributions plus interest less the payments you received. If Ann dies after 18 payments: $22,861 − 18 × $889.52 = $6,849.64. After 26 payments, nothing is left.
- Option 5: 120 payments are guaranteed. If Ann dies after 24, a sole beneficiary gets the other 96 at $876.76; several beneficiaries, a trust or an estate get a lump sum of their present value ($64,101.27 in IPERS's example).
- Option 1: the death benefit goes up in $1,000 steps to your contributions plus interest: up to $22,000 for Ann.
IPERS shows $6,849.64 after 18 payments and no death benefit after 26. Member Handbook (2025), p. 39, Example: All Benefit Payment Options
IPERS's example: David
David is 67 with 32 years and a $90,213.63 average salary. His contingent annuitant was born in December 1963. His contributions plus interest ("investment") are $121,920.52. IPERS Overview slides (2025), slides 17-19 and 21-27, David's Sample Retirement Estimate
| Option | David gets | vs. Opt. 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Option 1$1,000 death benefit | $4,664.13 | 100.1% |
| Option 1$121,000 death benefit | $4,382.13 | 94% |
| Option 2 | $4,661.04 | 100% |
| Option 3 | $4,666.48 | 100.1% |
| Option 5120 payments: $542,265.60 | $4,518.88 | 97% |
Option 1 costs David $2.35 a month for each extra $1,000 of death benefit.
| Survivor % | Opt. 4: David / annuitant | Opt. 6: David / annuitant |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | $4,091.23$4,091.23 | $4,016.44$4,016.44 |
| 75% | $4,221.32$3,165.99 | $4,161.53$3,121.15 |
| 50% | $4,359.96$2,179.98 | $4,317.48$2,158.74 |
| 25% | $4,508.02$1,127.01 | $4,485.59$1,121.40 |
IPERS publishes no option factor table. Options other than Option 2 are actuarial equivalents set with IPERS's actuary and depend on the member's (and annuitant's) ages; IPERS gives each member an estimate. Only member-specific examples are published.
Iowa Code §97B.51(1); Member Handbook (2025), p. 36, Steps to TakeThe calculator shows your Option 2 amount, and if you enter your contributions plus interest, how the Option 2 death benefit runs down. See also Death and survivor benefits.
Common questions
Which IPERS payment option is the formula amount?
Option 2. IPERS's calculation examples are all Option 2. The other five options are worth the same overall, but pay a different monthly amount, depending on your age and, for Options 4 and 6, your contingent annuitant's age.
How much less is the joint and survivor option?
It depends on your ages, and IPERS doesn't publish factors. In IPERS's example, David's $4,661.04 under Option 2 was $4,091.23 under Option 4 at 100%, and his annuitant would get the same $4,091.23 for life.
Can I change my IPERS option later?
No. Once your first payment is issued, you can't change your option or your contingent annuitant.
Source: IPERS Member Handbook, Updated July 2025, pp. 36, 38-39, 43. Also: IPERS Overview slides (2025); Iowa Code § 97B.51. Last reviewed .