republic-os/legislation/us/states/in/2020/sb-181.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Survivors' benefits."
description: "Provides that a participant in the state excise police, gaming agent, gaming control officer, and conservation enforcement officers' retirement plan (EG&C plan) who dies after January 31, 2018, is not required to have a minimum number of years of creditable service in the EG&C plan at the time of the participant's death in order for the participant's nominated survivor to be entitled to receive survivors' benefits. Provides that if a participant in the EG&C plan dies in the line of duty after January 31, 2018, the participant's nominated survivor is entitled to an annual survivors' allowance for life equal to 100% of the amount to which the participant would have been entitled had the participant retired with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. Provides that in the EG&C plan if: (1) an active participant regardless of the participant's years of creditable service and (2) an inactive participant with at least 15 years of creditable service dies other than in the line of duty after January 31, 2018, the participant's nominated survivor is entitled to an annual survivors' allowance for life equal to 50% of the amount to which the participant would have been entitled had the participant retired with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. Makes technical corrections. (The introduced version of this bill was prepared by the interim study committee on pension management oversight.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "SB 181"
citation: "Indiana SB 181 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["LAW ENFORCEMENT", "Police Pensions and Benefits"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Aaron Freeman", "Jack Sandlin", "Philip Boots", "Woody Burton"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 28
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2020-01-06"
last_action: "2020-03-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c962d586-d467-49e2-a574-f7d363cfb317"
source_url: "http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2020/bills/senate/181"
source_hash: "fbd716792ba0efb2698993bbd42bfd6fe8194f12779a6ffa73e200bca0fd6a06"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana SB 181 (2020) — Survivors' benefits.

Provides that a participant in the state excise police, gaming agent, gaming control officer, and conservation enforcement officers' retirement plan (EG&C plan) who dies after January 31, 2018, is not required to have a minimum number of years of creditable service in the EG&C plan at the time of the participant's death in order for the participant's nominated survivor to be entitled to receive survivors' benefits. Provides that if a participant in the EG&C plan dies in the line of duty after January 31, 2018, the participant's nominated survivor is entitled to an annual survivors' allowance for life equal to 100% of the amount to which the participant would have been entitled had the participant retired with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. Provides that in the EG&C plan if: (1) an active participant regardless of the participant's years of creditable service and (2) an inactive participant with at least 15 years of creditable service dies other than in the line of duty after January 31, 2018, the participant's nominated survivor is entitled to an annual survivors' allowance for life equal to 50% of the amount to which the participant would have been entitled had the participant retired with 25 years of service at 50 years of age. Makes technical corrections. (The introduced version of this bill was prepared by the interim study committee on pension management oversight.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/SB0181/versions/SB0181.05.ENRH)
2. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/SB0181/versions/SB0181.01.INTR)
3. **Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/SB0181/versions/SB0181.03.COMS)
4. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/SB0181/versions/SB0181.04.COMH)
5. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/SB0181/versions/SB0181.02.COMS)

## Votes

- SB 181 - Burton - 3rd Reading — **94–0** (pass) · lower
- SB 181 - Sandlin - 3rd Reading — **50–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Aaron Freeman — primary (person)
- Jack Sandlin — primary (person)
- Philip Boots — primary (person)
- Woody Burton — primary (person)
- Blake Doriot — coauthor (person)
- David Niezgodski — coauthor (person)
- Dennis Kruse — coauthor (person)
- Dollyne Sherman — cosponsor (person)
- Erin Houchin — coauthor (person)
- Ethan Manning — cosponsor (person)
- J.D. Ford — coauthor (person)
- Jean Breaux — coauthor (person)
- John Crane — coauthor (person)
- John Ruckelshaus — coauthor (person)
- Karen Tallian — coauthor (person)
- Liz Brown — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-06** Coauthored by Senator Boots
- **2020-01-06** Authored by Senator Sandlin
- **2020-01-06** First reading: referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2020-01-09** Senator Freeman added as second author
- **2020-01-14** Senator Houchin added as coauthor
- **2020-01-16** Committee report: amend do pass adopted; reassigned to Committee on Appropriations `referral-committee, committee-passage`
- **2020-01-16** Senator Freeman removed as second author
- **2020-01-16** Senator Boots removed as coauthor
- **2020-01-21** Senator Boots added as second author
- **2020-01-21** Senator Freeman added as third author
- **2020-01-21** Senators Tallian, Niezgodski, Ford J.D., Doriot, Crane, Kruse added as coauthors
- **2020-01-23** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-23** Senators Brown L, Breaux, Ruckelshaus added as coauthors
- **2020-01-27** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-01-28** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 71: yeas 50, nays 0 `reading-3, passage`
- **2020-01-28** House sponsor: Representative Burton
- **2020-01-28** Cosponsors: Representatives Sherman D and Manning
- **2020-01-29** Referred to the House
- **2020-02-10** First reading: referred to Committee on Ways and Means `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2020-02-20** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-24** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-02-25** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 207: yeas 94, nays 0 `reading-3, passage`
- **2020-02-26** Returned to the Senate without amendments
- **2020-03-02** Signed by the President Pro Tempore
- **2020-03-03** Signed by the Speaker
- **2020-03-09** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2020-03-11** Public Law 6
- **2020-03-11** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c962d586-d467-49e2-a574-f7d363cfb317`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).