INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The Indiana state pension system is pressing ahead with a proposal to privatize state employees' annuity savings accounts, as legislators consider placing a hold on the move for five years amid widespread concerns from workers.

The state offers public workers the choice of reinvesting a portion of their pension with the state when they retire. In return, the state guarantees an annual payout of 7.5 percent of that amount to the worker.

But the Indiana Public Retirement System sparked an outcry last year when it voted to privatize those payouts, a move that could cut the payouts almost in half.

A proposal sponsored by Republican Rep. Woody Burton of Whiteland that would bar the move is working its way through the General Assembly.