DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The retirement fund for Iowa state employees would get a share of a proposed $500 million settlement of a lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. and other companies that bundled securities backed by defective home mortgages.

The Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System was the lead plaintiff in a 2010 lawsuit against Countrywide and other banks alleging they misled investors about the value of mortgage-backed securities that cost IPERS and several other retirement funds that joined its lawsuit hundreds of millions of dollars.