Converting Military Service

IMRF members who earned military service before participating in IMRF, or did not return to IMRF participation within 90 days of discharge, can convert up to four years of military service to IMRF service.

What does the employer have to do?

Allowing your IMRF members to convert military service to IMRF service is optional. If your employer wants to allow its IMRF members to convert military service to IMRF service, your employer’s governing body needs to pass a military service resolution.

If your employer's governing body previously adopted a resolution making its IMRF members eligible to convert two years of military service, its members remain eligible to convert up to two years of military service to IMRF service.

• If your employer wants to increase the amount of military service its members can convert to IMRF service from two years to four years, it would need to pass a new resolution to allow service credit for military leave prior to IMRF participation.
• If your employer's governing body never adopted a resolution but wants to do so now, it would need to pass a new resolution to allow service credit for military leave prior to IMRF participation. Its IMRF members would be eligible to convert up to four years of military service to IMRF service. (A governing body may no longer pass a resolution allowing its members to convert up to two years of military service.)
• If you want to use IMRF's suggested form of resolution, please send us a secure message to request a "Resolution to Allow Service Credit for Military Leave Prior to Participation" form. If you are unable to send a secure message, please call our employer-only phone number at 1-800-728-7971.

To learn which resolutions an employer's governing body has adopted, review your Employer Access account or call an IMRF Member Services Representative at 1-800-ASK-IMRF (275-4673).

If your employer's governing body previously adopted a resolution, it can repeal that resolution.

Member and Employer Costs

For this type of military service, the member cost is calculated using member and “normal” employer contributions plus interest at the current rate. The member's first IMRF salary will be used in the calculation.

Online Spreadsheets to Estimate Costs

The cost to the member of converting military service to IMRF service varies widely depending on:

• When the military service occurred
• When the member began IMRF participation
• The member's salary upon participation.

IMRF has developed spreadsheets that allow you to estimate the total cost for this program: The member cost and the resulting difference—which is the employer cost. Instructions for using the spreadsheets are included in the spreadsheets themselves.

To download and use these Excel spreadsheets, you need to have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer.

• For Members: Spreadsheet to calculate member cost (updated 12/2023)
• For Employers: Spreadsheet to calculate employer costs (updated 12/2023). Employer costs are paid through future employer contribution rates.