Understanding your IMRF Member Statement

This page provides a brief explanation of how to read your IMRF member statement. Based upon your individual circumstances, your statement may have certain different categories of information. You can also take a look at the current mailing schedule or the Member Statement Frequently Asked Questions.

The accuracy of your account is important to your future—resolving a problem now may save you time and aggravation down the road.

Beginning in 2008, your member statement has a whole new look and lots of additional information. Instead of the single-page brief statement of account, this year you’ll see a multi-page booklet that explains your benefits in greater detail than ever before.

Some of the highlights of the new statement include:

• Pension estimates for all members, even those who are not yet vested (have less than eight years of service)
• Pension payout plans
• Month-by-month listing of contributions made and service credit earned in the previous year
• More information about your IMRF benefits in general

Table of contents:

• Your personal information
• Your total IMRF contributions and service
• Your IMRF employers
• Estimates of your IMRF benefits

Verify your personal information

• Make sure your name, address, and last four digits of your Social Security number are correct. To protect your privacy, your Social Security number is masked and only the last four digits are shown. Note that we also print a letter key after your masked Social Security number in order to help identify you in our system.

• To change or correct your name, address, date of birth, gender, or last four digits of your Social Security number, see the instructions for correcting information on your member statement.
  
• You can also change your address online through your Member Access account.

Are your total IMRF contributions and service correct?

Your statement provides your total contributions and service information.

• Check your member contributions on deposit and total IMRF service credit as of December 31 of the previous year.
• Confirm the amount of contributions you made and the service credit you earned for that year, if any. You can check this information against the W-2 your IMRF employer provided.
• Verify any adjustments to your account.
• Make certain your account’s ending balance as of December 31, is correct.

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Are all your IMRF employers (past and present) listed?

• All of your IMRF employers (past and present) should appear on your statement, with the total amount of service credit you earned with each. You will also see the total member contributions you made while working for each employer.
• Your earnings and contributions are listed as reported to IMRF by your employer.
• Note that you can add missing service credit only if you are actively participating in IMRF or in a reciprocal retirement system.

Estimates of your IMRF benefits

Your Retirement Benefits

IMRF is provides pension estimates to all members with at least one year of service credit, even if they are not yet vested. Depending on your age, you’ll receive either two or three estimates:

• If you are vested, an estimated pension at age 55 calculated with your current service credit, which assumes that you stop working for your IMRF employer with your current service credit. (If you are age 55 or older, this will provide a current-age estimate.)
• An estimated pension at age 55 which assumes that you continue to work for your IMRF employer and earn service credit until that age.
• An estimated pension at age 60 which assumes that you continue to work for your IMRF employer and earn service credit until that age.

You may receive a pension if you are not actively participating in IMRF, are age 55 or older, and are fully vested (have at least eight years of service credit).

If you have Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Personnel (SLEP) service, you may receive a SLEP pension if you are not actively participating in IMRF, are age 50 or older, and have 20 or more years of SLEP service credit.

Your Disability Benefits

Most IMRF members will have an estimate of disability benefits. To be eligible for disability benefits, you must have at least 12 consecutive months of service credit. Refer to the IMRF Disability Booklet for details regarding IMRF disability benefits.

Death Benefits

The minimum benefit is a refund of the balance of your member account. If you have more than one year of service credit or your death is job related, IMRF will also pay one year's salary. If you have eight or more years of service credit, your spouse may be eligible for a monthly pension and a $3,000 lump sum death benefit.

If you wish to change your death benefit beneficiary, submit a new Form 6.11, "Designation of Beneficiary". The new designation becomes effective when the form is processed and on file in the IMRF office. At this time, you cannot change your beneficiary information online.

You can read more about IMRF death benefits here.

Refund Information

Some IMRF members will have an estimate of a refund amount shown that would be available if you terminate IMRF employment. Read more about IMRF contribution refunds here.

 

Pension Value

The new “Pension Value” section on the bottom of your statement is designed to help you understand just how valuable your future IMRF pension is to you.

With a defined contribution (DC) plan, like a 401(k), 457, or 403(b), it’s easy to see the amount in your account grow. However, with a defined benefit pension like IMRF, your monthly pension is based upon a formula that includes your service credit, an average of your salary, and your age—not on a lump sum amount in your member account.

It can be difficult to see the total value of your monthly pension when it is compared a to lump sum DC account. The “Pension Value” illustrates how much you would have to save, e.g., in a private savings account or in an employer-sponsored DC plan, to purchase an annuity that would equal your IMRF pension.

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