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September 2007 (e-Ver. 2.3)

Summary of Key Changes:

• Combined Regular Plan and SLEP plan manuals
• Township hospitals operating under a board of directors are independent units of government and may participate in join IMRF independently
• Member payments for health/dental insurance do not reduce disability benefit payments
• If member divorced while participating in IMRF, copy of divorce decree must be submitted with application for retirement
• Members paid irregularly: irregular payment must be a condition of employment
• Expanded explanation of Voluntary Additional Contributions
• P.A. 95-0530, added information regarding transfers to and from IMRF and local police pension plans and transfers of IMRF service to SERS
• P.A. 95-0486, added information regarding members purchasing up to four years of military service
• Employer copies of Member Statements to be provided electronically beginning with 2007 Statements; all employers will receive detailed statements, summary statements no longer available

Updated definition of "participating member" as it applies to Authorized Agents and executive trustee elections:

For the purposes of an Authorized Agent submitting a petition or casting a ballot in an executive trustee election, a “member of IMRF” includes an employee who either is working in an IMRF-covered position and making member contributions or is receiving an IMRF pension

Updated definition of "participating member" as it applies to Authorized Agents and executive trustee elections

5.20 B.5.Amount of IMRF Retirement Benefits,
Unused and Unpaid Sick Leave Service Credit

Expanded explanation and provided examples of eligible sick leave that can be converted to service credit at retirement

Added: employer “gifts” of sick leave are not eligible for conversion to service credit

5.20 B.1.a. Amount of IMRF Retirement Benefits,
Refund of Surviving Spouse Contributions Eligibility

Clarified eligibility:
The member is married, but the marriage occurred less than one year prior to the date IMRF or Reciprocal Retirement System participating employment ended

Section 7 Employer Rates

Various paragraphs

Updated information regarding how employer rates are calculated

Corrected text.

Employee contributions to deferred compensation plans, such as an IRC section 457 plan, are included as IMRF earnings and must be reported to IMRF. Contributions to these plans do not reduce an employee's IMRF wages but do reduce an employee’s salary for tax purposes, even though the Internal Revenue Code may call them “employer contributions

Death of Member in Non-Participating Status (Inactive member no longer participating but with IMRF contributions on deposit)

Clarified that interest is credited to the member's date of death.

Updated Authorized Agent Checklists

Updated Employer Forms chart:

• Added mandatory Web Wage Reporting effective 6/1/06 for employers that have Internet Access, $25 monthly fee, Certificate of Lack of Internet Access
• Added form for SLEP member to convert up to 120 months of Regular Plan service to SLEP Plan service
• Added form for former public safety employees to elect pre-tax deduction of health and long term care insurance premiums from benefit payments

1.90 Glossary

Revised/added definitions for

• DB and DC
• Pension Protection Act of 2006
• Public Safety Employee
• SLEP formula
• SLEP contributions
• Reciprocity
• Surviving Spouse pension definition
• Vested

Added reference to SLEP converting up to 120 months of Regular Plan service.

3.10A and 3.60A
Independent Contractors

3.80I
Forest Preserve District Rangers

Revised reporting limit for 2006.

Removed reference to reporting wages in magnetic tape.

Added information about mandatory Web-based Wage Reporting for employers.

Revised SLEP contribution rate to 7.50%.

Revised SLEP contribution rate to 7.50%

Revised table for SLEP pension estimates

Revised table for SLEP cost to purchase service under ERI

Removed actuarial reduction of surviving spouse pension if member died on or after June 1, 2006.

Updated Disability benefit information.

Added reference to former police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel age 50 or older not being subject to federal 10% withholding on taxable refunds.

5.20 C. 16
and
5.20 F.

Retiree returning to work for an IMRF employer

Once a member begins receiving an IMRF pension, he or she must contact IMRF if the member returns to employment or compensated elected office with a unit of government that participates in IMRF.

This applies even if the member is considering independent contract work with a unit of government.

Revised explanation for pre-existing condition investigations for total and permanent disability claims.

A pre-existing condition investigation will be done if the member has fewer than five years of service credit on the date he or she became disabled.

IMRF will request information to determine if the member had the disabling condition before becoming an IMRF participant.

Added information about minimum age requirements for reciprocal pensions.

If the reciprocal systems a member will retire under have different age requirements, as a general rule, the member can begin receiving only that portion of the pension he or she earned from the system with the earlier age requirement.

Once the member reaches the minimum age requirement of his or her other system(s), the member would then receive a pension from that system(s)..

5.80B Health Insurance Continuation

Added information about enrolling employees who will perform teacher aide duties in connection with P.A. 94-834

Updated Social Security Wage Base and Social Security and Medicare rates.