Only elected officials and city hospital employees have the option to participate in IMRF if their positions qualify them for membership.
Elected officials may exercise the option to participate only if their position meets the hourly standard.
Please see Section 3.65 F. 1. "Paid Members of Elected Governing Body -- County Board" for specific information regarding County Board members.
IMRF may be contacted to determine if a resolution has previously been submitted. Employer resolutions can be viewed via Employer Access.
If an elected official or city hospital employee elects to participate in IMRF, IMRF requires the official’s or employee’s signature on the "Election To Participate For Qualifying Position" form. As part of the online enrollment process, a pre-populated "Election To Participate For Qualifying Position" form is created. The employer will download the pre-populated form, sign it, have the elected official or city hospital employee sign it and mail it to IMRF along with the signed, pre-populated enrollment form.
If an elected official
elects to participate
If an elected official elects to participate, the elected official cannot
revoke that choice as long as he or she holds the same elective position
within that governmental unit.
If employment is terminated and he or she later holds the same elected position with the same employer, the elected official will again participate in IMRF. The elected official cannot revoke his or her prior election to participate in IMRF.
For example: Mary Jones is elected to city clerk and she chooses to participate in IMRF as city clerk. However, Mary loses her bid for reelection. Several years later Mary again runs for city clerk and this time she wins. Now, because she chose to participate as city clerk previously, Mary must participate in IMRF now.
If Mary had run for a different elected position, county auditor, for example and won, she could have chosen not to participate because she had never chosen to participate under the county auditor position.
The same rules apply whether an elected official loses a bid for reelection or resigns. Once an elected official chooses to participate, the elected official must participate as long as he or she holds that same position.
NOTE: a special temporary provision did permit elected officials to permanently revoke an election to participate from September 26, 1991, through December 31, 1991.
If a city hospital worker
elects to participate
If a city hospital worker elects to participate, he or she cannot revoke
that election as long as the member is employed by the city hospital.
If the member terminates and later returns to employment with the same city hospital, the city hospital employee cannot revoke his or her prior election to participate.