Public Act 99-900, signed into law on August 26, 2016, alters IMRF participation requirements for all elected or appointed County Board members in Illinois.
The new legislation became immediately effective and alters the Illinois Pension Code in the following ways:
Annually, participating County Board members need to satisfy the applicable hourly standard (600 or 1,000). Failure to do so will result in termination of participation.
A member of a County Board may participate in IMRF under the following conditions:
a. The County Board member was first elected or appointed to the County Board before August 26, 2016 (the effective date of P.A. 99-900); and
b. The County Board has on file with IMRF a current resolution approved by IMRF finding that the Board members are expected to work at least 600 or 1,000 hours (as appropriate) or more in a year: and
c. While a member of the County Board, the County Board member has elected, in a written notice filed with IMRF, to participate in IMRF; and
d. The County Board member files the time sheets in a form acceptable to IMRF and as provided by Section 7-137.2(b).
The time sheets required by Section 7-137.2(b) must:
a. Contain a detailed record of the time the County Board member spent on official government business during each month of the year specifically setting forth the date, length of time, and type of official government business performed; and
b. Be filed with the County’s fiscal officer (or designee) monthly, by the 10th day of the month following the reporting month. The form may be in either electronic or paper format and will be considered late if filed after the 20th day of the month following the reporting month. A time sheet must be filed each month, even if the County Board member is reporting no hours worked in that month; and
c. Evidence the County Board member worked at least the number of hours required for IMRF participation with the County (either 600 or 1000 hours) on an annual basis. The reporting year will begin as of the later of August 26, 2016 or the month the County Board member took office.
Official government business is defined as:
Official government business does not include:
Travel time:
Travel for which reimbursement would be paid to County employees under the County’s personnel policies may be included as official government business.
An IMRF-participating County Board member who fails to file the time sheets required by Section 7-137.2 or who files the time sheets late for more than 2 consecutive months will become ineligible and IMRF participation will be terminated.
Termination of IMRF participation for failure to file or late filing will be irrevocable.
IMRF is not in a position to determine the hourly requirements of members of a governing body.
It is the policy of the IMRF Board of Trustees to require that the governing body of the governmental unit determine, by resolution, that the positions require performance of duty for the applicable annual hourly standard before an official in the position participates. The resolution must indicate whether the employer is under the 600-hour or 1,000-hour standard.
A certified copy of the resolution should be filed with IMRF (see paragraph 6.60 D. Relating to Participation by Elected Officials in IMRF). To have access to IMRF's suggested form of resolution, please send a secure message to request this. If you are unable to send a secure message, please call the employer-only phone number at 1-800-728-7971.
Members of an elected governing body may elect to participate in IMRF if their positions meet the applicable hourly standard. Persons appointed to fill vacancies are considered elected officials for this purpose.
Effective January 1, 2018, all new governing body members must meet the 1,000-hour standard.
In determining the hourly requirements of the positions of governing body members, you should consider not only attendance at official meetings, but also meetings and telephone calls with constituents and other officers and employees, attendance at civic functions in an official capacity, and attendance at meetings of municipal organizations.
Hours actually spent working should be counted, but hours spent "on call" are not considered when determining the expected hourly requirements of elected positions, nor is time spent traveling from home to meeting sites.
Members of an elected body must file IMRF form entitled, ”Election to Participate” (see 6.10 C. Member Paid Irregularly), if they wish to participate. The election to participate may not be rescinded.
IMRF requires employers with Internet access to enroll new members via Employer Access. If an elected official elects to participate in IMRF, IMRF requires the official’s signature on the ”Election To Participate For Qualifying Position” form. Therefore, as part of the online enrollment process, a pre-populated ”Election To Participate For Qualifying Position” form will be created. The employer will download the pre-populated form, sign it, have the elected official sign it and mail it to IMRF along with the signed enrollment form.
Official government business is defined as:
Official government business does not include:
When a member of an elected governing body elects to participate, he or she may establish up to 50 months of service retroactively (see 6.40-4 Past Service Credits/Member Account Corrections).
Certain elected officials have the option of purchasing more than 50 months of retroactive service credit if the governing body passed a resolution before January 1, 2002, allowing such purchase (see 6.40-4 Past Service Credits/Member Account Corrections).
IMRF is not in the best position to determine the hourly requirements of members of a governing body.
It is the policy of the IMRF Board of Trustees to require that the governing body of the governmental unit determine, by resolution, that the positions require performance of duty for the applicable annual hourly standard before the governing body official in the position participates. The resolution must indicate whether the employer is under the 600-hour or 1,000-hour standard.
A certified copy of the resolution should be filed with IMRF (see paragraph 6.60 D. Relating to Participation by Elected Officials in IMRF). To have access to IMRF’s suggested form of resolution, please send a secure message to request this. If you are unable to send a secure message, please call the employer-only phone number at 1-800-728-7971.
Effective January 1, 2018, all new governing body members must meet the 1,000 hour standard.