Members of governing bodies who are appointed rather than elected and were participating in that appointed position prior to January 1, 2018 do not opt in to participation. If they are paid and meet the applicable annual hourly standard, they must participate.
Any member of an appointed governing body who is appointed on or after January 1, 2018 have the option to elect to participate in IMRF. New members of an appointed governing body must file the IMRF form entitled, "Election to Participate for Qualifying Position", if they wish to participate. The election to participate may not be rescinded.
IMRF is not in a position to determine the hourly requirements of members of an appointed 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 members in the position participate. The resolution must indicate whether the employer is under the 600-hour or 1,000-hour standard.
The employer's governing body must adopt a resolution verifing whether the governing body position requires the necessary number of hours to meet the applicable eligibility standard. To have access to IMRF’s suggested form of resolution, please send a secure message to request a “Resolution to Allow Elected or Appointed Governing Body Officials to Participate in IMRF” form. 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.