When a member applies for any type of past service, IMRF researches the member’s file to determine if the purchase would result in the member having concurrent service.
Concurrent service occurs when a member is reported by more than one employer and/or under more than one plan for the same month. However, the member is credited with one month only of service credit.
(Exception: If a member concurrently participates in the Regular Plan and the SLEP Plan. If the member vests for a SLEP pension, when the pensions are calculated, each concurrent month will be treated as one month in two plans. When the pension is calculated, the calculation will apply the Regular formula to those months with Regular wages and the SLEP formula to those months with SLEP wages.)
Purchasing past service which is concurrent with other service is not always beneficial to the member. If a past service purchase will result in concurrent service, IMRF will advise the member. The member will be asked to sign a form indicating that he or she understands that the purchase will result in concurrent service, and that the concurrent service will benefit the member only if it occurs during the time period used to compute the member’s earnings for the pension.