Questions Regarding PA 99-900

for IMRF Employers
Illinois State Capitol

Q. What is the first month a county board member is required to keep track of time worked on county business under P.A. 99-900?
A. September 2016. The first time sheets are due to be filed with the county by October 10, 2016.

Q. Our county has a 1000 hour standard for IMRF eligibility. May we change that back to 600 hours for the county board?
A. No. The standard for IMRF participation of either 600 or 1000 hours of service applies to all employees and elected officials in the county. The Illinois Pension Code does not allow a change from the 1000 hour standard back to the 600 hour standard.

Q. If a county board member is no longer eligible to participate in IMRF, may s/he draw a pension while continuing to serve on the county board?
A. Yes, if the board member meets the age and service credit requirement for an IMRF pension.

Q. Must a board member file a time sheet even if s/he did not put in any time on county business for that month?
A. Yes, a time sheet must be filed by the 10th of every month, even if zero hours are reported.

Q. What happens if a board member fails to file time sheets?
A. When IMRF conducts an audit and finds a board member who has not filed a time sheet for every month, that person will be removed from IMRF participation and the service credit will be adjusted out back to the month in which a time sheet was filed prior to the first month without a time sheet.

Q. Does the county fiscal officer (or designee) have any responsibility to inform IMRF of a county board member who has not filed time sheets?
A. No official responsibility. However, the fiscal officer (or designee) could advise the county board member to contact IMRF in order to opt-out of IMRF participation.

Q. How does a board member opt out of IMRF participation?
A. A board member may send a written and signed statement to IMRF that s/he does not intend to file the times sheets required by P.A. 99-900 and so should be removed from participation.

Q. Does IMRF require any particular format for the time sheet?
A. There is no required format. IMRF has put a sample time sheet on the IMRF website (imrf.org) that can be used if the county board so chooses.

Q. What happens if after 12 months a board member has not put in the minimum hours for IMRF participation (either 600 or 1000)?
A. The board member’s IMRF participation will end. Whether the person will get service credit for that year will depend on a number of factors, including how many hours the person actually worked on county business.

Q. What happens if the county board does not pass a resolution confirming eligibility for IMRF participation within 90 days of this year’s election?
A. IMRF participation for all members of that board will terminate as of the end of February 2017.

Q. What happens if a board member is late in filing the time sheets?
A. If a board member files the time sheets later than the 20th day of the following month more than 2 months in a row, that person will lose eligibility and be removed from IMRF participation.