You are an inactive member if you previously participated in IMRF and left your contributions on deposit with us.
You are guaranteed the return of your contributions as either a pension or a refund. However, if you have enough service credit to qualify for an IMRF pension we strongly discourage you from requesting a refund. There are almost no circumstances when a refund will be an advantage to you over a pension.
Earning an IMRF Pension
Your IMRF pension gives you life-long income protection. You earn service credit toward an Original ECO plan IMRF pension by:
- Having joined the ECO plan before January 26, 2000 and choosing to remain in this plan
- Working for an IMRF employer in an IMRF-eligible position
- Contributing 7.5% of your salary toward your future pension
You will continue to earn service credit if you are on IMRF Disability or on an IMRF Benefit Protection Leave.
You must have at least eight years of service credit to receive a future IMRF pension.
How Much Will Your Pension Be?
The amount of your pension is based on your earnings and your service credit. To calculate the amount of your pension, IMRF uses a formula that includes:
- Your Final Rate of Earnings (FRE)
- The total amount of your service credit
The formula to calculate an Original ECO pension is:
- 3% of ECO monthly final rate of earnings for each of your first eight years of ECO service credit, plus
- 4% of ECO monthly final rate of earnings for each of your next four years of ECO service credit, plus
- 5% of ECO monthly final rate of earnings for each year of ECO service credit in excess of 12 years, to a maximum of 80% at 20 years of service.
Your total pension at retirement cannot exceed 80% of your final rate of earnings.
Final Rate of Earnings (FRE)
Under the Original ECO plan, your FRE is your annualized salary payable on the last day of participation in the ECO plan divided by 12.
The ECO monthly FRE:
- Does not include any lump sum payments for vacation, sick leave, overtime, personal leave, etc.
- Does include stipends, using a monthly portion of the annual stipend.
If you retire with both ECO and Regular or SLEP service credit:
- The ECO monthly FRE will be used with your ECO service credit
- The Regular/SLEP FRE will be used with your Regular and/or SLEP service credit
Service Credit
Service credit is your total time under IMRF, stated in years and months.
Annual Pension Increases
Under Original ECO, your pension is increased by 3% of the original amount on January 1 of each year after you retire. If your pension effective date is something other than January 1, your first year increase will be prorated based on the number of months you are retired the first year.
Supplemental Benefit Payment ("13th Payment")
After you have retired and have received pension payments for at least 12 months in a row, you will be eligible for a supplemental benefit payment every July. When you first retire, you must have retired on or before June 30 to receive a 13th Payment the next year. For example:
If you retire… | You will receive your first 13th Payment in… |
---|---|
On or before June 30, 2017 | July of 2018 |
After June 30, 2017 | July of 2019 |
You will receive this supplemental payment with your usual July pension payment. The amount varies every year, but it will always be less than your monthly pension amount.