You always start out receiving temporary disability benefits. To be eligible for IMRF temporary disability:
- Your condition must qualify.
- You must meet IMRF service credit requirements.
When does your condition qualify for IMRF disability benefits?
- Your physician must certify you are unable to perform your IMRF job, or any duties reasonably assigned by your employer, for more than 30 days.
- Your medical condition must be supported by objective data and documentation.
Your medical condition:
- Does not have to be work related.
- Can include disability resulting from elective surgery, pregnancy, and alcoholism.
- Cannot be caused by an addiction to narcotic drugs or a self-inflicted injury.
What are the IMRF service credit requirements for disability benefits?
To be eligible for disability benefits you must have:
- At least 12 consecutive months of IMRF service credit since being enrolled in IMRF.
- Service credit in each of the 12 months immediately preceding the date of disability.
- If you have a one-, two-, or three-month gap in service within those preceding 12 months, you may still be eligible for IMRF disability if you:
- Have 12 consecutive months of service credit prior to the gap in service.
- Participated with an IMRF employer immediately before and after the gap.
- Two additional exceptions exist:
- If you stopped participating in IMRF and have 20 years or more of IMRF service credit on file with IMRF, you are immediately eligible for IMRF disability benefits once you return to participating status.
- If your employer just joined IMRF, contact IMRF for more details.
Note:
- If you work in a seasonal position, you are protected by disability coverage only if you earn service credit for the off-season months.
- You are not eligible for IMRF disability benefits if you continue to be paid by your employer during the period of time you are disabled—for example, if you are disabled and will continue to be paid:
- During the months you will not be working (your “off season”).
- As an elected official.
- As an employee covered under the Public Employee Disability Act.
Contact IMRF for more information about any of these situations.
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How will I know my next steps?
Once you have applied for IMRF disability, we will send you correspondence that contains detailed information about each step of your disability claim process.