Types of Refunds
You may be eligible for up to three types of refunds:
- Separation Refund — when you leave your IMRF employer before you retire.
- Voluntary Additional Contribution refund — if you have been making Voluntary Additional Contributions (VAC) you can take a refund of these contributions at any time. You can read more about these refunds on the Voluntary Additional Contributions page.
- Retirement Refund — refunds you may be eligible for at retirement if you retire with an IMRF pension. You can read more about these refunds on the Retirement Options and Refunds at Retirement page.
Taking a Separation Refund
Think carefully before taking a separation refund. You are not required to take a refund when you leave your IMRF employer. Leaving your money with IMRF can give you time to decide what to do with it. However, you will not receive interest when you apply for a separation refund, no matter how long you keep your contributions on deposit with IMRF.
If you take a refund, you give up your right to any retirement or disability benefit, and your beneficiary(ies) will not be entitled to any death benefit. Review your options carefully—it may make more financial sense for you to leave your contributions on deposit with IMRF, especially if:
- You have at least 10 years of Regular or a combination of Regular and SLEP service credit. You are now eligible to receive a future lifelong IMRF pension under the Regular plan. If you take a refund, you give up your future pension.
- You have 10 or more years of SLEP service credit. You are now eligible to receive a future lifelong SLEP pension.If you take a refund, you give up your future SLEP pension.
- You think you may return to work for an IMRF employer or Illinois reciprocal system and earn additional service credit toward a future pension.
When Can You Take a Separation Refund?
You can take a refund if: | You cannot take a refund if: |
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You stop working for all IMRF employers and you meet one of the following requirements:
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* If you meet the age and vesting requirements for an IMRF pension but your monthly pension amount would be less than $100, you can take a refund. In some cases, even if you meet retirement age and vesting requirements, you may take a refund if you are rolling it over to another defined benefit plan to purchase qualifying service credit. |
What are Your Refund Options?
If you decide to take a refund, you have two options on what to do with your money. Each option has different tax consequences:
Rollover your refund | Receive a direct payment |
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How to Apply for Your Refund
To apply for a refund online, sign in to your Member Access account and follow the prompts.
Paying Back a Refund
To be eligible to repay your refund, you must be currently participating in IMRF as a SLEP member. You could repay the refund after working enough hours to meet your employer’s IMRF hourly standard (either 600 or 1,000 hours).
To find out how much it would cost to repay refund and reinstate your service credit, you would complete an "Application to Reinstate Service Credit - Repaying a Refund" form (Available in Member Access) and IMRF will calculate your current cost.