During the month of May, governments recognize and thank their employees for their hard work and commitment to serving the public.
IMRF began operation in 1941. Its creation was a result of the Great Depression and the State of Illinois’ desire to ensure that public employees have retirement security.
IMRF is proud to be a steward of the pension system for public employees across Illinois and is always looking for ways to improve. The Board of Trustees, elected from IMRF’s members, retirees, and employers, has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that IMRF is a well-run and successful organization.
Who does IMRF serve?
IMRF manages member benefits and employer contributions for over 3,000 units of government, including school districts, townships, cities, villages, counties, and special governments like park and library districts across the state of Illinois, not including Chicago or Cook County.
The Employer Services team works directly with each employer to ensure that the information they provide to IMRF, like wages and service credit, is accurately reported each month to ensure members earn all their credit toward their pension.
IMRF also supports its over 537,000 members, including over 159,000 retirees, 180,000 inactive members and 196,000 active members.
Fun Fact: Over half of IMRF’s membership works for school districts as paraprofessionals, counselors, custodians, and other support staff.
Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in calls and secure messages. In response to this, IMRF has expanded its team of highly skilled staff that provide support to members and process benefit claims. To ensure consistent and accurate service each team member completes comprehensive training before independently assisting members with the wide range of questions received.
Fun Fact: From 2024 to 2025, there was a 20% increase in the number of interactions our team has had with members and retirees.
What Makes IMRF Unique?
IMRF is one of the best-funded public pension systems in the country. Currently, IMRF is 96.9% actuarily funded. This means that IMRF has 97 cents for every dollar that IMRF will pay in benefits to current and future members and retirees. The average pension in the United States is only 76.7% funded.
Under the Illinois Pension Code, IMRF can require employers to make their required contributions. If an employer does not make their regular payments, IMRF has the legal authority to intercept funds due the employer from the county treasurer.
The graphic illustrates that while the state of Illinois can make pension laws, it is not involved in how the pension system is funded or managed.
Fun Fact: An employer’s contribution rate varies year to year based on how many employees they have, their total payroll, and other factors.