Elected Officials:
•Termination—Resignation date of elected officials
and impact on pension effective date
•Participation—Renewal of Election to Participate in ECO
November 22, 2006
Executive Summary
If an elected official is terminating IMRF participation for retirement, the member’s termination date determines his or her pension effective date. For an elected official’s pension effective date to be December 1, the elected official’s termination form must show November 30 as the elected official’s last day of IMRF participation.
If an elected county official participates in the revised Elected County Official (ECO) Plan and is beginning a new term of office, he or she must renew his or her election to participate in ECO. The elected official must complete IMRF Form 6.21B, “Election by Elected County Official to Participate in IMRF Elected County Official Plan,” no later than December 31, 2006. The form can be downloaded from the forms area of www.imrf.org.
Terminating elected officials participation in IMRF
The termination date of an IMRF member’s participation determines the start date of that member’s pension. A member’s pension begins the month following his or her last day of IMRF participation. For example, if a member works December 1, 2006, resigns, and applies for an IMRF pension, the member’s pension will be effective January 1, 2007. For the member’s pension effective date to be December 1, 2006, the member’s last day of IMRF participation must be November 30, 2006.
The same is true for elected officials wishing to retire. For an elected official’s pension to be effective December 1, 2006, the elected official’s termination form must show November 30, 2006, as his or her last day of IMRF participation.
You can submit a member’s termination via your Employer Access account at www.imrf.org, or download the termination form (Form 6.41) from the forms area of www.imrf.org.
Renewing election to participate in ECO
County officials participating in the revised Elected County Official (ECO) Plan (officials who began ECO participation on or after January 26, 2000) must renew their election to participate when they begin a new term of office. These officials would complete IMRF Form 6.21B, “Election by Elected County Official to Participate in IMRF Elected County Official Plan.”
This form is required for each term of office if the official intends to continue ECO participation. Please ask your recently re-elected county officials to fill out IMRF Form 6.21B and file it with IMRF before December 31, 2006.
If this form is not filed, the wages of any official in revised ECO reported as ECO in January 2007 will be suspended. When a member’s wages are suspended, the wages are not credited to the member’s account. Suspended wages can cause problems with a member’s IMRF account and, ultimately, can delay benefit payments.
Newly elected officials who wish to participate in ECO are also required to complete IMRF Form 621B, together with IMRF Forms 6.10, “Notice of Enrollment in IMRF,” 6.11, “Designation of Beneficiary” and 6.21, “Election to Participate for Qualifying Position.”
All IMRF forms can be downloaded from the forms area of www.imrf.org.
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding renewing ECO plan members or termination dates, please call an IMRF Member Services Representative at 1-800-ASK-IMRF (1-800-275-4673) Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.