Welcome to Employer Digest, your monthly source for IMRF news and
information to help you stay connected with IMRF.
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Nominations for IMRF Executive Trustee Accepted through September 15 | |
This fall, IMRF employers will elect one Executive Trustee for a five-year term of office, from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028.
An employee can be nominated for Executive Trustee if the employee:
- Is employed by a participating governmental unit as chief executive officer, chief finance officer, or other officer, executive, or department head.
- Is an active and vested IMRF member (not including reciprocal service) as of December 31, 2023.
- Gains the nomination of at least three IMRF employers, each of whom must submit a nominating petition to IMRF.
IMRF Employers can submit nominating petitions between August 1 and September 15.
Learn more about nominating an employee for Executive Trustee here.
Also in November, IMRF active members will elect one Employee Trustee for a two-year term of office that will run from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025. Learn more about running for Employee Trustee here.
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New Employer Access Coming this Fall | |
Our new online Employer Access and enhanced wage reporting system will be implemented this fall.
Please pay close attention to all communications from IMRF over the next couple of months to ensure you are aware of all the latest information and are sharing it with the appropriate people in your organization, to prepare for this transition.
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Have You Submitted Your Test File Using the New Monthly Wage Reporting Format?
To ensure your readiness and ability to submit your wage report files, we require all employers who currently report monthly wages via file upload to create and send a full IMRF Wage Report Test file with IMRF data via Secure Message, using the new monthly wage reporting format. Whether you create the wage file in-house or use a 3rd party payroll software, a test file must be submitted.
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Please make your staff aware of this. We will soon reach out to those employers that have not completed this task. This is a key step for employers who report their monthly wages via file upload to have a smooth transition this fall.
For additional help with formatting your Wage Report Test file, click here to be routed to IMRF’s Employer Access Learning Center. There are different resources on this page that will guide you with the creation of your file.
If you have any questions, please call IMRF Employer Services at
1-800-728-7971 or send your questions via Secure Message through your Employer Access account.
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Recent Illinois Pension Law Changes
and the Impact for IMRF Employers
| Earlier this month, Governor Pritzker approved Senate Bill 1824. The bill puts in place the following provisions, which will impact IMRF Employers: |
- Requires all new IMRF Authorized Agents to complete an IMRF-provided training course within 3 months of appointment, effective January 1, 2024.
- Creates additional exemptions to what IMRF calls the Accelerated Payment, which requires employers to pay the employer portion of certain pension cost increases on a faster schedule than the remaining portion. Accelerated Payments change the timing of the liability, not the amount.
- Allows IMRF trustees who change jobs within a Board term to remain on the Board as long as there is no break in service and they continue to meet all eligibility requirements in the new job.
Senate Bill 1924 was also passed and puts in place the following provision:
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Added Regional Offices of Education as a new educational employer type allowed to use "Unused, Unpaid Sick Time" accumulated from multiple educational employers.
For more information on 103rd General Assembly Bills Introduced in 2023, click here.
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Tier 2 Member Wage Cap for 2023 | |
The Tier 2 member wage cap for 2023 is:
$123,489.18
The wage cap period is based on the calendar year, regardless of your employer's fiscal year. If a member reaches the 2023 wage cap, the employer must:
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1. Stop withholding member contributions from the member's paycheck.
2. Keep reporting the member's wages to IMRF.
It is important for employers to keep reporting a member's wages to IMRF, even in excess of the Tier 2 wage cap, so that the member continues to earn service credit.
Questions?
Please contact IMRF at 1-800-728-7971 if you have any questions about the Tier 2 wage cap or need to discuss any complex circumstances.
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Newly Elected Officials Must Complete Form if Choosing to Participate in IMRF | |
Unlike regular employees, elected officials have the option whether or not they want to participate in IMRF, if their position meets the applicable hourly standard.*
Form 6.21, the "Election to Participate for Qualifying Position" form, must be completed if a newly elected or appointed official wants to participate in IMRF. When enrolling the new member online through Employer Access, a pre-populated copy of form 6.21 will be generated as part of the enrollment process. The authorized agent will download this form, have the elected official sign it, and submit this form to IMRF along with the signed enrollment form.
The Election to Participate form is also required when someone goes from a non-elected qualifying position to an elected qualifying position. Failure to properly notify IMRF of the move to a qualifying elected position may result in the loss of service credit.
Form 6.21 is also available to download from our website on the following page: Enrolling Employees in IMRF.
Elected officials are specifically excluded from IMRF participation unless IMRF receives a written notice of election to participate in that elected office. 40 ILCS 5/7-137(b)(2).
*Elected governing body positions must have a resolution on file with IMRF evidencing that the position meets the hourly standard.
For more information
To learn more about optional IMRF participation for elected officials, see Section 3.65E of the Authorized Agent manual.
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Authorized Agent Webinars | |
These online webinars are provided for Authorized Agents to learn more about IMRF procedures and how to administer IMRF benefits.
This 2-part webinar series prepares IMRF Authorized Agents to perform common IMRF tasks. Each webinar stands alone, and you can attend them in either order.
Note: to receive a completion certificate, you must attend the 2 online sessions live. Watching a recording at a later date will not result in a certificate of completion.
August 2023
Module 2: IMRF Benefits, Employer Rates, and Legislation
August 22
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Register today!
November 2023
Updated Authorized Agent Webinar modules will return in November, to support the new legislation requirement that takes effect on January 1, 2024 (see the Pension Law Changes article above).
For any new Authorized Agents requiring basic training prior to November, please call 1-800-728-7971 to request training from an IMRF Employer Representative.
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2211 York Rd., Ste. 500
Oak Brook, IL 60523-2337 (Main Office)
3000 Professional Dr., Ste. 101, Springfield, IL 62703
Member-only Phone: 1-800-ASK-IMRF (275-4673)
Employer-only Phone: 1-800-728-7971
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