If you plan to work
part-time, as a consultant, or in any other capacity during your retirement, here is some important information to keep in mind.
Separation of Service Requirement
IMRF’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution in 2020 regarding the Separation of Service requirement for IMRF retirees.
This resolution applies to retirees who terminate from IMRF participation January 1, 2021 or after.
It says:
- In order to qualify to begin receiving pension payments, you must stop working for any IMRF employer in any capacity, and
- You must not enter into an agreement or pre-arrangement to return to employment in any capacity with any IMRF employer prior to retirement or for at least 60 days after your first pension payment. This includes plans to return as a part-time employee, an independent contractor, or a leased employee.
Retirees who violate this policy will be required to pay back all pension payments received, because they did not truly separate from service. This resolution was passed to comply with both the Illinois Pension Code and the Internal Revenue Code which governs IMRF's Qualified Plan status.
To read more on Separation of Service resolution, click here.
Change in Return to Work Policy
One other important change in the Return to Work rules, which applies to all IMRF Retirees and became effective January 1, 2021, is that a retiree who returns to work in an IMRF-qualifying position will no longer immediately be
re-enrolled in IMRF and have his or her pension stopped. Instead the retiree will become re-enrolled in IMRF once he or she has reached the hourly standard.
Once the retiree has worked enough hours to reach the hourly standard, he or she must either:
- Be re-enrolled in IMRF (and their pension will be suspended), or
- Stop working for their IMRF employer for the remainder of the 12-month period
For more information on IMRFs Return to Work policies, click here.
