In recent months, our call volume has been higher than anticipated. Some of you have let us know you've had difficulty getting through to IMRF's Contact Center. We apologize for the longer than usual wait times you may have encountered. We are doing multiple things to remedy this.

First, we are now using Callback Assist (CBA), which allows you to leave your phone number for a callback instead of waiting on hold during periods of peak call volume. Thousands of calls have been returned same-day, without waiting on hold. Approximately 93% of calls have been successfully returned, with the remaining callbacks either being unanswered after two attempts or incorrectly entered phone numbers. Please note: With some phone carriers, the callback may show up as "unknown caller."

We have learned a lot through our early experiences with CBA and are continuing to find ways to use it most efficiently for your benefit. During peak periods, callers will now be presented the opportunity to request a callback at multiple times during their hold time rather than just at the beginning. We encourage you to try this callback feature if you experience a wait when calling IMRF.

In addition, we have recently hired and are currently training 4 new staff members for our Contact Center. They are undergoing rigorous training on answering IMRF calls to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and confidence in their knowledge.

When calling the Contact Center, please be considerate of other Members and Retirees who are also trying to contact IMRF by having your Member ID and information you need available in front of you to ask your questions. This will allow us to serve more callers within a given period.

Some members have informed us they've had difficulty opening a Member Access account, logging into their account, or using their Member Access account. To address this, we are currently working on streamlining the account registration and login processes for Member Access and simplifying the navigation of the site to make it easier to find what you are looking for. Check our website this fall for more information on these exciting Member Access upgrades.

If you already have a Member Access account, the quickest and easiest way to submit information to IMRF or to ask questions is by sending a secure message through your online Member Access account. You can attach any documents you want to submit to your secure message. Just log into your Member Access account and click Secure Message at the bottom of the Quick Links list.

Answers to many of your questions can be found on the IMRF website www.imrf.org and do not require a Member Access account. Here are links to information on some of your frequently asked questions: