NEW! Employer Access Workshops this Fall | | |
Following feedback from the Employer Survey, IMRF has developed additional Employer Access Workshops. These workshops will feature demonstrations of specific processes that employers expressed interest in.
Participants are encouraged to ask questions during the presentation. The questions will only be viewed by IMRF staff leading the discussion to answer as they walk through the demonstration.
Register for the workshop on an issue you would like to learn more about:
Wage Reports & Reconciliation
Tuesday, September 16 from 11 AM to noon
Disability Data Collections
Tuesday, October 14 from 11 AM to noon
Employer Documentation
Tuesday, October 28 from 11 AM to noon
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Hiring IMRF Retiree Procedures
for Employers
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Following Illinois Pension Code and IRS regulations, IMRF has rules and procedures to help protect employers from potential issues after hiring an employee who is retired and receiving a pension from IMRF.
It is important to ask each potential employee if they are receiving an IMRF pension to avoid any potential conflicts because rules for enrolling an employee who is receiving an IMRF pension differ from enrolling an employee who has not started their retirement benefits.
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For a retiree to be eligible to return to work there must be a clear Separation of Service from the time they worked at an IMRF employer to when they begin working for the same or different IMRF employer.
This means the retiree MUST have ended employment for at least 60 days before being hired. Additionally, the retiree and employer cannot enter into an employment agreement prior to or 60 days after the pension start date.
If these rules are not followed, the retiree will be required to pay back all pension payments they have received, because they did not truly separate from service. Learn more about Separation of Service here.
Furthermore, employers may have to pay both the employer and member contributions for the time the rules were violated. Employers may also have to pay for up to half of the total annuity payments the retiree received when they were not eligible.
Learn more about procedures for hiring IMRF retirees here.
Keep in mind, rules are also different for hiring a retiree with a Tier 2 pension, who took an early retirement incentive, or was part of a SLEP plan.
Most importantly, ALWAYS reach out to the Employer Contact Center at 1-800-728-7971 BEFORE hiring an IMRF retiree.
| | | Rejecting vs. Postponing Member Data | | |
When completing data collections, users are asked to validate entries before submitting the information. Within the validation process, the information you enter is checked against our system and business rules to ensure only good data is being updated to member records.
When a conflict is detected, Employer Access provides a detailed Warning or Error ID with a corresponding error message. At this point, users will then have the option to View Member data, making corrections, as needed, or they can Postpone or Reject Member.
It’s important to understand what each of these options does before selecting it.
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Selecting “Reject Member” removes the member from the data collection and deletes it completely. You may want to use this option if a non-IMRF member was included by mistake.
If you choose to “Postpone Member” at this step, the data is not lost or included in the original data collection. Instead, the data will be saved in a separate data collection. The postponed data collection will remain incomplete until it is submitted or deleted by the employer. This option allows the user to set the member aside to investigate the error without holding up the rest of their report.
The separate data collection will have its own case number and must be completed and submitted to update the record of the member included in the postponed data collection. A separate invoice will be created AFTER the postponed data collection is submitted by the employer.
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A new edition of the FUNDamentals Newsletter
for active members arrived in mailboxes in August.
| | | | Upcoming Authorized Agent Webinars | |
IMRF offers online webinars for Authorized Agents to learn more about IMRF procedures, and how the fund is administered.
IMPORTANT NOTE: By law, all new Authorized Agents must attend Authorized Agent training within three months of appointment.
There are two modules to complete:
- Module 1: Introduction, Enrollment, Wage Reporting, and Termination
- Module 2: IMRF Benefits, Employer Rates, and Legislation
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September
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Module 2: Wednesday, September 24
October
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Module 1: Wednesday, October 8
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Module 2: Wednesday, October 22
November
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Module 1: Wednesday, November 5
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Module 2: Wednesday, November 19
December
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Module 1: Wednesday, December 3
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Module 2: Wednesday, December 17
All sessions run 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM.
Webinar Structure
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. Canceling your registration from just one module is not permitted.
Note: To receive a completion certificate, you must attend the online session live. Watching a recording at a later date will not result in a certificate of completion.
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Employer Access Learning Center
Visit IMRF's Employer Access Learning Center for training materials to help you complete your daily tasks. Instructions are available as PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and MP4 videos.
| | Stay Connected with IMRF! | | |
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 Contact Center: 1-800-728-7971
| | You are receiving this email because you have been identified as an Employer Contact of IMRF. As such, you cannot opt out of receiving this email. To update your Employer Contact information, log in to your Employer Access account. | | | | | |
