Friday, May 10, 2019
Welcome to Employer Digest, your monthly source for IMRF news and information to help you stay connected with IMRF.
Employer Rate Meeting Webinar Next Week
Register today for IMRF's 2019 Employer Rate Meeting webinar on Tuesday, May 14, at 1:30 PM. Authorized Agents, chief financial officers, governing body members, and other officials and interested parties from your employer are encouraged to attend.
The webinar offers an online opportunity for employers to learn about the impact of year-end financial and actuarial data on IMRF, and the data's estimated impact on individual employers. IMRF Executive Director Brian Collins and Chief Financial Officer Mark Nannini will conduct the webinar.

Click here or on the image below to watch Brian discuss this year's webinar.
Accelerated Payments: What You Need to Know
Accelerated Payments are payments employers must make to IMRF to fund shortages in their employer reserve accounts. These shortages are created when end-of-career increases in wages reported to IMRF make the cost of a member's retirement greater than the contributions made by their employer over the member's working career. An Accelerated Payment will replenish the employer reserve to fund the shortage created when the member retires.

IMRF will calculate an Accelerated Payment when reported earnings for a member increase by 6% or more. If this results in an increase in a member's pension costs of $5,000 or more, your employer will receive an Accelerated Payment invoice detailing the additional payments that need to be made to IMRF.

Accelerated Payment Exemptions

There are some instances when an employer can receive an exemption from an Accelerated Payment. The following increases in reported earnings may be considered for an exemption:

  • Overtime or overload hours
  • Increase in required hours
  • Standard promotion
  • Vacation time payout
  • Certain personnel policies or collective bargaining agreements
  • Increases paid to members who are 10 years or more from retirement eligibility

Sick time payouts are not eligible for an exemption. To file an Accelerated Payment exemption, employers may complete an Accelerated Payment exemption request form included with the Accelerated Payment invoice. Please note that receiving an Accelerated Payment exemption does not mean your employer doesn't have to pay the additional pension costs. Rather, these costs will be spread over a longer period of time through your employer's contribution rates.

Estimating Accelerated Payments

IMRF provides an Accelerated Payment Estimator spreadsheet that employers may use to calculate future Accelerated Payments related to increases in a member's reported earnings. IMRF can only provide actual Accelerated Payment amounts after a member has retired and final earnings have been reported. You can access the spreadsheet on the Accelerated Payments page on IMRF's website.

Also, it is possible that the recent Illinois minimum wage increase will result in an Accelerated Payment invoice for your employer when a member is within 10 years of retirement eligibility. IMRF encourages employers to use the Accelerated Payment Estimator spreadsheet to calculate the Accelerated Payment amount for members who will be impacted by the minimum wage increase.

You can learn more about Accelerated Payments on the General Memo 620 FAQ page on IMRF's website. If you have any questions about Accelerated Payments, send IMRF a secure message or contact us at 1-800-728-7971.
Reminder: Resolutions Required for Reporting Compensation to IMRF
Employers may adopt specific resolutions to allow certain types of employee compensation to be considered reportable earnings. IMRF provides resolution templates that your employer's governing body may use for this purpose. These resolutions include:

  • 6.72 - this resolution allows employers to report compensation such as pre-tax health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, dependent care reimbursements, and flexible spending reimbursements as reportable earnings to IMRF.

  • 6.73 - this resolution allows employers to report compensation directed into a Retirement Health Savings Plan as reportable earnings to IMRF.

  • 6.74 - this resolution allows employers to report taxable allowances such as meals, cell phones, and clothing as reportable earnings. Please note that vehicle allowances may only be reported as earnings for members who first began IMRF participation before August 25, 2017. Employers may not report vehicle allowances for employees who started participating in IMRF on or after this date, even if a resolution was already on file, per Illinois Public Act 100-411. You can learn more about this law in the Vehicle Allowances as IMRF Earnings quick reference.

  • 6.75 - this resolution allows employers to report cash payments made separately from salary in lieu of employer-provided health insurance or related to healthcare benefits as IMRF earnings. You can read more about this resolution in General Memo 672.

It's important to note that these resolutions must be on file with IMRF for your employer to report these types of employee compensation as earnings to IMRF.

You can find more resolution templates on the Suggested Resolutions for Governing Bodies page on IMRF's website.

If you have questions about adopting and filing these resolutions with IMRF, send IMRF a secure message or contact us at 1-800-728-7971.
IMRF to Release 2018 Annual Report
IMRF's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), and associated documents will be available on IMRF's website by the end of May. Your auditor will need these documents if your employer follows Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in its financial reporting.

You will find the 2018 CAFR, 2018 PAFR, and Detailed List of 2018 Investments on the Annual Financial Reports page.

Additionally, the following documents will be located in the "Display Annual Documents" section of Employer Access:

  • 2018 Schedule of Changes in Fiduciary Net Position by Employer
  • 2018 Reconciliation Adjustments Schedule
  • 2018 IMRF Census Data Attestation Report

The 2018 Actuarial Valuation and 2018 Gain/Loss Analysis are now located on the Reports for Employers page.

If you have any questions about IMRF's annual reports, send IMRF a secure message or contact us at 1-800-728-7971.
Spring Employer Workshops
Register for an upcoming employer workshop in your area this spring! Employer workshops are open to Authorized Agents and other employer representatives who want to learn more about IMRF procedures and how to administer IMRF at your employer. Attendance is free.

Spring workshop locations and dates:

  • Carol Stream - Tuesday, May 14
  • Utica - Wednesday, May 15
  • Macomb - Tuesday, May 21
  • Marion - Tuesday, May 28
  • Springfield - Friday, May 31
  • Collinsville - Monday, June 10
  • Joliet - Tuesday, June 11

You can register for a workshop through Employer Access or by calling the employer-only phone number, 1-800-728-7971. Each workshop is scheduled from 9 AM to 2 PM. A continental breakfast and light lunch will be served.

To see all workshop dates for 2019, visit our Employer Workshops page. You can also review the presentation before your scheduled workshop by clicking the link in the promo on the right side of the page.
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2211 N. 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