SURS Letter Regarding PA 98-599

Reprinted with permission:

Dear Colleagues,

As you probably are aware, many features of the retirement programs administered by the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) may change as a result of the enactment of PA 98-599, a comprehensive overhaul of public pension funding for the state of Illinois. Although the new law is being challenged in court as unconstitutional, it will become effective on June 1 unless a judicial stay is granted.

The changes mandated by the law will significantly impact faculty and staff retirement benefits, especially for those hired prior to January 1, 2011. SURS has prepared several informative resources to assist in understanding the impact of the new law. I encourage you to read http://www.surs.org/news-article/021314/learn-facts-about-pension-reform and an upcoming special edition of the SURS “Advocate” newsletter. SURS is also providing expanded counseling services for individual members. A list of available informational resources is provided later in this communication.

We are keenly aware of the adverse impact of the pension funding changes in the new law for members of the University community. The Board of Trustees has directed the University to explore potential options, including supplementary programs, to ensure that our retirement system is competitive with those of our peers.

While we explore those options and confer with SURS and elected officials in Springfield, many employees are assessing the law’s impact on them. It is important to make informed decisions based on facts, which is why I urge you to utilize the resources listed here.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Easter
President

On-Campus SURS Seminars
SURS will present pension seminars for faculty and staff. Some sessions have already been held on-campus, but a few additional dates are still available. Registration is required at
http://nessie.uihr.uillinois.edu/retirementseminar.

Counseling
If you are eligible to retire by June 30, 2014, and considering retiring within the next 1 to 2 years, then you are encouraged to schedule an appointment with SURS at http://surs.org/life-events/retirement/counseling. SURS will be offering group counseling sessions (where your individual calculation will be provided) in order to assist more employees before the Act’s effective date.

If you are eligible to retire June 30, 2014, or earlier, and have received an estimate from SURS prior to January 2014, then your estimate does NOT reflect the provisions of PA98-599. You may be eligible to receive a second estimate or counseling appointment. You must call SURS at 800-275-7877 to make this request.

Questions
If you have questions about your personal situation and pension law changes, please contact SURS at 800-ASK-SURS (800-275-7877) or 217-378-8800.

For other assistance, please contact your Human Resources office. Please note that the Human Resources office can provide information about your dates of employment, vacation/sick leave balances, and separation procedures. Only SURS representatives can answer your specific retirement questions.

• Urbana Academic HR: ahr@illinois.edu or 217-333-6747
• Urbana Staff HR: shr@illinois.edu or 217-333-2143
• Chicago: uichrhelpdesk@uillinois.edu or 312-413-4848
• Springfield: 217-206-6652
• University Administration: erhr@uillinois.edu or 217-333-2600

More Information
Please continue to follow information provided by SURS (http://www.surs.org/) and the State Universities Annuitants Association (SUAA) (http://www.suaa.org/). See also the NESSIE home page for news and seminars at https://nessie.uihr.uillinois.edu/.