February 27, 2014
Pension reform counseling sessions set
Employees will have an opportunity to attend a session presented by a retirement counselor from the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) in April on the upcoming pension reform changes and how they might impact them.
The presentations are set for 2:30 p.m., April 23, and 10 a.m. April 24, in the Hiram H. Lesar Law Building Auditorium, Room 120. Registration is required. Employees who plan to attend need to send an email to the Human Resources Benefits Office with their name, choice of session and day, telephone number and email address. You will receive a confirmation email.
The counselor will present an overview of the changes based on legislation Gov. Pat Quinn signed in December 2013. The presentation is most beneficial to SURS Tier 1 members – those employees who first began participation in SURS or another reciprocal system prior to Jan. 1, 2011.
Discussion items will include:
- employee contributions
- retirement age eligibility
- maximum pensionable earnings caps
- effective rate of interest
- money purchase actuarial changes
- automatic annual increase (AAI)
- new defined contribution plan
- funding changes
SURS recommends that members bring a copy of their 2013 Benefit Summary Statement to the presentation. Members can print this statement from their member account at SURS. Instructions for printing your statements can be found on the Human Resources website under announcements. The website also has additional information regarding pension reform.