RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN

MEMBER GUIDE

Mission Statement

To secure and deliver the retirement benets promised to our members.

Table of Contents

The benets in this booklet pertain to the Retirement Savings Plan (RSP). Traditional

Benet Package and Portable Benet Package guides are also available as separate

Changes in the Law .................................................................................................. 1

SURS Eligibility........................................................................................................... 1

SURS Plan Options.................................................................................................... 2

RSP Features ............................................................................................................. 3

Investment Options..................................................................................................4

Contributions .......................................................................................................... 10

Other Information ..................................................................................................29

Who to Contact .......................................................................................................31

SURS–Covered Employers .....................................................................................33

SURS Location Map ................................................................................................34

errors, or omissions of this booklet.

CHANGES IN THE LAW

Generally, changes in the retirement law are applicable only to persons who are contributing

members on or after the eective date of legislation. If you terminated your employment status

colleges, scientic surveys and other related agencies.

Your SURS-covered employer will determine your eligibility to participate in SURS. Generally, you

are eligible if your position requires you to work continuously for at least one academic term or

four months, whichever is less, and your employment is not temporary, intermittent, or irregular.

Your SURS participation ends on the date you retire or end your employment with a SURS-cov-

ered employer.

You are not eligible to be covered by SURS if any of the following apply:

• You are a student regularly attending classes at a college or university that participates in

SURS and are employed on a part-time, temporary basis.

• You were employed under the Comprehensive Employment Training Act on or after July 1,

for benets.

1

New SURS members must choose one of three retirement plan options within the rst six

months of employment:

1. Traditional Pension Plan

Investment

Options

Withdrawals

Within the RSP there are two dierent paths for retirement savings. Members can choose

the default investment option, SURS Lifetime Income Strategy (LIS) or create their port-

folio by selecting individual funds from SURS core fund lineup. It is important to keep

your goals for this retirement plan in mind when selecting your investments. Is your goal

for this plan to meet basic needs in retirement by receiving lifetime monthly income? Or,

maybe you have other sources of post-retirement income, and your goal for this plan is to

supplement your monthly income or save for a signicant retirement purchase? Another

important consideration is whether you will qualify for and participate in the retiree health

9/1/04 – 6/30/05 8.0%

7/1/05 – 6/30/09 8.5%

7/1/09 – 6/30/10 8.0%

7/1/17 – 6/30/21 6.5%

7/1/21 – 6/30/22 6.0%

7/1/22 – 6/30/23 6.5%

7/1/23 – 6/30/24 6.5%

7/1/24 – 6/30/25 7.0%

You will pay both employee and employer contributions for the service based on your full-time

(or full-time equivalent) rate of pay on the date you began SURS participation. Your payment will

also include interest compounded annually based on the eective rates. This military service

may be used to meet SURS minimum vesting requirements, but not to fulll the ve years of ser-

vice credit required to receive employer contributions.

14

To determine your eligibility for military service credit, submit a copy of your military separation

papers to SURS (in many cases this is federal form DD-214). If you do not have a copy of your

military separation papers, contact your local Veterans’ Aairs oce.

If you were employed by another public agency before your SURS participation began, your eligi-

bility to qualify for purchase of additional service credit depends in part on when you became a

• Beginning Sept. 1, 1982, the interest compounds annually based on the eective rates. In-

terest compounds through the month in which the payment is made, regardless of the day

of the month the payment is received (see Eective Interest Rate table on Page 14).

• You must contribute to SURS at least ve years following the public employment. The ve

years may include service with the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) or the Chicago Teach-

ers’ Pension Fund (CTPF).

• Other public employment (OPE) must be with a public school, college, or university in the

U.S. If you began SURS participation on or before Sept. 1, 1974, you may also purchase em-

ployment with the U.S. government, a state government, a political subdivision of a state, or

• If SURS participation terminated prior to Aug. 18, 1965, you are not eligible to purchase OPE.

• If SURS participation terminated between Aug. 18, 1965, and June 30, 1967, the OPE must be

• If you were a SURS member between July 1, 1967, and Sept. 4, 1975, the OPE must be at

least 50% time.

• You cannot qualify for a retirement pension or other benet based on employer contribu-

tions from another retirement system (excluding Social Security) for the period of OPE you

wish to purchase with SURS.

• Military service may be purchased as OPE if you began SURS participation on or before

Sept. 1, 1974.

• Laborers’ Annuity and Benet Fund of Chicago

• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund

• Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benet Fund of Chicago

• Park Employees’ Annuity and Benet Fund of Chicago

• State Employees’ Retirement System of Illinois

• Teachers’ Retirement System

The Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act ensures that pension credits remain in the system

in which they are earned. You may not transfer your credits from one system to another. You

will be entitled to a retirement annuity from each system, and your survivor(s) will qualify for a

survivors annuity, if:

the benet formula in eect on the date you last ended employment with an employer covered

by the Reciprocal Act. Each system is responsible for calculating their proportionate share of the

reciprocal benet in accordance with applicable statutes and rules. As a member of the RSP, the

SURS portion of your reciprocal retirement benet will be calculated and paid by either Principal

Financial Group or Alliance Bernstein (SURS LIS), except in the case of a lump-sum.

If you wish to apply for benets under the Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, you should

request an application from each employing system at least 90 days before your planned retire-

ment date. For more information, see the When Benets Are Paid section, starting on Page 21.

REPAYMENT OF A SEPARATION REFUND

If you previously participated in SURS and accepted a separation refund, you may reinstate that

You may claim a disability benet if, after you have at least two years of service credit, you are

sick or injured and unable to work. If you become disabled due to an accident, however, there

WHEN DISABILITY PAYMENTS BEGIN

If you qualify for disability payments, there is a 60-day waiting period before you are eligible to

receive a payment from SURS. During this 60-day period you may be eligible to receive sick pay

from your employer. Your benets will begin on the later of:

• The date you have been disabled for 60 continuous calendar days, or

• The date your salary or sick leave payments end.

You need not use vacation pay before receiving disability benets. However, if you think your dis-

ability is permanent, you may want to remain on full salary using vacation payments before your

disability benet begins. Your benet cannot begin more than 30 days before the date SURS re-

accrue Jan. 6 and will be a prorated benet for the period between Jan. 6 and Jan. 31. Future pay-

ments will also be mailed at the end of each month and will include a benet for the full month.

If you have returned to work for less than 30 calendar days and have another disability due to

the same cause, it will be considered a recurrence of the previous disability. In this case, you will

not be required to meet another 60-day waiting period before benets begin, but you will need

to le a new disability application.

If it appears you will be disabled for more than 60 days and your disability will extend beyond

the period you are eligible for sick pay, you should request that your employer initiate a disability

YOUR DESIGNATED BENEFICIARY

As a general rule, your designated beneciary is your surviving spouse or civil union partner. If

you are not married, or if your spouse consents to the designation of another beneciary, your

beneciary will be the person you designate to receive any lump-sum benets payable upon

your death. To designate, revoke or change your beneciary, you must le an RSP Beneciary

Designation form with SURS. You may designate both primary and contingent beneciaries. If

you are married, your spouse must consent to your designation of a dierent beneciary.

If your spouse had consented to your designation of a dierent beneciary, and the beneciary

dies before you or before receiving complete payment of your benets, your beneciary will be

nuity provider, Principal Financial Group. If you do not have a spouse or civil union partner, your

designated beneciaries must receive the death benet in a lump sum.

It is important to note that the surviving spouse must be receiving lifetime income in order to

continue participation in the health insurance program (if eligible).

Lump-Sum Death Benet Amount

Active Members

• If your death occurs while actively employed and before establishing one and a half years of

service credit, the death benet is the current value of employee accumulations.

• If your death occurs while actively employed and after establishing one and a half

years of service credit, the death benet is the current value of employee and employer

accumulations.

DEATH AFTER RETIREMENT

If your death occurs after you have retired, benets payable to your spouse, civil union partner

or designated beneciaries will be determined based on the form of distribution selected at the

time of your retirement.

Your vested plan benet becomes payable when you retire or when you terminate employment.

You cannot receive plan benets while actively employed by a SURS-covered employer. The plan

Distributions Prior to Normal Retirement Age

If you have at least ve years of service credit and you leave your

job, you may choose one of the following options:

vice and wish to receive a lifetime monthly benet.

• Leave your account balance in the plan and take a lump-sum

distribution at a later date.

If you leave your vested account balance in the plan until you reach normal retirement age, your

benet will be paid as described below.

Distributions After Normal Retirement Age

In the Retirement Savings Plan, there are three dierent distribution options available at retire-

ment time. You can choose to receive guaranteed lifetime income from the SURS Lifetime In-

come Strategy (LIS) or

in the retiree health in-

surance program if you

are eligible. In addition

to the lifetime income

distribution options,

there is also a lump-sum option available for members who have other income sources in place

to meet basic retirement needs.

The lifetime income options are explained in detail on the next few pages.

• Convert 100% of your account balance to lifetime income with SURS LIS. With this option,

are eligible.

What does it mean to

• Convert a portion of your account balance to lifetime income

“activate” my benet?

with SURS LIS. If at least 50% of the LIS balance is in the LIS

Secure Income Portfolio and converted to lifetime income

Activation = the

at retirement, you will maintain eligibility for retiree health

administrative process

insurance, if eligible. You will continue to have control over

of arranging for receipt

the remaining non-secured portion of your account. After

retirement. To activate,

you must be terminated

taken as a partial lump-sum distribution as needed.

from employment and

The SURS LIS oers single-life and joint and survivor forms of in-

be at least 60 years of

come, depending on your marital status at retirement time:

age. You cannot take ad

hoc distributions from

• If you are married, the normal form of income distribution

in the Lifetime Income Strategy is a 100% joint and survivor

spousal consent.

• If you are not married when you retire, you must take a single-life income option. If you

pass away, any existing account balance will be paid as a death benet to your named bene-

ciary.

For more information on the SURS Lifetime Income Strategy, please see Page 5.