SERS workshop walks Tier 2 members through benefits, calculators, service purchases and disability rules

"Hello, and welcome to investing in your future," said a presenter with the State Employees Retirement System during a workshop for Tier 2 members that walked employees through SERS online tools, retirement formulas and benefit options.

The session focused on practical steps employees can take to plan retirement and on how SERS calculates benefits. The presenter demonstrated the SERS member services site and pension-estimate tools, explained how the final average compensation (FAC) is computed using the highest consecutive 96 months out of the last 120 months, and summarized contribution splits and eligibility thresholds for Tier 2 members (those who became members after Jan. 1, 2011).

Presenter explained that coordinated regular-formula Tier 2 employees contribute 4% of earnings to SERS, with 3.5% going into the retirement account and 0.5% into the survivor account. The presenter noted noncoordinated regular-formula positions contribute at a higher rate and do not pay into Social Security. The workshop included concrete examples showing how FAC and years of service affect projected monthly benefits and how retiring before age 67 triggers a reduction of 0.5% per month for each month under 67 (about a 30% reduction for a five-year early retirement).

The presenter also walked through optional service purchases (military time, repaying refunds and other buybacks), the cost-estimate request process and payment options — payroll deduction, a lump sum check or rollovers from deferred-comp or IRA accounts. Using a worked example, the presenter said SERS had calculated that a $2,000 bill to buy six months of optional service would add about $9.50 per month per monthly increment (six months equaled about $57), and that the member would recover the purchase cost in roughly three years under the assumptions shown.

Disability coverage was a major topic. The presenter described three disability benefit types and explained occupational disability requires filing a workers' compensation claim (handled for most members by Gallagher Bassett and for toll-highway employees by CorVel), then submitting SERS forms so service credit and benefit payments are preserved. Occupational disability can yield up to 75% of FAC (SERS will offset the difference between workers' comp and the 75% target). Nonoccupational disability has different eligibility rules, requires use of accumulated sick time and typically pays about 50% of FAC.

Other practical guidance included how to set up a member services account (iLogin), how to read the earnings-and-service-credit chart, how underlined dollar values on the site produce pop-up detail windows, and how sick and vacation balances can add service credit (for example, turning in 33 sick days may establish two months of service credit). The presenter also noted SERS stopped publishing annual statements after June 30, 2023, and that archived statements remain available through that date.

The workshop closed with contact and counseling options: the presenter reminded attendees they can schedule one-on-one appointments in SERS offices in Springfield and Chicago or by phone for individualized retirement planning.