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The retirement age in Illinois is currently 67.
The retirement age in Illinois is currently 67. If you retire before you reach full Social Security retirement age, your benefits will be reduced. If you have a government job, you may be able to retire earlier with a reduced pension.
The new bill would raise the retirement age to 70.
A bill filed in the Illinois General Assembly would raise the retirement age for employees of the state’s Teachers’ Retirement System to 70. The bill, filed by State Representative Will Guzzardi, a Democrat from Chicago, would also prohibit employees from taking a lump sum payment of their retirement benefits.
Currently, employees of the Teacher’s Retirement System can retire as early as age 55 with at least 10 years of service, or at any age with 35 years of service. The normal retirement age is 67. The bill would raise the retirement age to 70 for employees who are not yet eligible to retire.
The bill comes as the state is facing a $138 billion unfunded liability in its five pension systems. Raising the retirement age and prohibiting lump sum payments are two ways to reduce that liability.
The bill has been sent to the House and Senate for approval.
If the bill is approved by both the House and the Senate, it will then be sent to the President to sign into law.
If the bill is approved, the new retirement age would go into effect in 2025.
The Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) is a defined benefit retirement plan for public school teachers in Illinois. If you are an active TRS member, you are vested in the plan after five years of service. This means that you have a legal right to all benefits accrued through your years of service, even if you leave teaching before you retire. However, your benefits will be reduced if you retire before age 60 (normal retirement age).
Currently, the normal retirement age for TRS members is 60. However, a bill has been introduced in the Illinois legislature that would raise the retirement age to 62 for teachers hired on or after January 1, 2019. If the bill is approved, the new retirement age would go into effect in 2025.
The bill is sponsored by Representative Elaine Nekritz and Senator Daniel Biss.
Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook, and Biss, a Democrat from Evanston, filed their bill in February 2015. The bill would increase the retirement age for Tier 1 employees of the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) from age 60 to age 67. The bill would also require TRS Tier 1 employees to have at least 10 years of service before they are eligible to retire. Currently, TRS Tier 1 employees can retire at any age with at least 8 years of service. The bill would not change the retirement age or service requirement for TRS Tier 2 employees.
