Get Illinois Qildro Form

Foreword

The following information is designed to assist members when their retirement benefits are being considered for possible division in divorce/legal separation proceedings. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund (“MWRDRF” or “Fund”) office handles inquiries and benefit information requests for these purposes. A QILDRO (Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order) is an Illinois court order that transfers part or all of a member's retirement benefits to an alternate payee.

Much of the information provided is based on the express statutory language and requirements imposed upon Illinois public retirement systems by the QILDRO statute. This legislation, with an effective date of July 1, 1999, amended the Illinois Pension Code by adding new section 1-119 [40 ILCS 5/1- 119], and by modifying portions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act [750 ILCS 5/503]. New modifications and clarifications were added to the Illinois Pension Code 1-119 (40 ILCS 5/1-119) effective July 1, 2006. The forms and instructions enclosed in this booklet pertain to benefits that will be effective (ordered by the judge and received by this Fund) after July 1, 2006. These forms will be invalid if provided to this Fund prior to July 1, 2006.

This subject matter may be of considerable financial significance. It is strongly recommended that the member obtain competent legal and/or other expert assistance. This information is provided with the understanding that the Fund is not rendering legal, financial, or other professional advice. MWRDRF does not assume responsibility for the specific consequences resulting from application of the information in this packet to a particular member or alternate payee. Inquiries concerning a QILDRO may be directed to the MWRDRF office at (312) 751-3222.

Disclaimer

The Fund has provided the en- closed materials based on the best information

available at the time of last publication. Similarly the Fund

will provide benefit information which is accurate at the time of the request.

The Fund has no responsibility to recalculate

information previously provided, nor to inform an alternate payee regarding any statutory changes that may effect the calculation of a member’s benefit, unless the Fund is subsequently served with a subpoena for new QILDRO benefit information. Receipt of a modified QILDRO could adversely affect an alternate payee’s payment priority.

The law provides that the Fund, as a result of the existence of a QILDRO, will never be required to disburse to the member and his/her alternate payee(s) accumulated amounts greater than the amount that would have been otherwise disbursed to the member. It is the responsibility of the alternate payee and his counsel to be aware of, and in compliance with, the Illinois statutes governing QILDRO as they may be amended or reinterpreted over the life of the

QILDRO.

Within 45 days after MWRDRF receives QILDRO

MWRDRF sends notice to involved parties*** regarding validity of QILDRO. If QILDRO uses percentages, MWRDRF will provide specific benefit information. See “Benefit Information Provided by MWRDRF “, page 8 of this publication.

Within 45 days after MWRDRF receives Calculation Order

If member is retired when MWRDRF receives QILDRO

MWRDRF sends notice to involved parties*** regarding validity of Calculation Order.

If QILDRO uses percentages, MWRDRF still needs a Calculation Order to implement QILDRO. Within 45 days of receipt, MWRDRF sends notice regarding validity of QILDRO and specific benefit information. See “Benefit Information Provided by MWRDRF”, page 8 of this publication.

What is a QILDRO?

“QILDRO” is an acronym for Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order (pronounced kwil-dro). A QILDRO is a court order issued by an Illinois court that directs an Illinois public retirement system such as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund to pay an alternate payee a portion of a member’s retirement benefit, or certain refunds or lump sum death benefit if applicable. An alternate payee is typically an ex-spouse, but may be a current spouse, child, or other dependent.

The QILDRO law applies to Illinois public pension systems governed by the Illinois Pension Code, 40 ILCS 5. Illinois public pension funds may only pay benefits to a former spouse according to a QILDRO. Illinois retirement systems cannot pay a former spouse based on a member’s judgment for dissolution of marriage or marital settlement agreement. QILDROs are different from, and should not be confused with Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, or QDROs. State law does not allow public retirement systems to honor QDROs.

Division of Benefits

MWRDRF benefits may be a marital asset. Your personal attorney should advise you whether a former spouse is entitled to any of your MWRDRF benefits. The MWRDRF cannot provide legal advice.

MWRDRF may only pay benefits to a former spouse according to a QILDRO. The MWRDRF cannot pay a former spouse based on a QDRO, judgment for dissolution of marriage, or marital settlement agreement. Even if MWRDRF has a valid QILDRO on file, payment cannot be accelerated to pay a former spouse before the MWRDRF member is paid. An alternate payee will only receive payment if and when the MWRDRF member receives payment. An alternate payee will never receive more or different benefits than the MWRDRF member is eligible to receive.

The new QILDRO (effective July 1, 2006) is intended to give added flexibility by allowing the divorcing couple and their attorneys to select from a variety of methods to allocate the amount payable

to the alternate payee. The MWRDRF member and former spouse, with advice from their attorneys and financial advisors, have some questions to consider:

•To which benefits will the QILDRO apply? The possibilities are retirement benefit, partial refund, a refund of contributions, or lump sum death benefit if applicable. The QILDRO may apply to some or all of the above, depending on what is decided in the divorce.

•What method will be used to determine the alternate payee’s share? Will the QILDRO specify dollar amounts? Will the QILDRO use a percentage of the marital portion? Or will the QILDRO use a percentage as of the retirement date?

•If using the marital portion benefit calculation formula, how will it be defined?

•If the QILDRO uses percentages, who will be responsible for obtaining the Calculation Order and sending it to MWRDRF?

•Will monthly retirement payments continue until one of you dies, or will the QILDRO terminate after a specific number of payments to the alternate payee?

You and your attorney should carefully review the QILDRO law and the required forms. The new law is detailed to help you consider the necessary issues. MWRDRF will provide benefit information to help you determine how the alternate payee’s share is to be allocated. The MWRDRF will also provide general information about MWRDRF benefits, procedures, and technical form requirements as explained in this publication. However, it is up to the divorcing couple and their attorneys to decide how to complete the QILDRO and the Calculation Order, if required. Every situation is unique. The MWRDRF cannot help you make these decisions, or perform any calculations for you.

How have QILDROs changed?

The original QILDRO law took effect July 1, 1999. The 2005 legislation is a significant revision of the QILDRO law. The new QILDRO law, effective July 1, 2006, enacted the following major changes to the prior QILDRO law:

The amount payable to the alternate payee may be expressed as a percentage or a specific dollar amount. Percentages were not allowed under the old law. Under the old law, the only way to express the alternate payee’s share was a specific dollar amount.

The new law introduces a new court order, the QILDRO Calculation Court Order. This court order, separate from the QILDRO, provides the numerical information that the retirement system must have to implement a QILDRO that uses percentages to allocate the alternate payee’s share. The Calculation Order is not required if dollar amounts are used in the QILDRO rather than percentages.

The alternate payee may receive a share of any lump-sum death benefit that would be payable upon the member’s death. The old QILDRO law did not reach death benefits. Monthly survivor benefits are still not reachable through a

QILDRO.

In addition to these key features, the new QILDRO law specifies what benefit information must be provided by retirement systems and what events will cause the retirement system to provide benefit information for divorce purposes. The new QILDRO allows payments to continue until the death of the member or alternate payee, whichever occurs first. Alternatively, the QILDRO may terminate after a specified number of payments to the alternate payee.

The new QILDRO law does not change the law that determines appropriate division of marital assets. A member should consult a personal attorney about what assets are included in the couple’s marital property and about the proper division of those assets. MWRDRF cannot give legal advice about the proper division of retirement benefits in a given case.

What is a Calculation Order?

The QILDRO Calculation Court Order (Calculation Order) is a court order issued by an

Illinois court that provides numerical information determined in the divorce proceedings to instruct the retirement system how much to pay the alternate payee. The Calculation Order is a separate court order in addition to the QILDRO.

A Calculation Order is only necessary if the QILDRO indicates that the alternate payee will receive a percentage of the benefit. No Calculation Order is required if the QILDRO expresses the amounts payable to the alternate payee as specific dollar amounts.

If you do not elect the dollar amount method of allocating benefits to the former spouse in the QILDRO, then you must send a Calculation Order to MWRDRF before the Fund can pay the alternate payee. Generally, the QILDRO would be issued at the time of divorce, and the parties would return to court to obtain the Calculation Order at the time of the member’s retirement, when the amount of the retirement benefit becomes known.

You must use a specific Calculation Order form. The form should be obtained from MWRDRF as explained in the “Required Forms” section of this publication. It is very important to include all of the language in the form, even for the sections that you do not complete. If you leave out sections of the form, MWRDRF will reject your Calculation Order because there is no way to tell whether you intended to leave those sections out, or if you inadvertently omitted them. Remember, no wording changes or alterations to the form are permitted.

MWRDRF must implement valid court orders that it receives, but cannot tell you whether the court orders are consistent with the terms of your divorce. MWRDRF will provide benefit information, but we cannot do the calculations for you. MWRDRF cannot determine whether the numbers in the Calculation Order are accurate or whether the calculations are in accordance with the underlying QILDRO, agreement, or judgment. The sections that you complete in the Calculation Order must correspond with the sections completed in the QILDRO. However, MWRDRF cannot reject a Calculation Order because the calculations are not accurate or are not what was decided in your divorce.

What benefits may be paid to a former spouse?

An alternate payee may only receive certain benefits that the MWRDRF member is entitled to receive. These are:

•Retirement benefits

•A termination refund the member may be eligible to receive

•Partial refunds that the member may be eligible to receive

•A lump-sum death benefit payable upon the member’s death

The QILDRO may allocate portions of only one, several, or all of these benefits and refunds to the alternate payee.

What is a termination refund?

The QILDRO allows the alternate payee to receive a portion of a refund of retirement contributions that the member may receive upon withdrawal from MWRD employment. Upon accepting a termination refund, the member forfeits all rights to MWRD benefits, unless benefits are reinstated through repayment of the refund plus interest after returning to MWRDRF service for at least one year.

What is a partial refund?

The QILDRO allows the alternate payee to receive a portion of a partial refund that the member may receive. For MWRDRF members, partial refunds payable at the time of retirement may be any of the following:

•Refund of surviving spouse benefit contributions payable to a member, if the member does not have a spouse at the time of retirement.

•Refund of contributions for excess optional plan credit.

The amount an alternate payee may possibly receive from all partial refunds will never exceed what is provided in the QILDRO.

What benefits are not payable through a

QILDRO?

Monthly survivor benefits, disability benefits, and health insurance cannot be reached through a QILDRO. A QILDRO does not provide any insurance coverage or make a former spouse eligible to participate in a MWRDRF member’s insurance.

What is the consent requirement?

If MWRDRF membership started before July 1, 1999, the effective date of the original QILDRO law, a QILDRO will only be valid if the MWRDRF member consents in writing. The member’s signed consent form must accompany the QILDRO. You must use a specific consent form. The form should be obtained from MWRDRF as explained in the “Required Forms” section of this publication. No alterations to the form are permitted.

The consent form must be signed by the member. The law does not provide that the court or anyone else may sign the consent form if the member is absent or refuses to sign the consent. The court does not have authority to order the member to sign the consent form.

There is no consent requirement if MWRDRF membership started on or after July 1, 1999.

What about death benefits?

The MWRDRF does not have a death benefit, except a refund of member contributions which haven’t already been otherwise paid in benefits at the time of death.

The new QILDRO law allows an alternate payee to receive a share of any lump-sum death benefit payable upon a MWRDRF member’s death. However, monthly survivor benefits are never reachable through a QILDRO.

Do not make erroneous assumptions about MWRDRF death benefits. Here are some things to keep in mind when considering survivor benefits in the context of divorce:

•The member’s former spouse will not receive any death benefit from MWRDRF unless designated by the member as a beneficiary or the QILDRO allocates a share of the lump- sum death benefit to the alternate payee.

•Unless the divorce was subsequent to retirement and the employee and former spouse had been married in excess of 10 years at retirement, a former spouse is not eligible to receive monthly survivor benefits, even if designated as a beneficiary or named as an alternate payee in the QILDRO. Only a lump-sum death benefit may be paid to a former spouse in this instance.

•A MWRDRF member has a statutory right to name any person or entity as a beneficiary and to change the beneficiary designation at any time, even if a divorce requires the ex-

spouse to be designated as beneficiary. MWRDRF cannot compel the member to name or prevent the member from naming a specific person as a beneficiary. The divorce may impose independent obligations. Please consult your personal attorney about those obligations.

•With the exception of payment pursuant to a QILDRO, an after-death lump-sum refund of contributions and interest would first be payable to the children of the member regardless of whom the member named as beneficiary.

What about disability benefits?

No MWRDRF disability benefit or disability retirement annuity is payable to a former spouse. The member must meet certain eligibility requirements to receive a disability benefit or annuity.

What about health insurance benefits?

A QILDRO does not provide any insurance coverage or make a former spouse eligible to participate in a MWRDRF sponsored health insurance plan.

What about past or out-of-state divorces?

If you are already divorced and your ex-spouse is entitled to share in your retirement benefits, it

may be possible to request an Illinois court to enter a QILDRO. Please seek advice from your personal attorney if you wish to obtain a QILDRO based on a past divorce.

If your divorce occurred in another state, it may be possible to request an Illinois court to enter a QILDRO. Courts in other states do not have statutory authority or jurisdiction to issue QILDROs. However, an Illinois court may be requested to enter a QILDRO based on your out- of-state divorce. Please seek advice from your personal attorney if you were divorced in a state other than Illinois and you wish to obtain a

QILDRO.

MWRDRF does not honor QDROs

Some attorneys unfamiliar with public pensions assume that MWRDRF is subject to Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, or QDROs. In fact, MWRDRF does not honor QDROs. Illinois courts have ruled that public pension funds are not subject to QDROs. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, commonly known as ERISA, does not apply to MWRDRF. Article 13 of the Illinois Pension Code, 40 ILCS 5/13, governs MWRDRF benefits. A QILDRO is the only way that the Fund may pay a former spouse any of your MWRDRF benefits.

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Benefit Information Provided by MWRDRF

MWRDRF will provide benefit information in response to a subpoena or the member’s request, in response to receipt of a QILDRO that uses percentages, when the member retires, and upon notice of the member’s death if the QILDRO allocates a lump-sum death benefit to the alternate payee. All information will be provided within 45 days of the triggering event. Applicable interest will be included in the estimates provided. If requested, MWRDRF will also provide general information about benefits, the relevant QILDRO procedures, rules, and the required forms.

It is our policy to provide information for divorce purposes showing total, actual career information on our database at the time of the request, assuming the earliest age at which the member could receive a non-discounted annuity, i.e., age 60 or 30 years of service. In preparing a benefit statement for divorce, MWRDRF does not speculate as to potential future events such as early retirement, reciprocal retirement, additional service credit, future salary increases, purchase of optional, or refunded service, or statutory changes. Hypothetical estimates for retired members assuming facts that are different from the annuitant’s actual retirement record are not provided. MWRDRF does not provide actuarial opinions as to present market value of a member’s benefits or other interests.

In response to subpoena or member’s request

To help the parties value the benefit for divorce purposes, MWRDRF provides a customized benefit information for divorce statement. The statement reflects the member’s actual MWRDRF service credit and contribution history, based on data on file with the Fund at the time the statement is requested. The statement includes a monthly annuity estimate well as other information pertinent to valuing the benefit.

The statement will be provided to members in response to their request. Due to our confidentiality rule, the statement may only be provided to spouses (current and former) and third parties (including attorneys) in response to a subpoena or with the member’s written authorization. Contact the MWRDRF at (312) 751-3222 to request benefit information for divorce.

Please plan ahead and request the information at least four to six weeks before it is needed. We are

If requested, the Fund will also provide the benefits brochure, which contains general information about MWRDRF benefits, and this QILDRO publication, which explains the relevant QILDRO procedures, rules, and the required forms. The

Fund’s administrative QILDRO rules are also available upon request.

In response to a percentage QILDRO

When MWRDRF receives a QILDRO that uses a percentage method of allocating retirement benefits to the alternate payee, the Fund will provide the following information:

If QILDRO is received prior to retirement:

•Initial Fund membership

•Amount of permissive and regular service credit

•Non-reduced monthly retirement benefit estimate

•Earliest date when non-reduced monthly retirement benefit will become payable

•Permissive service credit purchased

•If applicable, refund upon termination of employment or partial contribution refund

•Whether member has filed retirement application

•Intended retirement date, if member has filed retirement application

If QILDRO is received after effective date of retirement:

•Effective date of retirement

•Date retirement benefits commenced (or will commence)

•Amount of permissive and regular service credit

•Actual monthly retirement benefit

At retirement

•Effective date of retirement

•Date retirement benefits commenced (or will commence)

•Amount of permissive and regular service credit

•Actual monthly retirement benefit

•If applicable survivor benefit contribution refund and/or excess Optional Plan contribution refund

•If percentage QILDRO on file with MWRDRF but no Calculation Order has been received, notify that Calculation Order is needed to implement the QILDRO

In response to a Calculation Order

•Notify of receipt

•Notify if no underlying QILDRO on file with

MWRDRF

•Notify if underlying QILDRO does not clearly indicate amount payable

At notice of member’s death

•Lump-sum death benefit amount

•Only provided if QILDRO allocates share of lump- sum death benefit to alternate payee