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Fraudulent Emails
SERS members have recently been targeted by fraudulent emails that claim to be from SERS. These emails appear to be legitimate correspondence from SERS, but they are not. Our emails are always sent from an srs.illinois.gov email address. The fraudulent emails provide several links, including one to DocuSign, and allege to provide the member with the option to sign up to receive their monthly SERS benefit payments four days early by providing personal financial information, including bank account information. SERS does not offer this early payment option or request personal or banking information by email. Please contact us at 217-785-7444 if you have received or responded to a fraudulent email. 

JRS Tax Information

IRS Form 1099R Tax Information

IRS Form 1099R for benefit payments are mailed by the Office of the Comptroller during January. These benefit payments are subject to federal income tax, but they are NOT subject to State income tax. The payments are reported on IRS Form 1040 under "Pensions and Annuities".

1099R Reporting

Gross distribution in Box 1 is the total benefit amount you received during the last calendar year.

Taxable amount in Box 2A is the benefit amount subject to federal income tax.

Federal income tax withheld in Box 4 is the amount of federal withholding deducted based on your W4-P on file with JRS or is based on mandatory withholding for lump sum distributions.

Employee contributions in Box 5 is the amount of your benefit that was nontaxable during the calendar year.

Distributions codes in Box 7 is the IRS code relating to the type of benefit being paid; pension, disability, etc.

Total employee contribution in Box 9B is reported only in the first year of retirement and represents the contribution by you, or for you, during your employment. As these contributions are recovered through annual benefits paid, they are reported in Box 5.

State tax withheld in Box 10 is the total amount Illinois state income tax withheld by request only.

If you have any questions regarding your 1099R, you may contact the IRS, your tax preparer, or JRS at (217) 782-8500.

IRS Form W2GI Tax Information

IRS FormW2-GI for the value of group term life insurance over $50,000 are mailed by the Office of the Comptroller. The value of the group term life insurance is subject to state and federal income tax and must be reported on state and federal tax returns.

W2-GI Reporting

If you carried basic and optional group term life insurance in excess of $50,000 during the calendar year in which you received benefits from JRS, Box 1 "Wages, Tips, other Compensation" is taxable and reportable on your federal income tax return.

The amount shown on the W2-GI is based on a formula provided by the IRS. Any questions should be presented to the IRS or your tax preparer. Refer to the Notice to Employee section of the W2-GI for a detailed explanation of the various codes.

If you have any questions regarding your W2-GI, contact the IRS, your tax preparer, or JRS at (217) 782-8500.

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