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SERS members have recently been targeted by a variety of phishing scams, including emails, phone calls, and text messages that attempt to impersonate or imply affiliation with SERS.

Emails
The fraudulent emails may provide links, including DocuSign, and allege to provide the member with the option to sign up and receive their monthly SERS benefit payments four days early by providing personal financial information, including bank account information.  SERS does not offer an early benefit payment option or request personal or banking information by email or use of DocuSign.  Please note that our emails are always sent from an srs.illinois.gov email address.

Phone calls and Text messages
Several members have recently reported receiving unsolicited phone calls and text messages from individuals claiming to be associated with SERS.  These individuals initially contact the member by phone call or text message and attempt to set up counseling appointments with the member, generally through a follow-up email and/or text message.  These phone calls have been received on State landlines and State issued cell phones.  SERS does not contract with anyone outside of the agency to contact members about retirement counseling appointments or other financial services. SERS does not cold call members for retirement consultations, and only schedules retirement counseling appointments at the request of the member.

If you receive a suspicious email, call, or text message that purports to be SERS that you suspect is a scam, please report this activity to the SERS call center at 217-785-7444. Information that you provide can help SERS prevent and detect schemes that impact our members. 

Disability Benefits

This section provides you with all of the information you need to apply for Disability Benefits from State Employees' Retirement System, all in one convenient location.

You must meet all of the requirements for the disability benefit you are applying for. Each disability requirements are listed below.

Nonoccupational Disability Application

Requirements

Must have 18 months of creditable service at the time you are removed from the payroll;

A medical leave of absence must be granted by your agency;
The cause of the injury or illness is not work related;

Occupational Disability Application

Requirements

Must be a member of State Employees' Retirement System at the time of the accident or injury;

The accident or injury is work related
You must receive benefits from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act;

Temporary Disability Application

Requirements

Member must have 18 months of creditable service at the time they are removed from payroll or TTD ends.  In addition, one of the following must apply:

The agency responsible for determining the liability of the State has formally denied employer-paid temporary total disability (TTD) benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) or Workers' Occupational Diseases Act (WODA) and an appeal of the denial (Application for Adjustment of Claim) is pending before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (IWCC).

The agency responsible for determining the liability of the State has granted and then terminated for any reason an employer-paid TTD benefit and the member has filed a petition for a hearing under Section 19(b) or Section 19 (b-1) of the WCA or WODA.

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