QILDRO FAQs

A QILDRO (Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order) is an Illinois court order that directs SERS to pay a designated portion of a SERS member's retirement benefit or certain refunds to an alternate payee.

The original QILDRO law took effect July 1, 1999. Significant changes took effect July 1, 2006.

The QILDRO law allows SERS to pay an alternate payee when a court has ordered division of a SERS member's pension benefits.

Typically the alternate payee is an ex-spouse or civil union partner, but may also include a current spouse, child, or other dependent of the member. The court decides who is eligible to be an alternate payee.

Under Illinois law, pension benefits accrued during a marriage are considered marital property. The courts will frequently divide the marital portion of pension assets between the divorcing spouses. Depending on the circumstances, marital property could be allocated some other way. The divorcing couple should seek private legal advice about division of their pension assets.

That is up to the court. The divorcing couple should seek private legal advice about division of their pension benefits.

Yes. SERS cannot pay an ex-spouse based on any order or document other than a QILDRO.

A QILDRO Calculation Order (QCO) is an Illinois court order that tells SERS the amount of the benefit or refund to pay the alternate payee. The QCO is a separate court order from the QILDRO, and is only needed when the QILDRO directs a percentage of the marital portion of the benefit, or a percentage of the full payment.

The QCO may be submitted along with the QILDRO, or later when the amount of the affected benefit or refund is known. This two-step process may be useful when divorce occurs before the member retires. If the QILRDO divides the benefit on a percentage basis of either the total benefit, or the marital portion of the benefit, and the member begins receiving retirement annuity payments prior to the System’s receipt of the QCO, then SERS will withhold an estimated amount to be paid to the alternate payee until it receives the QCO.  The necessary adjustments will be made upon receipt of a valid QCO.

There are four areas in the QILDRO form, any or all of which may be filled in: (1) monthly retirement benefit; (2) termination refund (or lump sum retirement benefit); (3) partial refund; and (4) lump-sum death benefit.

Monthly survivor benefits, disability benefits, and health insurance cannot be divided under a QILDRO.

That depends on how the QILDRO form is completed. The QILDRO form allows a choice whether or not the alternate payee will receive a proportionate share of any annual increases due the member.

The member's signed consent form must accompany the QILDRO if membership started before July 1, 1999. The consent form is available on this website along with the other QILDRO forms.

Yes. There is a $50.00 processing fee for the actual QILDRO order itself and an additional $50.00 fee for the QCO. If a QILDRO order and/or QCO is received and deemed invalid, an additional $50.00 fee is required each time new forms are submitted to SERS.

Social Security numbers must either be provided to SERS on the QILDRO or the QCO, or on an accompanying Notice of Confidential Information Within Court Filing form. The SSN form is available on this website along with the other QILDRO forms.

An alternate payee may receive a share of a lump sum death benefit payable when the member dies. Monthly survivor benefits are not subject to division under a QILDRO.

Disability benefits are not divisible through a QILDRO.

An ex-spouse who is an alternate payee is not eligible to participate in the member's insurance.

SERS may only comply with QILDROs and QCOs that are filed in an Illinois Court. Members may request an Illinois court to enter a QILDRO based on an out-of-state divorce. Please seek advice from your attorney.

Yes, alternate payee will be issued their own 1099R for the payments that they receive, due to the fact that our member's gross benefit reduces by the amount the alternate payee is entitled to. Please seek personal tax advice.

No. SERS honors QILDROs, but not QDROs. QDROs apply to pensions governed by federal ERISA law. SERS is a governmental plan, not an ERISA plan.

No. A specific form must be used. SERS-required QILDRO forms are available on this website.

No. Helping to draft a court order would be giving legal advice, which SERS cannot do. The QILDRO forms and publication are available on this website. You and your attorney should carefully review this information.

Yes, however SERS recommends anyone interested in obtaining a QILDRO retain competent personal legal counsel.

SERS provides a Benefit Information for Divorce statement to help the parties value the benefit for divorce purposes. This statement provides all information required by the QILDRO law. Benefit estimates prepared for other purposes should not be relied on for divorce.

No. As required by law, SERS provides information about the entire benefit. You may choose to engage financial professionals to prepare marital or present value calculations using benefit information provided by SERS.

You and your attorney are urged to carefully review the QILDRO publication and other information on the SERS website. SERS does not testify in divorce proceedings or provide legal, financial, or other professional advice.

A QILDRO takes effect with the first affected payment that occurs at least 30 days after SERS received it. Generally, expect about three months from the date SERS received the QILDRO, and Calculation Order if required, until the first QILDRO payment. Even with a QILDRO on file, nothing is payable until an affected benefit or refund is due the member.

The alternate payee is obligated to keep SERS informed of their current address to receive QILDRO payments. SERS is not obligated to search for a missing alternate payee. An alternate payee may lose their right to funds that would otherwise be payable to them if they are not located within 180 days of the member’s application for payment.

The QILDRO ends.

The QILDRO ends. If the alternate payee was receiving a monthly QILDRO payment, that amount will revert to the member.

QILDRO payments to the alternate payee will be suspended until the member re-retires and resumes receiving retirement benefits.

A QILDRO ends when the member or alternate payee dies. If the QILDRO specifies a fixed number of payments, it will end when all payments have been made. A QILDRO will also end when the member receives a refund that terminates participation in SERS, or when SERS receives a court order expressly terminating the QILDRO.

No. A QILDRO ends when the alternate payee dies.

Yes, the member and alternate payee can voluntarily change the distribution of the member’s retirement benefits at any point prior to the member’s death.  To complete that action, the parties must submit a modified QILDRO Calculation Order.  The QILDRO Calculation Order form is derived from the governing statutes and distinguishes the “base annuity” from the “automatic annual increases.”  If you submit a modified QILDRO Calculation Order, it is highly recommended that you also include a supplemental order that clearly distributes the amount of the base annuity and the amount attributable to the annual increases.

If you submit a modified QILDRO Calculation Order without including a supplemental order, the System will only change the division of the base annuity, and each payee’s monthly portion attributable to their previous annual increases will be added to their new portion of the base annuity.  Future Automatic Annual Increases will be applied to each payee’s total monthly payment.