Tax Information

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

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 SERS 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 14 is the total amount of Illinois state income tax withheld by request only.

If you have questions regarding your 1099R, you may contact the IRS, your tax preparer, or SERS. When contacting SERS, you need to refer to the code to the right of your name on the 1099R. Below is the list of codes and the phone numbers for the section handling that code.

IRS Form W2GI Tax Information

IRS FormW2-GI for the value of group term life insurance over $50,000 were 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 you received SERS benefits, Box 1 "Wages, Tips, other Compensation" is taxable and reportable on your state and federal income tax returns.

The amount shown on your W2-GI is based on a formula provided by the IRS. Any questions about this formula 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 SERS at (217) 785-7444.