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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. 

Tax Information

IRS Form 1099R 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".

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 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.

Codes Phone Number

479 1

217-785-7444

479 2

217-785-7444

479 3

217-785-7444

479 3

217-785-7444

479 4

217-785-7444

479 5

217-785-7444

479 6

217-785-7444

479 7

217-785-7444

479 B

217-785-7444

479 D

217-785-7444

479 F

217-785-7444

479 H

217-785-7444

479 M

217-785-7444

479 N

217-785-7444

479 T

217-785-7444

479 W

217-785-7444

479 X

217-785-7444

479 Z

217-785-7444

479 A

217-785-7444

479 C

217-785-7444

479 P

217-785-7444

479 R

217-785-7444

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.

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