Section 2700.410  Enrollment

a)         Auto-Enrollment Eligible Employees

1)         An Auto-Enrollment Eligible Employee may make one of two affirmative elections during the Auto-Enrollment Opt-Out period:

A)        Not to have Contributions made; or

B)        To become a Participant in the Plan under subsection (b). 

2)         An Auto-Enrollment Eligible Employee who does not make one of the two affirmative elections under subsection (a)(1) during the Auto-Enrollment Opt-Out Period will be automatically enrolled and become a Participant of the Plan following the end of the Auto-Enrollment Opt-Out Period and shall have 3% of their Compensation for each Pay Period deferred on a pretax basis into their Deferred Compensation Account. The Board may increase this default percentage amount of compensation deferred into employee accounts. (See Section 24-105.2 of the Illinois Pension Code.)

b)         Any Employee eligible to participate in the Plan may become a Participant by agreeing to a deferral of their Compensation on a pretax or Roth basis.

c)         The amount to be deferred shall be selected by the Participant at the time of enrollment, unless the Participant is automatically enrolled under subsection (a). This amount may not be less than the minimum amount allowable or exceed the basic annual limitation.

d)         The deferral shall commence as soon as administratively possible, or when the Employee is automatically enrolled in accordance with subsection (a).

e)         The amount deferred may be changed by the Participant at any time. The change may be made by contacting the Recordkeeper and shall become effective as soon as administratively possible, or on a future Pay Period as elected by the Participant.

f)         A Participant's request to defer Compensation shall remain in effect until the Participant's Severance from Employment, unless revoked prior to that time.  The Pay Agency shall suspend deferrals for the remainder of the calendar year for Participants who have deferred the allowable maximum. If a Participant defers in excess of the allowable maximum, the Department and Pay Agency shall withdraw and return to the Participant the excess amount deferred. Deferrals will resume with the first paycheck received in the following calendar year.

g)         Deferrals can be made by reductions in Compensation only.

h)         The Participant election shall also include the designation of Investment Options.  In the event the Participant fails to designate an Investment Option, the Participant shall be invested in the Plan's default Investment Option, consistent with the direction from the U.S. Department of Labor, as selected by the Board in accordance with Section 2700.670(c).  This election shall remain in effect until a new election is filed.

i)          An employee who has been automatically enrolled in the Plan may elect, within 90 days after enrollment, to withdraw from the Plan and receive a refund of amounts deferred, as well as any earnings after Plan fees. An employee making such an election shall forfeit all employer matching contributions, if any, made prior to the election. Any refunded amount shall be included in the employee's gross income for the taxable year in which the refund is issued. The effective date of the withdrawal will be as soon as administratively practicable. Unless the Participant affirmatively elects otherwise, any withdrawal request will be treated as an affirmative election to cease having elective deferrals made on the Participant's behalf.

j)          After the Auto-Enrollment Opt-Out Period, an Auto-Enrollment Eligible Employee will be invested as follows:

1)         If an Auto-Enrollment Eligible Employee does not have a contribution allocation on file, contributions will go into the Plan's default Investment Option, in accordance with subsection (h). 

2)         If an Auto-Enrollment Eligible Employee already has a contribution investment allocation on file, the existing allocation will be used instead.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 10011, effective June 21, 2024)