State of Illinois Deferred Compensation Plan (“Plan”)

• Changes to your Plan’s investment lineup. Effective September 1, 2020, certain investment options currently offered through the Plan will be closed and all existing balances and future contributions will be transferred to new investment options. To review the affected investment options, please review the attached notice sent to all current participants through email or mail on July 31, 2020.
  
  Additionally, the Plan will introduce a new investment option naming convention that is intended to better align with each option’s investment category and objective.

• Important Plan Design Changes. Several major changes have been made to the way the State of Illinois Deferred Compensation Plan is administered. A new Enrollment Brochure has been created to reflect those changes.
  
  Effective June 15, 2020, participants must visit the T. Rowe Price website or call (888) 457-5770 to request a salary deferral change or to enroll in the Plan. CMS will no longer accept Enrollment or Change forms, except in the case of lump sum deferrals. Enrollments and salary deferral changes will be effective the first pay period of the following month. Revocations will be effective as soon as administratively possible.
  
  Effective June 15, 2020, participants must visit the T. Rowe Price website to designate or change beneficiary elections. Participants may also call (888) 457-5770 to request a paper form by mail. Current beneficiary elections on file with CMS will remain in effect until a new election is made through T. Rowe Price.
  
  Effective July 1, 2020, participants may elect to defer a percentage of their pre-tax gross compensation. This new deferral option is in addition to the current method of electing a flat contribution amount. A participant’s current deferral method will not change unless they make a new election. To elect a percentage deferral, participants must visit the T. Rowe Price website or call (888) 457-5770.
  
  
• Automatic Enrollment. Public Act 101-0277 amended the Illinois Pension Code to require automatic enrollment of certain new hires into the State of Illinois Deferred Compensation Plan (“Plan”).
  
  Effective July 1, 2020, any new State of Illinois employee that is a member of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS), the General Assembly Retirement System (GRS), or the Judges Retirement System (JRS), and has not contributed to one of these retirement systems prior to July 1, 2020, will be automatically enrolled in the Plan.
  
  New employees that are subject to automatic enrollment will have 30 days from their start date to opt out of the Plan. If a new employee is automatically enrolled, they will have 90 days from their enrollment to request a refund of their contributions. Plan participants may revoke their contributions at any time.
  
  
• CARES Act Changes. In accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the State of Illinois Deferred Compensation Plan (“Plan”) is enacting several changes to assist qualified individuals who have experienced adverse financial consequences due to the coronavirus. To determine if you are a qualified individual, please refer to the attached IRS guidance.
  
  
  Effective May 29, 2020, qualified individuals may request penalty-free distributions up to a total of $100,000 (not to exceed the participant’s account balance) through December 31, 2020. Additionally, qualified individuals may defer loan repayments due through December 31, 2020. Finally, certain required minimum distributions received in calendar year 2020 may be eligible for a rollover back into the plan.
  
  
  For more information on coronavirus-related distributions, loan repayment suspension, or the rollover of required minimum distributions, please call T. Rowe Price at 1-888-457-5770. Representatives are available to assist you on business days from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central Standard Time.
  

Archives