Dear Colleagues:

Gov. Quinn has signed the pension reform bill into law. The law raises many questions for every member of the campus community, current and retired. Unfortunately, the timing and the surprisingly fast progression from legislative introduction to final passage have made it difficult to find quick, clear answers.
 
We understand the anxiety and concern this legislation is causing; as you know, we opposed the reform bill. However, the Legislature needed to take some type of action to protect the state’s financial future and its ability to fund pensions in the future. This was the course they chose.
 
One of our highest priorities going forward is ensuring that our benefits remain competitive among our peers throughout the nation. With that goal firmly in mind, please know that the campus is working with the university administration to explore a variety of supplemental programs and other options to mitigate the impact of this law on the financial future of our campus community.
 
The earliest the pension changes could take effect is the summer of 2014. We expect that the State University Retirement System (SURS) will release more information within the next few weeks. Until then, we are working to understand the full implications of these changes and to develop solutions to alleviate them. We will share with you, at the earliest possible moment, what we know and what we propose to do. We encourage you to wait for accurate information from SURS and the university before making personal decisions based on the adjustments to the pension system.
 
We believe that working together, we can and will find a way forward that is fiscally sustainable for the institution and that will keep the best and brightest faculty and staff members at Illinois.

Sincerely,

Phyllis M. Wise
Chancellor

Ilesanmi Adesida
Provost

   
     
   
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