Retirees
Understanding Your Retirement and Benefit Factors
MEABF Retirees
Retirement doesn’t mean you stop living or slow down, its just a transition to the next phase of your life. We are here for all your needs as a retiree.
Please see the below information to help you navigate various phases of your life.
Keeping your address up to date
As a valued member of MEABF, we want to make sure we are sending the information to the right person. If you have moved or plan to move, please help us by notifying us. We will need an original signed Change of Address form that can be found on our forms page. The statements that will be mailed include newsletters, correspondence, election notices, you annual statement, 1099-R’s as well as your annuity check.
It is important to keep your address up to date with MEABF. You will need to send us a change of address form.
Retiree Health Insurance
City of Chicago Retiree Group Health Insurance Plans
Similar to 2021, there are currently two group health insurance plans that are offered to City of Chicago retirees in 2022.
The City sponsored Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan information is available by calling the following numbers:
If you are over 65 years of age, please call 1-877-566-8520.
If you are under 65 years of age, please call 1-800-292-6398.
The Labor Benefit Association offers a group healthcare plan adminstered by Aetna. You can find information regarding this plan by contacting Doyle Rowe at 866-201-2524, or you may visit the website by clicking here. Also Aetna Retiree services can be reached by calling 800-307-4830 (TTY: 711) from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.
Both of these have been approved by the Fund and require that participants sign and submit a deduction authorization in order for the Fund to deduct premiums from members’ annuities and provide the statutory subsidy to eligible participants as required under the Illinois Pension Code.
Please be advised that the Fund, as a matter of law, cannot and does not formally sponsor, as such term is defined under ERISA applicable law, either group healthcare insurance plan.
The Benefits Department staff is available by phone, person or email for any questions.
QILDRO
The Illinois General Assembly established the Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order (QILDRO) effective July 1, 1999. A QILDRO allows for the division of a retirement benefit or a refund of contributions due to divorce. It does not establish a new benefit, nor does it create a new member or beneficiary.
Generally, the QILDRO orders the payment of a benefit to an ex-spouse as the alternate payee. It may also be payable to a child or other dependent as the alternate payee. The QILDRO does not apply to survivor annuities or disability benefits. The QILDRO must state when it would go into effect and the specific dollar amount to be deducted from the refund or retirement annuity.
The QILDRO is usually issued at the time of divorce and sent to the Fund. It is recorded and retained until the Participant applies for a refund or retirement annuity. The Fund will notify the Member and the alternate payee that it was received.
Any Participant in service before July 1, 1999 must sign a consent form for the QILDRO to go into effect. Any Participant who begins service after July 1, 1999 accepts the QILDRO as a condition of employment.
Any Participant who has questions about a QILDRO should discuss it with his or her attorney. If a QILDRO will be used in a divorce settlement, the Participant should contact the Fund.
Report a Death
In the unfortunate death of either participant or survivor, please contact us and report this.
Whenever there is a death involved regarding a member or survivor, please immediately call us at (312) 236-4700 to report a death. You will need to provide members or survivors name, birth date, and official date of death.
Returning to Work After Retirement
Rules for Returning
For workers who have returned to work and are hired by the City of Chicago or The Chicago Board of Education please contact our Office at (312) 236-4700 to find out how this might affect you annuity benefits.
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