Retirement Counseling Appointments

If you wish to meet with a SURS retirement counselor, you must be within five years of retirement eligibility; therefore, you must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements (depending on Tier) within five years.

You are limited to one counseling appointment, or a written estimate, every 12 months. While eligible employees are allowed to meet with a counselor every 12 months, it is not necessary to schedule an appointment every 12 months unless the previous estimate information has changed significantly. If this is the case, please contact our office.

Note:  If you participated in one of the Illinois reciprocal systems and plan to retire under the Reciprocal Act, the reciprocal service may be applied to meet the minimum qualification requirements. Click here to view a list of the state reciprocal systems.

Traditional and Portable Plan Members

Traditional and Portable Plan members must complete and submit a Retirement Estimate Request form prior to scheduling an appointment. Follow these steps:

1. Visit the SURS Secure Member Website to gain access to your member webpage. The retirement estimate request form is listed in the menu on the left as Retirement Counseling. Once this form is completed and submitted electronically, you will be prompted to follow a link to schedule an appointment at SURS office, a phone appointment, a virtual appointment, or an on-campus appointment (if applicable). Or,
2. Call SURS at 800-275-7877 to request a form. SURS will send a retirement estimate request form via U.S. Mail to your home address or fax. Once the completed form is returned, SURS will immediately notify you via U.S. Mail or electronic notification on your member webpage that you can contact SURS to schedule an appointment.
3. When completing the retirement estimate request form, you will be asked to provide information that SURS does not have access to. The accuracy of retirement annuity estimates depends on the accuracy of the information you provide to SURS. Therefore, please collect the following information prior to logging in to complete the electronic form (or completing the paper version):
   • Anticipated retirement dates (you can choose two dates, not further than five years out)
   • If you are academic: length of base contract
   • Salary: if academic, base salary plus summer or overloads, if applicable
   • Salary: if staff, salary plus expected overtime
   • Percentage of anticipated salary increases
   • Sick leave balances (unused/unpaid sick leave earned prior to 1-1-84 or after 1-1-98)
   • Vacation balance
   • Information on other service such as eligible purchases or reciprocal service
4. Once a counseling appointment has been scheduled, you should receive an email confirmation. If you do not receive an email confirmation that day, please contact SURS to confirm that the appointment was scheduled correctly. The confirmation email includes a link to the scheduling site. If is it necessary to cancel or reschedule, this link can be used up until 48 hours prior to the appointment. If you need to cancel or reschedule within 48 hours prior to the appointment, you will need to contact SURS at 800-275-7877.

Retirement Savings Plan Members

Retirement Savings Plan members who are within four years of meeting eligibility requirements can schedule an appointment online through the SURS Secure Member Website, or by calling 800-275-7877.

Once a counseling appointment has been scheduled, you should receive an email confirmation. If you do not receive an email confirmation that day, please contact SURS to confirm that the appointment was scheduled correctly. The confirmation email includes a link to the scheduling site. If is it necessary to cancel or reschedule, this link can be used up until 48 hours prior to the appointment. If you need to cancel or reschedule within 48 hours prior to the appointment, you will need to contact SURS at 800-275-7877.

Utilize some of the available resources online! Attend a webinar or view a recorded event, review fact sheets and FAQs, and use the Benefit Estimator. 

Educational Webinars – Learn more about your career stage and your SURS benefits from our educational webinars. All webinars and educational events are recorded so they can be viewed at a time that works for you. View the list of recordings. 

SURS Facts – SURS Facts is a collection of our most requested information where you will find a list of pages separated by topic. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Here, you will find answers to our most common questions. You can also input keywords, phrases, or a question. 

SURS Benefit Estimator – This Benefit Estimator is intended as a tool for you to estimate your own retirement benefits. The accuracy of the estimate will depend on how closely the variables you choose match the actual numbers derived in the future. 

 Not sure if you are ready for retirement? Take a look at this checklist to see! 

A retirement counseling appointment in no way commits you to retire on a specific date – it is merely a projection to help you make a determination for a future retirement date.  An application for retirement must be submitted to SURS to initiate a retirement claim.

The accuracy of retirement annuity estimates depends on the information provided to SURS. The actual retirement annuity may vary from the estimates provided. Final benefit determination is pursuant to verified data and to the provisions of Chapter 40, Articles 1, 15, and 20 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes. An estimate request is not an application for retirement.

Everything discussed in the session is held in the strictest confidence and is not shared with your employer. These appointments are set on very tight 45-minute schedules. To maintain these schedules, SURS requests you be on time.

If the appointment must be cancelled, please contact SURS toll free at 800-275-7877 or dial direct at 217-378-8800 as soon as possible.

Visit our Resources page for videos, SURS Facts, frequently asked questions, and more!