I submitted my IMRF refund request on March 27, 2026, the same day I separated from employment, along with all required documentation. After being asked for additional forms on April 24, 2026, I immediately submitted those as well. Despite providing everything requested, including employer confirmation of my separation, I was then told there would be an additional 8-week delay. At this point, all required documentation has been submitted, yet the process continues to be unnecessarily delayed with limited clarity on why further time is needed. IMRF should improve processing efficiency and communication so members are not left waiting months after meeting all requirements. read more

Although I have experienced long wait times, I have generally had good experiences with IMRF. One time, I was given incorrect information. Every time, though, I have been treated politely and with patience. Today, Reyna helped answer questions and guided me through some necessary paperwork. She did an excellent job and was extra patient with my technological woes! Great job, Reyna! read more

This is an update to my review from November 2025 and suggestions for people embroiled in the pension application process. It took IMRF 10 months to process my pension application, and that was only after I emailed all the IMRF trustees, posted comments on their FB page, and sent numerous secure messages. Future pensioners should have between 6-8 months of savings before they retire and anticipate a long, drawn-out process. Posting negative comments on Birdeye, Google, FB, or filing a BBB complaint will help spur them into action. You can also send them a message using this form https://www.imrf.org/forms/contact-us-information-form. If you call, try to do so the moment they open for business at 7:30 a.m. Be persistent and don't expect your pension to be processed in the 8 weeks that they state. It will take much, much longer. read more

I have been trying to simply speak to someone about cashing out my account. After going to the Springfield office in person and being told my info has been sent to Oak Brook, still nothing. They don't answer the phone. My longest hold time was over 2 hours and then they closed for the day and my call was ended. Perhaps no one actually works there. Who knows. I've tried to submit a contact email and was denied because I am a member. Every single person responsible for member services should be replaced with people who actually care that they are trifling with people's financial livelihoods. They got one star because I can't offer zero or less. read more

Horrible customer service!!! Waiting almost 2 hrs now to talk to someone!! It is th I s way anytime of year. Take some of them billions and hire more help!! read more

Negative 100 stars My mother passed away and I am trying to notify them after quite literally 100 calls and many hold times of over an hour to get disconnected, or calling and the calls don't go through, I got in touch with someone I faxed what they asked for, took a month to get in touch with someone to find out if they got it( which they said they only got the first page) so now I sent the rest can't find out if they got it. They think they sent her account to IL unclaimed property someone says they will call me back never happens. What in the actual heck is going on here?? For an hour I have to listen to sorry for your loss... blah blah blah no your not sorry if you were you would do you job and call me back. read more

Literally the worst website I've ever used. Quite literally. For it to be this bad as an ultra-important company that is used to facilitate people's financial survival throughout retirement, is absolutely ridiculous. Embarrassing. read more

Been trying to get paperwork for beneficiaries to fill out for 4 months now. What a joke, every time I call enquiring where the paperwork is I get told I need to supply them with some other kind of information. Everything I need to submit to them should have been told to me the day I called notifying them of my mother's passing. They pulled back her deposit the next day, now time to pay out and they drag their feet. Unacceptable. read more

Easily the worst run organization I have had the unfortunate occasion to deal with. The website contains no information and is slow. The help line wait is in excess of an hour. The help line has no information. They don't return phone calls. Even the Muzak and messages on hold are annoying. Too bad you can't give negative stars. read more

My mom died march of 2024. Here it is march 2025. They take forever to send death benefit paperwork. I filled out the forms and they disregarded my choice to rollover my benefit and sent a lump sum check instead which took 20% of the total. I called and it took 3 HOURS on hold. Absolutely deplorable "business" Now I'm supposed to trust that they will resend the correct check with their incompetent staff. read more

On a call with IMRF to try to resolve the FIVE MONTH lag time to collect benefits from Nana's retirement pension. Rachel, has been on the call...she asks me for the member ID, I provide DONNAS ID she proceeds to tell me that STEVE is the DEAD one. I calmly explained that is NOT the deceased and added that I have been working on this file since January. She argued with me that she does NOT see a death notice for Donna and demanded I share Steve's personal information. I politely advised her I have been working on this measly payout since JANUARY and if I could speak to a Supervisor, that would be super helpful. She said "SURE!" and with the intent to place me on hold...slammed her phone down and stated" "What a BITCH!". Her name is Rachel and her behavior is UNACCEPTABLE! I was transferred to Kathleen DePaulo - Supervisor. Voice mail. Right, Left of Center - THIS IMRF office is absolutely INEPT when it comes to follow through. My time and energy disbursed to this is reflection of WHY this agency continues to get poor reviews. This Estate CANNOT be closed due to the ineptness of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. I said what I said...get it together people! You are NOW being placed on public notice: * Lack of Organization * Lack of Follow thru * Lack of Professionalism https://www.imrf.org/ read more

I retired four months ago and still no pension payment or communication of benefits. Communication through phone or the portal is like talking to cheese. One would think with the multiple negative reviews they would make corrections. The obligatory "How are We Doing Post-Phone Call Survey" is meaningless. Members have worked for municipalities. If we provided this level of customer service or did not pay our creditors for 6 months, we would lose our jobs and understandably so. read more

Prior to a year or so ago the IMRF customer service and website were ok and you could get a rough idea what you needed to make choices for retirement in the future. However, in the past year for what ever reason they had changed the website that is not user friendly like the old sight. In addition, if you try to contact IMRF it takes over 11/2 hours and most people don't have that time to spend trying to get a hold of someone about their retirements or the mounting complaints about the website. What happened? I can't even type a message from my computer. It makes me nervous wondering if the website is in disarray is this a smoke screen to cover up pension problems? I know IMRF has been a very good pension in the past but why all of a sudden a shift to a terrible website and the non availability of customer service? I am not sure if we need to contact the BBB or some legal agency like the Illinois Attorney Generals office y to determine if there is a problem here. Im worried. read more

I am on hold to speak to someone at IMRF as I write this review I've been on hold 45 minutes and counting. This is the worst facility on earth to call, email, or fax it's so frustrating. Worse yet, I retired in June and have yet to receive my pension from them or any correspondence about it. If I could give a quarter star as a review I would. Aren't there any managers or administrators who monitor their job performance at this place? Have any managers tried to call to experience the incompetence of their staff? Obviously not! read more

Both my husband and I are IMRF participants. Up until March 2024, I never experienced a problem, even when my husband passed. Now, it is a nightmare. They resurrected my husband, repeatedly asked for information that had been provided, and do not return phone calls or emails. I finally emailed every trustee, director and employee that I could find on the internet. I did resolve my issues. Unfortunately, not one person said they were sorry for the circumstance. They did tell me repeatedly that I never should have had access to my dead husband's information, even though they were the ones who made the error. I get that they were probably very upset that I made an issue but I was hoping that if the trustees or CEO were made aware of the problems, perhaps they could be fixed. It appears that they really need training in customer service and also need to correct the computer issue that they keep stating is the reason for bad service. read more

IMRF NEVER answers their phones. hours and hours on hold. something is very odd. how come cant speak to a human ?

Horrible Horrible Horrible. My husband died over 3 months ago and I have yet to receive my share of his pension. I call and have to wait over 2 hours to get a hold of a human. Then I was told they have over 300 death claims and mine is " Stuck in their system". A direct quote. All I had do say is my bills are not stuck. Told me to call back in another week to see if my benefits are unstuck yet. It's bad enough I have lost my husband but my bills are piling up because of their stupidity. I sent in all required documents to them months ago. Beware of this company. read more

They do not answer the phone, their website for members is unstable, and their quality of service is extremely low.

I've been drawing temporary disability from IMRF for several months. I've had a horrible time with my doctors,but my case manager, Rob Wilson, has gone above and beyond to help me. He always returns my calls in a timely manner & gives me great advice. read more