Chicago transit authority employees retirement plan annual report

The Eligibility Requirements for Normal Retirement are:

• You must be a full-time employee of the Chicago Transit Authority,
• You must be at least 65 years of age,
• and You must meet continuous service requirements in the Plan.

Early Retirement

The Eligibility Requirements for Early Retirement are:

• You must be a full-time employee of the Chicago Transit Authority,
• You must be at least 55 years of age and have at least three (3) years of continuous (participation) service with the plan,
• or, You must have completed 25 years or more of continuous (participation) service with the Plan, regardless of your age.
• If you began your employment with the CTA after September 5, 2001, you must be at least 55 years old with 25 years of service to retire.
• If you began working at the CTA after January 17, 2008, you must be at least 64 years old with at least 25 years of service to receive an unreduced pension.

Important Note:

Employees choosing early retirement without having 25 years continuous years of service with the plan shall have their benefits reduced by five percent (5%) for each full year or fraction thereof below the age of 65.

Disability Allowance

Disability allowance benefits are paid to an employee who has become disabled from performing his duties and from following his regular employment with the Authority due to an occupational or non-occupational accident or illness before becoming eligible for an old-age retirement allowance.

Eligibility Requirements for a Disability Allowance are:

• If you are disabled due to a non-occupational accident or illness, you MUST have at least ten (10) years of continuous pension service.
• If you are disabled due to an occupational accident or illness, you MUST have at least five (5) years of continuous pension service.
• You MUST be unable to return to your regular employment with the Authority.
• You MUST have received twenty-six (26) weeks under either the Authority’s Group Accident and Sickness Insurance or from the Authority under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.

No Benefits Will be paid to an eligible employee if:

• The employee refuses to accept other work offered by the Authority, which in the judgment of a physician selected by the Committee, he is capable of performing which pays not less than 80% of the earnings which would have accrued to him if he had been currently employed.
• The employee is receiving a retirement allowance.
• The employee is found fit to return to work.
• The employee declines to permit a physician selected by the committee to examine or re-examine him or materially hinders an investigation order by the committee.
• The employee’s disability 1) is the result of the habitual or excessive use of intoxicants, drugs, or narcotics; 2) was sustained illegally participating in fights, riots, civil insurrections, a crime; was sustained while riding aircrafts, except as a fare paying passenger on regular licensed and scheduled airline; or sustained while on leave of absence other than (a) holding office in the Association or its International Office of any other bargaining agent of the Authority; or (b) working in the office of the Retirement Plan.

Survivorship Benefits

A survivorship benefit is a post (after) retirement benefit available to a plan participant’s spouse, provided that the participant (the retiree) meets specific eligibility requirements and providing that the participant elects (applies for) a survivorship benefit at the time he or she applies for their retirement or disability benefits.

The employee funds survivorship benefits. The eligible employee’s monthly benefit is reduced to fund this benefit for their spouse. Benefits are reduced by taking into consideration the ages of the pensioner and spouse at retirement along with the type of option elected.

Who is eligible to apply for Survivorship Benefits?

• Employees who are eligible for an early or regular retirement allowance,
• Employees applying for a disability allowance, who have twenty-five (25) years of continuous pension service.
• An Employee must be legally married at the time he or she begins receiving a retirement or disability allowance, AND
• Employees who complete applications for survivorship benefits prior to receiving their first retirement or disability allowance benefit.

Important Note:

An employee can only apply for a survivorship for his or her legal spouse.

Death Benefits

Death Benefits shall be paid from the Fund to the designated beneficiary upon the death of a retiree who was receiving retirement or disability allowance benefits. This is a separate benefit from the Survivorship Option. The designated beneficiary does not have to be the spouse of the retiree.

The following table indicates the amount of death benefit depending on age and years of service in the plan.

Retired between November 1983 – Present

• $8000: 65 years old and had 20 years of creditable continuous service; or 60 years old and the sum of the employee’s age and years of creditable continuous service equaled 90; or who retired with 25 or more years of continuous creditable service; or the sum employee’s age and creditable continuous service years equal 94 or more when employee began receiving benefits.
• $6000: At age 60 and prior to age 65 with 20 years of creditable continuous service when employee began receiving benefits.
• $5000: At age 55 and prior to age 60 with 20 years of creditable continuous service when employee began receiving benefits.
• $2000 if: Less than 55 years of age and less than 20 years of creditable continuous service when employee began receiving benefits.

Retired between February 1982 – October 31, 1983

• $8000: 65 years old and had 20 years of creditable continuous service; or 60 years old and the sum of the employee’s age and years of creditable continuous service equaled 90; or who retired with 30 or more years of continuous creditable service; or the sum employee’s age and creditable continuous service years equal 94 or more when employee began receiving benefits.
• $6000: At age 60 and prior to age 65 with 20 years of creditable continuous service when employee began receiving benefits.
• $5000: At age 55 and prior to age 60 with 20 years of creditable continuous service when employee began receiving benefits.
• $2000 if: Less than 55 years of age and less than 20 years of creditable continuous service when employee began receiving benefits.

Health Insurance - General

The Retirement Plan is responsible for:

• Initial enrollment of all new retirees, disability allowance participants and surviving spouses into the various medical plans and the dental plan.
• Processing documents to delete covered participants and dependents due to death.
• Deducting appropriate medical and dental premiums from monthly pension checks.
• Notifying the CTA of participant address changes.

Please contact Group Administrators regarding:

• Open enrollment.
• Enrollment of dependents due to special circumstances that affect your medical or dental accounts during the year (births, adoptions, divorces, court orders).
• Benefit explanations.
• Bill problems.
• Problems with healthcare service providers.
• Supplemental Medicare coverage's.

Dental Benefits

You may choose dental coverage before and after you turn age 65. When you turn age 65, you will have a one-time opportunity to enroll in post 65 dental coverage. MetLife is your dental benefit provider.

Refund of Contributions

Employee’s contributions to the plan and the interest that their contributions have earned can only be refunded if the employee has become separated from the Authority. Contributions made by the Chicago Transit Authority to the Pension Plan are not refundable.

Forms of Separation:

• Resignations
• Discharges
• Death

Deferred, Vested Retirement Benefits

Employees having at least ten (10) years of continuous participation in the Plan are vested. If an employee separates from service from the CTA after they have vested, but prior to being eligible to retire, they have the ability to apply for a deferred, vested pension which would begin at age sixty-five (65). The deferred, vested pension would be calculated based on the Plan provided in place at the time of separation from service in the CTA.

Important Update

Our office is open on an appointment-only basis. We are not accepting walk-ins at this time.

Please call us at 312.441.9694 and leave your name, phone number, and badge # (if applicable). We will return your call within one business day.

If you are a retiree or surviving spouse and you have a question about health benefits from the Retiree Health Care Trust, please call Group Administrators at 800-323-1683 or 847-519-1880.

As always, we encourage you to use this website for information about the Retirement Plan and Retiree Health Care Trust. You can also view, complete and, print benefit applications directly from the site.