Extra–duty Reporting
- For full-time (F), part-time contractual (P), substitute (S) and part-time noncontractual (H) teachers, extra duties that involve teaching or supervising students and other assignments related to the academic program are reportable as creditable earnings, provided the member is employed during the school year with a TRS-covered employer in a position requiring licensure. Earnings reported to TRS are not limited to the primary employer.
- Extra duty (E), earnings for a member who is not employed as a regular teacher but who performs extra duties that do not require teacher licensure are reportable only if the member is employed as a full-time, part-time contractual, substitute or part-time noncontractual member by another TRS-covered employer.
Summer School and Summer Extra-duties
- When a teacher only teaches summer school, report the employment type as part–time noncontractual (H) with annual salary rate equal to creditable earnings.
- Wages for performing summer duties that require teacher licensure are reportable for all active TRS members. The additional summer days worked are reportable.
- Wages for summer extra duties that do not require teacher licensure are reportable for full–time (F), part–time contractual (P), substitute (S) and part-time noncontractual (H) teachers, provided the summer work is related to teaching or the academic program or involves supervision of students. Days paid should not be reported for extra duties that do not require licensure.
Accrual Reporting
Earnings must be reported to TRS on an accrual basis. Creditable earnings for services performed from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 should be reported on the 2024–25 Annual Certification. If a summer assignment begins in June and continues into July, the payment must be prorated between the two fiscal years. Earnings for the work performed in June 2025 must be reported in the 2024–25 school year even if payment is not issued until July. Earnings for the work performed in July 2025 must be reported in the 2025-26 school year.
Membership
TRS membership commences once two requirements are met. First, the individual must have a valid Illinois teaching license. A valid Illinois license is one that is registered. Second, the individual must be employed in a position requiring licensure under the School Code — a determination that is made by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and not the individual employer or TRS. If the individual does not meet both of those requirements, he/she cannot be a member of TRS.
- Do not report any individuals who do not have a valid, registered Illinois teaching license.
- Do not report any individuals in positions that do not require teacher licensure.
- Working as a teacher’s aide (paraprofessional) does not require licensure and therefore earnings for these days are not reportable creditable earnings, and the related days paid are not available for service credit. If a teacher works as both a teacher’s aide (paraprofessional) and in a licensed position, such as a substitute teacher, his/her earnings and days in the licensed position will be reportable to TRS.
- An individual who independently contracts with an employer to provide services for which teacher licensure is required qualifies as a TRS member even if the individual is paid through accounts payable. Contributions on earnings are required even if the contract characterizes the individual as an “independent contractor.” If the individual is paid with federal grant money, the employer TRS contribution for federally funded salary must also be remitted.
- Foreign teachers must be licensed and work in a position requiring licensure to participate in TRS.
Days Paid
Report each day that a member is paid Monday through Friday, regardless of the length of the day. Do not convert partial days to full–day equivalents. For part–time contractual (P) teachers, count and report the actual number of calendar dates worked. For example, if a teacher is employed 50% time and works 3.5 hours every day for the full 180–day school term, report 180 days paid and not 90 full–time equivalent days.
Salary Limitations
Two separate groups of TRS members are subject to limitations on salary reportable as creditable earnings. Refer to Chapter 3 of the Employer Guide.
- For Tier I members who first established membership after June 30, 1996, the creditable earnings limit for the 2024–25 school year is $345,000. People who first established membership prior to July 1, 1996 are not affected by this limitation.
- For Tier II members, the creditable earnings limit for the 2024–25 school year is $125,773.73. Tier II members are those who first established membership with TRS or a reciprocal system on or after Jan. 1, 2011.
Payment for Sick Leave Days
In a member’s final year of employment, lump sums due and payable prior to or concurrent with receipt of the employee’s final paycheck for regular earnings or with the last day of employment are reportable to TRS as creditable earnings. Lump–sum payments that are not due and payable at the time of the receipt of the last paycheck or on the last day of employment are not reportable to TRS.
When a teacher terminates employment, TRS requires the employer to report all unused, uncompensated sick leave days the member had available for use at termination. If a lump–sum payment for unused sick leave is reportable to TRS as creditable earnings, the days used in the payment calculation are considered compensated, and the compensated sick days are not reportable to TRS for service credit. However, if the lump–sum payment for unused sick leave days is not reportable to TRS as creditable earnings, the days used in the payment calculation are not considered to have been compensated at retirement, and the uncompensated sick leave days are reportable to TRS for service credit. Ultimately, either the days or the lump–sum payment is reportable to TRS, but never both and never neither.
Supplementary Report Errors
If an error was made on the Supplementary Report, submit a Revised Supplementary Report online. Sign into the Employer Access area of the TRS website, then select the “Revise Submitted Supp Rpts” menu item on the left navigation bar. Enter the reason for the corrections along with the corrections and submit the Revised Supplementary Report to TRS.
NEW — If a Supplementary Report for retirement or death was submitted prior to the Annual Certification and the amounts do not match, a fatal error will appear and must be fixed. Review both the Supplementary Report and the Annual Certification. If the Supplementary Report is correct, update the Annual Certification. If the Annual Certification is correct, submit a revised Supplementary Report in Employer Access. After submitting the revision, make a change on the Annual Certification to rerun the edit process and resolve the fatal errors. We suggest changing the BS Full Annual Rate by 1 penny and then saving the row. Select the overall “Save” at the bottom of the page to rerun the edits.
Errors
Warning Errors
On the Annual Certification Member Summary screen, thoroughly review the reported information and the full Error Resolution for each error code. If the reported information is incorrect, do not certify the error. Instead, make any necessary updates using Quick Edit under the Actions dropdown.
If the Employment Type is incorrect or you need to report an additional Payment Reason, use the Add Row feature on the Member Summary Details Screen. We suggest adding the new row before adjusting the earnings on the existing records.
If after making any necessary corrections a nonfatal error invoked or the information as reported is correct, Certify the error. Select View More under the Error Resolution column, select Certify, then enter a detailed explanation if prompted. Some warning errors may not require a detailed explanation. For those that do, providing as much information as possible may prevent an inquiry from TRS. Only Certify a warning error once it has been thoroughly researched and verified that the reported information is correct.
Fatal Errors
A fatal error identifies incorrect or incomplete information and must be corrected before the Annual Certification can be submitted to TRS.
Corrections
Once the 2024-25 Annual Certification is submitted, employers will no longer be able to make updates. If you find a correction is necessary (i.e. timesheet for work performed in June turned in late, sick leave did not include personal leave days, teacher paid on incorrect step of the salary schedule, member resigned after Annual Certification submitted and sick leave needs to be reported, etc.,) email TRS at employers@trsil.org. Include the member’s name, the last four digits of the SSN, detailed reason for the correction and required correction(s). If the corrections change the total amount of federal funds for the school year being adjusted, please provide the total corrected federal funds amount for the year. Please provide a copy of the payroll histories for corrections to earnings $2,000 and greater and a calendar of days worked for corrections to days paid greater than 10 days.
Section 16-192 of the Illinois Pension Code requires TRS to correct its members’ earnings and service for four fiscal years prior to the fiscal year in which the error was noted. For example, if an error discovered in the 2024-25 school year occurred during the 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and/or 2023-24 school years, the employer must email the TRS Employer Service Department.