Types of Former Employees

There are generally three groups that Former Employees fall under:

1. Retired: You are considered retired if you are receiving a retirement annuity from the Cook County Pension Fund (CCPF), you can visit the Retiree section of our website for more information.
2. Refunded: You left Cook County employment and withdrew your contributions.  If you return to Cook County or employment covered under a Reciprocal Fund, you may be eligible to repay your refund with interest and re-establish your refunded Cook County service credit.
3. Inactive: You are considered an Inactive CCPF member if you once participated in CCPF and have not retired and have not withdrawn your contributions in the form of a Refund.    

You are a Former Employee if:

• You are working with an employer with another Reciprocal Fund to eventually combine service credits for a reciprocal retirement annuity benefit in the future.
• You are a former employee who is vested and is electing a Deferred Retirement Annuity.
• You are a former employee who is not vested, but have not withdrawn your contributions.  If you are a non-vested inactive and you are not considering a return to Cook County or Reciprocal employment, it is recommended that you contact us and apply for a refund.

Former Employee Starting a Retirement Annuity

The typical retirement annuity begins on the first of the month following the date of the employee’s separation from service.  You can choose a retroactive annuity start date during the first 90 days following your date of separation from service.  However, after 90 days have lapsed, you can only choose a future date to start an annuity.  The pension start date will be defaulted to the first of the month following the date the application is received by the Fund, unless a later date is specified.