Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Orders (QILDROs) are court orders that direct TRS to pay a portion of a member’s benefit or refund to an alternate payee, typically a former spouse. QILDROs are issued under the Illinois Pension Code, 40 ILCS 5/1-119.

There are two types of QILDRO – the standard QILDRO, which applies to the traditional defined benefit (DB) plan, and the SSP QILDRO, which applies only to the member’s optional TRS deferred compensation (DC) Supplemental Savings Plan (SSP) account.

QILDRO

In a standard DB QILDRO, the alternate payee’s share of the benefit or refund may be expressed in dollar amounts or in percentages. If the QILDRO uses percentages, a second court order — the Calculation Order — will tell TRS how much to pay the alternate payee. The Calculation Order may be submitted once the amount of the retirement benefit or refund is known. This two-part process may be useful when divorce occurs before the member retires.

The QILDRO allows lump-sum death benefits to be allocated to the alternate payee. Monthly survivor benefits cannot be allocated through a QILDRO.

SSP QILDRO

In an SSP QILDRO, the alternate payee’s share of the member’s individual SSP account may be expressed as a dollar amount or a percentage, which may or may not include allocable investment income or loss. SSP QILDROs apply only to benefits in a member’s individual SSP account, which is an individual retirement savings account, and cannot be utilized to award an alternate payee a share of any other benefit (DB benefits) which may become payable to the member by TRS. Conversely, standard QILDROs cannot be used to award an alternate payee a share of a member’s SSP account (DC benefits). To learn more about SSP QILDROs, carefully review the SSP QILDRO Publication using the link below.

Social Security Number Requirement and Protection

TRS has policies and procedures in place to protect your Social Security number (SSN). SSNs must be provided in QILDRO, Calculation and SSP QILDRO court orders for tax reporting associated with payment of benefits and refunds. SSP QILDROs must also provide the alternate payee’s date of birth. If SSNs or alternate payee’s date of birth are omitted from the face of the court order, they must be provided in an accompanying Notice of Confidential Information Within Court Filing form.

You may complete the QILDRO forms online using the links below. Once approved by the court, send a certified copy of the court order to TRS's Office of Legal Counsel with the required $50 processing fee. The member’s signed consent form is also required if TRS membership began before July 1, 1999. If you have any questions about QILDROs after reviewing our QILDRO publications, please contact the TRS Office of Legal Counsel. 

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