96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB0304

 

Introduced 2/6/2009, by Sen. Bill Brady

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Requires the General Assembly Retirement System, the State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois, the State Universities Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, and the Judges Retirement System of Illinois to automatically enroll its newly eligible employees in a self-managed program of retirement benefits instead of the program of retirement benefits currently offered and allows currently eligible employees to elect to participate in the self-managed program. Provides that a self-managed plan shall authorize a participating employee to accumulate assets for retirement through a combination of employer and employee contributions that may be invested at the employee's direction in mutual funds, collective investment funds, or other investment products and used to purchase annuity contracts. Provides that, to the extent that the changes made by the amendatory Act are determined to be a new benefit increase, the changes are exempt from the 5-year expiration provision. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB0304 LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1     AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by adding
5 Sections 2-103.1, 2-103.2, 2-117.4, 2-126.2, 2-162.1,
6 14-103.40, 14-103.41, 14-105.8, 14-133.2, 15-198.1, 16-104.1,
7 16-104.2, 16-131.7, 16-158.2, 16-203.1, 18-105.1, 18-105.2,
8 18-123.3, 18-133.2, and 18-169.1 and changing Sections 2-126,
9 14-133, 14-152.2, 15-103.3, 15-134.5, 15-158.2, 16-152, and
10 18-133 as follows:
 
11     (40 ILCS 5/2-103.1 new)
12     Sec. 2-103.1. Traditional benefit package. "Traditional
13 benefit package" means the defined benefit retirement program
14 maintained by the System, which includes retirement annuities
15 payable directly from the System, as provided in Sections
16 2-119, 2-119.01, 2-119.1, and 2-120; survivor's annuities
17 payable directly from the System, as provided in Sections
18 2-121, 2-121.1, 2-121.2, and 2-121.3; and contribution
19 refunds, as provided in Section 2-123.
 
20     (40 ILCS 5/2-103.2 new)
21     Sec. 2-103.2. Self-managed plan. "Self-managed plan" means
22 the defined contribution retirement program maintained by the

 

 

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1 System, as described in Section 2-126.2. The self-managed plan
2 does not include retirement annuities or survivor's benefits
3 payable directly from the System, as provided in Sections
4 2-119, 2-119.01, 2-119.1, 2-120, 2-121, 2-121.1, 2-121.2, and
5 2-121.3 or refunds determined under Section 2-123.
 
6     (40 ILCS 5/2-117.4 new)
7     Sec. 2-117.4. Retirement program elections.
8     (a) For the purposes of this Section:
9     "Eligible participant" means either a currently eligible
10 participant or a newly eligible participant of the System.
11     "Currently eligible participant" means a person who is a
12 participant under this Article on the date on which the System
13 first offers the self-managed plan as an alternative to the
14 traditional benefit package.
15     "Newly eligible participant" means a person who first
16 becomes a participant after the date on which the System first
17 offers the self-managed plan as an alternative to the
18 traditional benefit package.
19     (b) When the System offers to participants under this
20 Article a self-managed plan as an alternative to the
21 traditional benefit package, each currently eligible
22 participant shall be given the choice to elect which retirement
23 program he or she wishes to participate in with respect to all
24 periods of covered employment occurring on, before, and after
25 the effective date of the participant's election. The

 

 

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1 retirement program election made by a currently eligible
2 participant must be made in writing, in the manner prescribed
3 by the System, and within the time period described in this
4 Section.
5     If a currently eligible participant elects the
6 self-managed plan, then that election is irrevocable. If a
7 currently eligible participant who elected to participate or
8 participated by default in the traditional benefit plan
9 terminates employment under this Article, then the
10 participant, upon his or her subsequent re-employment under
11 this Article, may make an election under this Section.
12     A currently eligible participant who fails to make an
13 election under this Section shall, by default, participate in
14 the traditional benefit package.
15     (c) A currently eligible participant may elect to
16 participate in the traditional benefit package or the
17 self-managed plan.
18     A currently eligible participant must make this election
19 within 5 years after the effective date of the adoption of the
20 self-managed plan under Section 2-126.2 or, in the case of a
21 currently eligible participant who terminates employment under
22 this Article, within 6 months after his or her re-employment
23 under this Article.
24     A newly eligible participant is automatically enrolled in
25 the self-managed plan under Section 2-162.2.
26     (d) If the currently eligible participant elects to

 

 

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1 participate in the self-managed plan, the system shall fund
2 their account as stated in subsection (f) of Section 2-126.2.
3     (e) A currently eligible participant shall be provided with
4 written information prepared or prescribed by the System that
5 describes the participant's retirement program choices. The
6 eligible participant shall be offered an opportunity to receive
7 counseling from the System prior to making his or her election.
8 This counseling may consist of videotaped materials, group
9 presentations, individual consultation with an employee or
10 authorized representative of the System in person or by
11 telephone or other electronic means, or any combination of
12 these methods.
 
13     (40 ILCS 5/2-126)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 2-126)
14     Sec. 2-126. Contributions by participants.
15     (a) Each participant shall contribute toward the cost of
16 his or her retirement annuity a percentage of each payment of
17 salary received by him or her for service as a member as
18 follows: for service between October 31, 1947 and January 1,
19 1959, 5%; for service between January 1, 1959 and June 30,
20 1969, 6%; for service between July 1, 1969 and January 10,
21 1973, 6 1/2%; for service after January 10, 1973, 7%; for
22 service after December 31, 1981, 8 1/2%.
23     (b) Beginning August 2, 1949, each male participant, and
24 from July 1, 1971, each female participant shall contribute
25 towards the cost of the survivor's annuity 2% of salary.

 

 

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1     A participant who has no eligible survivor's annuity
2 beneficiary may elect to cease making contributions for
3 survivor's annuity under this subsection. A survivor's annuity
4 shall not be payable upon the death of a person who has made
5 this election, unless prior to that death the election has been
6 revoked and the amount of the contributions that would have
7 been paid under this subsection in the absence of the election
8 is paid to the System, together with interest at the rate of 4%
9 per year from the date the contributions would have been made
10 to the date of payment.
11     Notwithstanding any provision in this subsection (b) to the
12 contrary, in the case of an employee who participates in the
13 self-managed plan under Section 2-126.2, contributions for a
14 survivor's annuity shall instead be used to finance the
15 benefits available under Section 2-126.2.
16     (c) Beginning July 1, 1967, each participant shall
17 contribute 1% of salary towards the cost of automatic increase
18 in annuity provided in Section 2-119.1. These contributions
19 shall be made concurrently with contributions for retirement
20 annuity purposes.
21     (d) In addition, each participant serving as an officer of
22 the General Assembly shall contribute, for the same purposes
23 and at the same rates as are required of a regular participant,
24 on each additional payment received as an officer. If the
25 participant serves as an officer for at least 2 but less than 4
26 years, he or she shall contribute an amount equal to the amount

 

 

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1 that would have been contributed had the participant served as
2 an officer for 4 years. Persons who serve as officers in the
3 87th General Assembly but cannot receive the additional payment
4 to officers because of the ban on increases in salary during
5 their terms may nonetheless make contributions based on those
6 additional payments for the purpose of having the additional
7 payments included in their highest salary for annuity purposes;
8 however, persons electing to make these additional
9 contributions must also pay an amount representing the
10 corresponding employer contributions, as calculated by the
11 System.
12 (Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)
 
13     (40 ILCS 5/2-126.2 new)
14     Sec. 2-126.2. Self-managed plan.
15     (a) The General Assembly finds that the State should have
16 the flexibility to provide a defined contribution
17 (self-managed) plan for eligible participants. Accordingly,
18 the General Assembly Retirement System is hereby authorized to
19 establish and administer a self-managed plan, which shall offer
20 participants the opportunity to accumulate assets for
21 retirement through a combination of participant and State
22 contributions that may be invested in mutual funds, collective
23 investment funds, or other investment products and used to
24 purchase annuity contracts, either fixed or variable or a
25 combination of fixed and variable. The plan must be qualified

 

 

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1 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
2     (b) The Board shall adopt the self-managed plan established
3 under this Section for participants under this Article. The
4 adoption of the self-managed plan makes available to the
5 eligible participants under this Article the elections
6 described in Section 2-117.4.
7     The General Assembly Retirement System shall be the plan
8 sponsor for the self-managed plan and shall prepare a plan
9 document and adopt any rules and procedures as are considered
10 necessary or desirable for the administration of the
11 self-managed plan. Consistent with its fiduciary duty to the
12 participants and beneficiaries of the self-managed plan, the
13 Board of Trustees of the System may delegate aspects of plan
14 administration as it sees fit to companies authorized to do
15 business in this State.
16     (c) The System shall solicit proposals to provide
17 administrative services and funding vehicles for the
18 self-managed plan from insurance and annuity companies and
19 mutual fund companies, banks, trust companies, or other
20 financial institutions authorized to do business in this State.
21 In reviewing the proposals received and approving and
22 contracting with no fewer than 2 and no more than 7 companies,
23 the Board of Trustees of the System shall consider, among other
24 things, the following criteria:
25         (1) the nature and extent of the benefits that would be
26     provided to the participants;

 

 

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1         (2) the reasonableness of the benefits in relation to
2     the premium charged;
3         (3) the suitability of the benefits to the needs and
4     interests of the participants and the State; and
5         (4) the ability of the company to provide benefits
6     under the contract and the financial stability of the
7     company.
8     The System shall periodically review each approved
9 company. A company may continue to provide administrative
10 services and funding vehicles for the self-managed plan only so
11 long as it continues to be an approved company under contract
12 with the Board.
13     In addition to the companies approved by the System under
14 this subsection (c), the System may offer its participants an
15 investment fund managed by the System.
16     (d) Participants in the program must be allowed to direct
17 the transfer of their account balances among the various
18 investment options offered, subject to applicable contractual
19 provisions. The participant shall not be deemed a fiduciary by
20 reason of providing such investment direction. A person who is
21 a fiduciary shall not be liable for any loss resulting from
22 that investment direction and shall not be deemed to have
23 breached any fiduciary duty by acting in accordance with that
24 direction. Neither the System nor the State shall guarantee any
25 of the investments in the participant's account balances.
26     (e) A currently eligible participant, as defined in Section

 

 

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1 2-117.4, must make a written election to participate in the
2 self-managed plan in accordance with the provisions of Section
3 2-117.4 and the procedures established by the System.
4 Participation in the self-managed plan shall begin on the first
5 day of the month immediately following the month in which the
6 currently eligible participant's election is filed with the
7 System or when a newly eligible participant, as defined in
8 Section 2-117.4, enters the System, but not sooner than the
9 effective date of the self-managed plan. The System shall make
10 the self-managed plan available under this Article by January
11 1, 2011. A member's participation in the traditional retirement
12 package under this Article shall terminate on the date that
13 participation in the self-managed plan begins.
14     A member who has elected to participate in the self-managed
15 plan under this Section must continue participation while he or
16 she remains a participant under this Article, and may not
17 participate in the traditional benefit package.
18     Participation in the self-managed plan under this Section
19 shall constitute participation in the General Assembly
20 Retirement System.
21     A participant under this Section shall be entitled to the
22 benefits of Article 20 of this Code.
23     (f) If, at the time a participant elects to participate in
24 the self-managed plan, the participant has rights and credits
25 in the System due to previous participation in the traditional
26 benefit package, the System shall establish for the participant

 

 

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1 an opening account balance in the self-managed plan, equal to
2 (1) the amount of the contribution refund that the participant
3 would be eligible to receive under Section 2-123 if the
4 participant terminated employment on that date and elected a
5 refund of contributions and (2) an amount equal to the regular
6 employer contribution that would be required to fund the actual
7 regular cost incurred for each year of service credit earned,
8 provided that the total opening account balance does not exceed
9 7.6% of the participant's salary for that year, plus interest.
10 The interest used in this subsection (f) is calculated as the
11 average annual rate of return that the System has earned over
12 the past 20 fiscal years and is compounded. The System shall
13 transfer assets from the defined benefit retirement program to
14 the self-managed plan, as a tax-free transfer in accordance
15 with Internal Revenue Service guidelines, for purposes of
16 funding the participant's opening account balance.
17     (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a
18 participant may not purchase or receive service or service
19 credit applicable to the traditional benefit package under this
20 Article for any period during which the employee was a
21 participant in the self-managed plan established under this
22 Section.
23     (h) The self-managed plan shall be funded by contributions
24 from participants in the self-managed plan and State
25 contributions as provided in this Section.
26     The contribution rate for participants in the self-managed

 

 

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1 plan under this Section shall be equal to the member
2 contribution rate for other participants in the System, as
3 provided in Section 2-126. This required contribution shall be
4 made as an employer pick-up under Section 414(h) of the
5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor Section thereof.
6 Any participant in the System's traditional benefit package
7 prior to his or her election to participate in the self-managed
8 plan shall continue to have the employer pick up the
9 contributions required under Section 2-126. However, the
10 amounts picked up after the election of the self-managed plan
11 shall be remitted to and treated as assets of the self-managed
12 plan. In no event shall a participant have the option of
13 receiving these amounts in cash. Participants may make
14 additional contributions to the self-managed plan in
15 accordance with procedures prescribed by the System, to the
16 extent permitted under rules adopted by the System.
17     The program shall provide for State contributions to be
18 credited to each self-managed plan participant in an amount
19 equal to the regular employer contribution that would be
20 required to fund the actual regular cost incurred for each year
21 of service credit earned had the participant chosen to enroll
22 in the traditional benefit plan. The amounts so credited shall
23 be paid into the participant's self-managed plan accounts in a
24 manner to be prescribed by the System.
25     The State of Illinois shall make contributions by
26 appropriations to the System for participants in the

 

 

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1 self-managed plan under this Section. The amount required shall
2 be certified by the Board of Trustees of the System and paid by
3 the State in accordance with Section 2-134. The System shall
4 not be obligated to remit the required State contributions to
5 any of the insurance and annuity companies, mutual fund
6 companies, banks, trust companies, financial institutions, or
7 other sponsors of any of the funding vehicles offered under the
8 self-managed plan until it has received the required State
9 contributions from the State.
10     (i) A participant in the self-managed plan becomes vested
11 in the State contributions credited to his or her accounts in
12 the self-managed plan on the earliest to occur of the
13 following: (1) attainment of 5 years of service credit; (2) the
14 death of the participating member while employed under this
15 Article, if the member has completed at least 1.5 years of
16 service; or (3) the member's election to retire and apply the
17 reciprocal provisions of Article 20 of this Code.
18     A participant in the self-managed plan who receives a
19 distribution of his or her vested amounts from the self-managed
20 plan while not yet eligible for retirement under this Article
21 (and Article 20, if applicable) shall forfeit all service
22 credit and accrued rights in the System; if he or she
23 subsequently becomes a participant under this Article again, he
24 or she shall be considered a new participant. If a former
25 participant again becomes a participating member (or becomes
26 employed by a participating system under Article 20 of this

 

 

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1 Code) and continues as such for at least 2 years, all rights,
2 service credits, and previous status as a participant shall be
3 restored upon repayment of the amount of the distribution,
4 without interest.
5     (j) If a participant in the self-managed plan who is vested
6 in State contributions terminates employment, the participant
7 shall be entitled to a benefit that is based on the account
8 values attributable to both State and member contributions and
9 any investment return thereon.
10     If a participant in the self-managed plan who is not vested
11 in State contributions terminates employment, the participant
12 shall be entitled to a benefit based solely on the account
13 values attributable to the participant's contributions and any
14 investment return thereon, and the State contributions and any
15 investment return thereon shall be forfeited. Any State
16 contributions that are forfeited shall be held in escrow by the
17 company investing those contributions and shall be used, as
18 directed by the System, for future allocations of State
19 contributions or for the restoration of amounts previously
20 forfeited by former participants who again become
21 participating members.
 
22     (40 ILCS 5/2-162.1 new)
23     Sec. 2-162.1. New benefit increases. To the extent that the
24 changes made to this Article by this amendatory Act of the 96th
25 General Assembly authorizing the System to offer a self-managed

 

 

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1 plan are determined to be a new benefit increase within the
2 meaning of Section 2-162, the changes made by this amendatory
3 Act are exempt from the provisions of subsection (d) of Section
4 2-162.
 
5     (40 ILCS 5/14-103.40 new)
6     Sec. 14-103.40. Traditional benefit package. "Traditional
7 benefit package" means the defined benefit retirement program
8 maintained by the System, which includes retirement annuities
9 payable directly from the System, as provided in Sections
10 14-107, 14-108, 14-108.3, 14-108.4, 14-109, 14-110, 14-112,
11 14-113, 14-114, and 14-115; disability benefits payable under
12 Sections 14-123, 14-123.1, 14-124, 14-125, 14-125.1, and
13 14-126; death benefits payable directly from the System, as
14 provided in Sections 14-116, 14-117, and 14-128; widow or
15 survivors annuities payable directly from the System, as
16 provided in Sections 14-118, 14-119, 14-120, 14-121, 14-121.1,
17 and 14-122; and contribution refunds, as provided in Section
18 14-130.
 
19     (40 ILCS 5/14-103.41 new)
20     Sec. 14-103.41. Self-managed plan. "Self-managed plan"
21 means the defined contribution retirement program maintained
22 under the System, as described in Section 14-133.2. The
23 self-managed plan also includes disability benefits, as
24 provided in Sections 14-123, 14-123.1, 14-124, 14-125,

 

 

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1 14-125.1, and 14-126. The self-managed plan does not include
2 retirement annuities, death benefits, widow or survivors
3 annuities payable directly from the System, as provided in
4 Sections 14-107, 14-108, 14-108.3, 14-108.4, 14-109, 14-110,
5 14-112, 14-113, 14-114, 14-115, 14-116, 14-117, 14-118,
6 14-119, 14-120, 14-121, 14-121.1, 14-122, and 14-128 or refunds
7 determined under Section 14-130.
 
8     (40 ILCS 5/14-105.8 new)
9     Sec. 14-105.8. Retirement program elections.
10     (a) For the purposes of this Section:
11     "Eligible employee" means either a currently eligible
12 employee or a newly eligible employee.
13     "Currently eligible employee" means an employee who is
14 employed by the State on the date on which the System first
15 offers the self-managed plan as an alternative to the
16 traditional benefit package.
17     "Newly eligible employee" means an employee who first
18 becomes employed under this Article after the date on which the
19 System first offers the self-managed plan as an alternative to
20 the traditional benefit package.
21     (b) When the System offers to employees under this Article
22 the self-managed plan as an alternative to the traditional
23 benefit package, each currently eligible employee shall be
24 given the choice to elect which retirement program he or she
25 wishes to participate in with respect to all periods of covered

 

 

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1 employment occurring on, before, and after the effective date
2 of the employee's election. The retirement program election
3 made by a currently eligible employee must be made in writing,
4 in the manner prescribed by the System, and within the time
5 period described in this Section.
6     If a currently eligible employee elects the self-managed
7 plan, then that election is irrevocable. If a currently
8 eligible employee who elected to participate or participated by
9 default in the traditional benefit plan terminates employment
10 under this Article, then the employee, upon his or her
11 subsequent re-employment under this Article, may make an
12 election under this Section.
13     A currently eligible employee who fails to make an election
14 under this Section shall, by default, participate in the
15 traditional benefit package.
16     (c) A currently eligible employee may elect to participate
17 in the traditional benefit package or the self-managed plan.
18     A currently eligible employee must make this election
19 within 5 years after the effective date of the adoption of the
20 self-managed plan under Section 14-133.2 or, in the case of a
21 currently eligible employee who terminates employment under
22 this Article, within 6 months after his or her re-employment
23 under this Article.
24     A newly eligible employee is automatically enrolled in the
25 self-managed plan under Section 14-133.2.
26     (d) If a currently eligible participant elects to

 

 

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1 participate in the self-managed plan, the System shall fund
2 their account as stated in subsection (f) of Section 14-133.2.
3     (e) A currently eligible employee shall be provided with
4 written information prepared or prescribed by the System that
5 describes the employee's retirement program choices. Each
6 eligible employee shall be offered an opportunity to receive
7 counseling from the System prior to making his or her election.
8 This counseling may consist of videotaped materials, group
9 presentations, individual consultation with an employee or
10 authorized representative of the System in person or by
11 telephone or other electronic means, or any combination of
12 these methods.
 
13     (40 ILCS 5/14-133)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 14-133)
14     Sec. 14-133. Contributions on behalf of members.
15     (a) Each participating employee shall make contributions
16 to the System, based on the employee's compensation, as
17 follows:
18         (1) Covered employees, except as indicated below, 3.5%
19     for retirement annuity, and 0.5% for a widow or survivors
20     annuity;
21         (2) Noncovered employees, except as indicated below,
22     7% for retirement annuity and 1% for a widow or survivors
23     annuity;
24         (3) Noncovered employees serving in a position in which
25     "eligible creditable service" as defined in Section 14-110

 

 

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1     may be earned, 1% for a widow or survivors annuity plus the
2     following amount for retirement annuity: 8.5% through
3     December 31, 2001; 9.5% in 2002; 10.5% in 2003; and 11.5%
4     in 2004 and thereafter;
5         (4) Covered employees serving in a position in which
6     "eligible creditable service" as defined in Section 14-110
7     may be earned, 0.5% for a widow or survivors annuity plus
8     the following amount for retirement annuity: 5% through
9     December 31, 2001; 6% in 2002; 7% in 2003; and 8% in 2004
10     and thereafter;
11         (5) Each security employee of the Department of
12     Corrections or of the Department of Human Services who is a
13     covered employee, 0.5% for a widow or survivors annuity
14     plus the following amount for retirement annuity: 5%
15     through December 31, 2001; 6% in 2002; 7% in 2003; and 8%
16     in 2004 and thereafter;
17         (6) Each security employee of the Department of
18     Corrections or of the Department of Human Services who is
19     not a covered employee, 1% for a widow or survivors annuity
20     plus the following amount for retirement annuity: 8.5%
21     through December 31, 2001; 9.5% in 2002; 10.5% in 2003; and
22     11.5% in 2004 and thereafter.
23     Notwithstanding any provision in this subsection (a) to the
24 contrary, in the case of an employee who participates in the
25 self-managed plan under Section 14-133.2, contributions for
26 widow or survivors annuities shall instead be used by the

 

 

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1 System to fund the benefits in Sections 14-123, 14-123.1,
2 14-124, 14-125, 14-125.1, and 14-126.
3     (b) Contributions shall be in the form of a deduction from
4 compensation and shall be made notwithstanding that the
5 compensation paid in cash to the employee shall be reduced
6 thereby below the minimum prescribed by law or regulation. Each
7 member is deemed to consent and agree to the deductions from
8 compensation provided for in this Article, and shall receipt in
9 full for salary or compensation.
10 (Source: P.A. 92-14, eff. 6-28-01.)
 
11     (40 ILCS 5/14-133.2 new)
12     Sec. 14-133.2. Self-managed plan.
13     (a) The General Assembly finds that it is important for
14 Illinois to be able to attract and retain the most qualified
15 employees and that in order to attract and retain these
16 employees, the State of Illinois should have the flexibility to
17 provide the defined contribution (self-managed) plan for
18 eligible employees. Accordingly, the State Employees
19 Retirement System of Illinois is hereby authorized to establish
20 and administer a self-managed plan, which shall offer
21 participating employees the opportunity to accumulate assets
22 for retirement through a combination of employee and employer
23 contributions that may be invested in mutual funds, collective
24 investment funds, or other investment products and used to
25 purchase annuity contracts, either fixed or variable or a

 

 

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1 combination of fixed and variable. The plan must be qualified
2 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
3     (b) The Board shall adopt the self-managed plan established
4 under this Section for members under this Article. The State's
5 election to adopt the self-managed plan makes available to the
6 eligible employees of the State of Illinois the elections
7 described in Section 14-105.8.
8     The State Employees Retirement System of Illinois shall be
9 the plan sponsor for the self-managed plan and shall prepare a
10 plan document and adopt such rules and procedures as are
11 considered necessary or desirable for the administration of the
12 self-managed plan. Consistent with its fiduciary duty to the
13 participants and beneficiaries of the self-managed plan, the
14 Board of Trustees of the System may delegate aspects of plan
15 administration as it sees fit to companies authorized to do
16 business in this State.
17     (c) The System shall solicit proposals to provide
18 administrative services and funding vehicles for the
19 self-managed plan from insurance and annuity companies and
20 mutual fund companies, banks, trust companies, or other
21 financial institutions authorized to do business in this State.
22 In reviewing the proposals received and approving and
23 contracting with no fewer than 2 and no more than 7 companies,
24 the Board of Trustees of the System shall consider, among other
25 things, the following criteria:
26         (1) the nature and extent of the benefits that would be

 

 

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1     provided to the participants;
2         (2) the reasonableness of the benefits in relation to
3     the premium charged;
4         (3) the suitability of the benefits to the needs and
5     interests of the participating employees and the State;
6         (4) the ability of the company to provide benefits
7     under the contract and the financial stability of the
8     company; and
9         (5) the efficacy of the contract in the recruitment and
10     retention of employees.
11     The System shall periodically review each approved
12 company. A company may continue to provide administrative
13 services and funding vehicles for the self-managed plan only so
14 long as it continues to be an approved company under contract
15 with the Board.
16     In addition to the companies approved by the System under
17 this subsection (c), the System may offer its participants an
18 investment fund managed by the System.
19     (d) Employees who are participating in the program must be
20 allowed to direct the transfer of their account balances among
21 the various investment options offered, subject to applicable
22 contractual provisions. The participant shall not be deemed a
23 fiduciary by reason of providing such investment direction. A
24 person who is a fiduciary shall not be liable for any loss
25 resulting from such investment direction and shall not be
26 deemed to have breached any fiduciary duty by acting in

 

 

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1 accordance with that direction. Neither the System nor the
2 employer shall guarantee any of the investments in the
3 employee's account balances.
4     (e) A currently eligible employee, as defined in Section
5 14-105.8, must make a written election to participate in the
6 self-managed plan in accordance with the provisions of Section
7 14-105.8 and the procedures established by the System.
8 Participation in the self-managed plan shall begin on the first
9 day of the month immediately following the month in which the
10 currently eligible employee's election is filed with the System
11 or when a newly eligible employee, as defined in Section
12 14-105.8, enters the System, but not sooner than the effective
13 date of the self-managed plan. The System shall make the
14 self-managed plan available under this Article by January 1,
15 2011. An employee's participation in the traditional
16 retirement package under this Article shall terminate on the
17 date that participation in the self-managed plan begins.
18     An employee who has elected to participate in the
19 self-managed plan under this Section must continue
20 participation while employed in an eligible position, and may
21 not participate in the traditional benefit package
22 administered by the System under this Article while employed by
23 the State under this Article.
24     Participation in the self-managed plan under this Section
25 shall constitute membership in the State Employees' Retirement
26 System of Illinois.

 

 

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1     A participant under this Section shall be entitled to the
2 benefits of Article 20 of this Code.
3     (f) If, at the time an employee elects to participate in
4 the self-managed plan, the employee has rights and credits in
5 the System due to previous participation in the traditional
6 benefit package, the System shall establish for the employee an
7 opening account balance in the self-managed plan, equal to (i)
8 the amount of the contribution refund that the employee would
9 be eligible to receive under Section 14-130 if the employee
10 terminated employment on that date and elected a refund of
11 contributions, plus (ii) an amount equal to the regular
12 employer contribution that would be required to fund the actual
13 regular cost incurred for each year of service credit earned,
14 provided that the total opening account balance does not exceed
15 7.6% of that participant's salary for that year, plus interest.
16 The interest used in this subsection (f) is calculated as the
17 average annual rate of return that the System has earned over
18 the past 20 fiscal years and is compounded. The System shall
19 transfer assets from the defined benefit retirement program to
20 the self-managed plan, as a tax-free transfer in accordance
21 with Internal Revenue Service guidelines, for purposes of
22 funding the employee's opening account balance.
23     (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, an
24 employee may not purchase or receive service or service credit
25 applicable to the traditional benefit package under this
26 Article for any period during which the employee was a

 

 

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1 participant in the self-managed plan established under this
2 Section.
3     (h) The self-managed plan shall be funded by contributions
4 from employees participating in the self-managed plan and State
5 contributions as provided in this Section.
6     The contribution rate for employees participating in the
7 self-managed plan under this Section shall be equal to the
8 employee contribution rate applicable to participants of the
9 same class under Section 14-133. This required contribution
10 shall be made as an employer pick-up under Section 414(h) of
11 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor Section
12 thereof. Any employee participating in the System's
13 traditional benefit package prior to his or her election to
14 participate in the self-managed plan shall continue to have the
15 employer pick up the contributions required under Section
16 14-133. However, the amounts picked up after the election of
17 the self-managed plan shall be remitted to and treated as
18 assets of the self-managed plan. In no event shall the employee
19 have an option of receiving these amounts in cash. Employees
20 may make additional contributions to the self-managed plan in
21 accordance with procedures prescribed by the System, to the
22 extent permitted under rules adopted by the System.
23     The program shall provide for State contributions to be
24 credited to each self-managed plan participant in an amount
25 equal to the regular employer contribution that would be
26 required to fund the actual regular cost incurred for each year

 

 

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1 of service credit earned had the participant chosen to enroll
2 in the traditional benefit plan.
3     The System shall not be obligated to remit the required
4 employer contributions to any of the insurance and annuity
5 companies, mutual fund companies, banks, trust companies,
6 financial institutions, or other sponsors of any of the funding
7 vehicles offered under the self-managed plan until it has
8 received the required employer contributions from the State. In
9 the event of a deficiency in the amount of State contributions,
10 the System shall implement any procedures to obtain the
11 required funding from the General Revenue Fund.
12     An amount of employer contribution, not exceeding 1% of the
13 participating employee's salary, shall be used for the purpose
14 of providing the disability benefits of the System to the
15 employee. Prior to the beginning of each plan year under the
16 self-managed plan, the Board of Trustees shall determine, as a
17 percentage of salary, the amount of employer contributions to
18 be allocated during that plan year for providing disability
19 benefits for employees in the self-managed plan. The provisions
20 of this paragraph shall work in conjunction with the provisions
21 of subsection (a-1) of Section 14-133.
22     (i) A participant in the self-managed plan becomes vested
23 in the employer contributions credited to his or her accounts
24 in the self-managed plan on the earliest to occur of the
25 following: (1) completion of 5 years of service credit under
26 this Article; (2) the death of the participating employee while

 

 

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1 employed by an employer under this Article, if the participant
2 has completed at least 1.5 years of service; or (3) the
3 participant's election to retire and apply the reciprocal
4 provisions of Article 20 of this Code.
5     A participant in the self-managed plan who receives a
6 distribution of his or her vested amounts from the self-managed
7 plan while not yet eligible for retirement under this Article
8 (and Article 20, if applicable) shall forfeit all service
9 credit and accrued rights in the System; if subsequently
10 re-employed, the participant shall be considered a new
11 employee. If a former participant again becomes a participating
12 employee (or becomes employed by a participating system under
13 Article 20 of this Code) and continues as such for at least 2
14 years, all rights, service credits, and previous status as a
15 participant shall be restored upon repayment of the amount of
16 the distribution, without interest.
17     (j) If an employee participating in the self-managed plan
18 who is vested in employer contributions terminates employment,
19 the employee shall be entitled to a benefit which is based on
20 the account values attributable to both employer and employee
21 contributions and any investment return thereon.
22     If an employee participating in the self-managed plan who
23 is not vested in employer contributions terminates employment,
24 the employee shall be entitled to a benefit based solely on the
25 account values attributable to the employee's contributions
26 and any investment return thereon, and the employer

 

 

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1 contributions and any investment return thereon shall be
2 forfeited. Any employer contributions which are forfeited
3 shall be held in escrow by the company investing those
4 contributions and shall be used, as directed by the System, for
5 future allocations of employer contributions or for the
6 restoration of amounts previously forfeited by former
7 participants who again become participating employees.
 
8     (40 ILCS 5/14-152.2)
9     Sec. 14-152.2. New benefit increases.
10     (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that the
11 amendment to Section 14-104 made by this amendatory Act of the
12 95th General Assembly that allows members to establish
13 creditable service for certain participation in the University
14 of Illinois Government Public Service Internship Program
15 (GPSI) constitutes a new benefit increase within the meaning of
16 Section 14-152.1. Funding for this new benefit increase will be
17 provided by additional employee contributions under subsection
18 (r) of Section 14-104.
19     (b) To the extent that the changes made to this Article by
20 this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly authorizing
21 the System to offer a self-managed plan are determined to be a
22 new benefit increase within the meaning of Section 14-152.1,
23 the changes made by this amendatory Act are exempt from the
24 provisions of subsection (d) of Section 14-152.1.
25 (Source: P.A. 95-652, eff. 10-11-07.)
 

 

 

SB0304 - 28 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1     (40 ILCS 5/15-103.3)
2     Sec. 15-103.3. Self-Managed Plan. "Self-managed plan": The
3 defined contribution retirement program maintained under the
4 System as described in Section 15-158.2. The self-managed plan
5 also includes disability benefits as provided in Sections
6 15-150 through 15-153.3 (but disregarding disability
7 retirement annuities under Section 15-153.2). The self-managed
8 plan does not include retirement annuities, death benefits, or
9 survivors insurance benefits payable directly from the System
10 as provided in Sections 15-135 through 15-149 and Section
11 15-153.2, or refunds determined under Section 15-154.
12 (Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)
 
13     (40 ILCS 5/15-134.5)
14     Sec. 15-134.5. Retirement program elections.
15     (a) All participating employees are participants under the
16 traditional benefit package prior to January 1, 1998.
17     Effective as of the date that the System offers an employer
18 elects, as described in Section 15-158.2, to offer to its
19 employees the portable benefit package and the self-managed
20 plan as alternatives to the traditional benefit package, each
21 of that employer's eligible employee employees (as defined in
22 subsection (b)) shall be given the choice to elect which
23 retirement program he or she wishes to participate in with
24 respect to all periods of covered employment occurring on and

 

 

SB0304 - 29 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 after the effective date of the employee's election. The
2 retirement program election made by an eligible employee must
3 be made in writing, in the manner prescribed by the System, and
4 within the time period described in subsection (d) or (d-1).
5     If a currently eligible employee elects the self-managed
6 plan, then that election is irrevocable. The employee election
7 authorized by this Section is a one-time, irrevocable election.
8 If an employee who elected to participate or participated by
9 default in the traditional benefit plan terminates employment
10 after making the election provided under this subsection (a),
11 then upon his or her subsequent re-employment under this
12 Article the employee may make an election under this Section
13 with an employer the original election shall automatically
14 apply to him or her, provided that the employer is then a
15 participating employer as described in Section 15-158.2.
16     An eligible employee who fails to make this election shall,
17 by default, participate in the traditional benefit package.
18     (b) "Eligible employee" means an employee (as defined in
19 Section 15-107) who is either a currently eligible employee or
20 a newly eligible employee. For purposes of this Section, a
21 "currently eligible employee" is an employee who is employed
22 under this Article on the date on which the System first offers
23 the self-managed plan as an alternative to the traditional
24 benefit package an employee who is employed by an employer on
25 the effective date on which the employer offers to its
26 employees the portable benefit package and the self-managed

 

 

SB0304 - 30 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 plan as alternatives to the traditional benefit package. A
2 "newly eligible employee" is an employee who first becomes an
3 employee after the date on which the System first offers the
4 self-managed plan as an alternative to the traditional benefit
5 package. an employee who first becomes employed by an employer
6 after the effective date on which the employer offers its
7 employees the portable benefit package and the self-managed
8 plan as alternatives to the traditional benefit package. A
9 newly eligible employee participates in the traditional
10 benefit package until he or she makes an election to
11 participate in the portable benefit package or the self-managed
12 plan. If an employee does not elect to participate in the
13 portable benefit package or the self-managed plan, he or she
14 shall continue to participate in the traditional benefit
15 package by default.
16     (c) A currently An eligible employee who at the time he or
17 she is first eligible to make the election described in
18 subsection (a) does not have sufficient age and service to
19 qualify for a retirement annuity under Section 15-135 may elect
20 to participate in the traditional benefit package, the portable
21 benefit package, or the self-managed plan. An eligible employee
22 who has sufficient age and service to qualify for a retirement
23 annuity under Section 15-135 at the time he or she is first
24 eligible to make the election described in subsection (a) may
25 elect to participate in the traditional benefit package or the
26 portable benefit package, but may not elect to participate in

 

 

SB0304 - 31 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 the self-managed plan.
2     (d) A currently eligible employee must make this election
3 within 5 years one year after the effective date of the
4 employer's adoption of the self-managed plan.
5     A currently newly eligible employee who terminates
6 employment under this Article must make this election within 6
7 months after his or her re-employment under this Article. the
8 date on which the System receives the report of status
9 certification from the employer. If an employee elects to
10 participate in the self-managed plan, no employer
11 contributions shall be remitted to the self-managed plan when
12 the employee's account balance transfer is made. Employer
13 contributions to the self-managed plan shall commence as of the
14 first pay period that begins after the System receives the
15 employee's election.
16     (d-1) A newly eligible employee is automatically enrolled
17 in the self-managed plan under Section 15-158.2. who, prior to
18 the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General
19 Assembly, fails to make the election within the period provided
20 under subsection (d) and participates by default in the
21 traditional benefit package may make a late election to
22 participate in the portable benefit package or the self-managed
23 plan instead of the traditional benefit package at any time
24 within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act
25 of the 91st General Assembly.
26     (e) (Blank) If a currently eligible employee elects the

 

 

SB0304 - 32 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 portable benefit package, that election shall not become
2 effective until the one-year anniversary of the date on which
3 the election is filed with the System, provided the employee
4 remains continuously employed by the employer throughout the
5 one-year waiting period, and any benefits payable to or on
6 account of the employee before such one-year waiting period has
7 ended shall not be determined under the provisions applicable
8 to the portable benefit package but shall instead be determined
9 in accordance with the traditional benefit package. If a
10 currently eligible employee who has elected the portable
11 benefit package terminates employment covered by the System
12 before the one-year waiting period has ended, then no benefits
13 shall be determined under the portable benefit package
14 provisions while he or she is inactive in the System and upon
15 re-employment with an employer covered by the System he or she
16 shall begin a new one-year waiting period before the provisions
17 of the portable benefit package become effective.
18     (f) An eligible employee shall be provided with written
19 information prepared or prescribed by the System which
20 describes the employee's retirement program choices. The
21 eligible employee shall be offered an opportunity to receive
22 counseling from the System prior to making his or her election.
23 This counseling may consist of videotaped materials, group
24 presentations, individual consultation with an employee or
25 authorized representative of the System in person or by
26 telephone or other electronic means, or any combination of

 

 

SB0304 - 33 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 these methods.
2 (Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98; 91-887, eff. 7-6-00.)
 
3     (40 ILCS 5/15-158.2)
4     Sec. 15-158.2. Self-managed plan.
5     (a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds that it is
6 important for colleges and universities to be able to attract
7 and retain the most qualified employees and that in order to
8 attract and retain these employees, colleges and universities
9 should have the flexibility to provide a defined contribution
10 (self-managed) plan as an alternative for eligible employees
11 who elect not to participate in a defined benefit retirement
12 program provided under this Article. Accordingly, the State
13 Universities Retirement System is hereby authorized to
14 establish and administer a self-managed plan, which shall offer
15 participating employees the opportunity to accumulate assets
16 for retirement through a combination of employee and employer
17 contributions that may be invested in mutual funds, collective
18 investment funds, or other investment products and used to
19 purchase annuity contracts, either fixed or variable or a
20 combination thereof. The plan must be qualified under the
21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
22     (b) The Board shall adopt the self-managed plan established
23 under this Section for participants under this Article. The
24 adoption of Adoption by employers. Each employer subject to
25 this Article may elect to adopt the self-managed plan

 

 

SB0304 - 34 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 established under this Section; this election is irrevocable.
2 An employer's election to adopt the self-managed plan makes
3 available to the eligible employees of that employer the
4 elections described in Section 15-134.5.
5     The State Universities Retirement System shall be the plan
6 sponsor for the self-managed plan and shall prepare a plan
7 document and prescribe such rules and procedures as are
8 considered necessary or desirable for the administration of the
9 self-managed plan. Consistent with its fiduciary duty to the
10 participants and beneficiaries of the self-managed plan, the
11 Board of Trustees of the System may delegate aspects of plan
12 administration as it sees fit to companies authorized to do
13 business in this State, to the employers, or to a combination
14 of both.
15     (c) Selection of service providers and funding vehicles.
16 The System, in consultation with the employers, shall solicit
17 proposals to provide administrative services and funding
18 vehicles for the self-managed plan from insurance and annuity
19 companies and mutual fund companies, banks, trust companies, or
20 other financial institutions authorized to do business in this
21 State. In reviewing the proposals received and approving and
22 contracting with no fewer than 2 and no more than 7 companies,
23 the Board of Trustees of the System shall consider, among other
24 things, the following criteria:
25         (1) the nature and extent of the benefits that would be
26     provided to the participants;

 

 

SB0304 - 35 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1         (2) the reasonableness of the benefits in relation to
2     the premium charged;
3         (3) the suitability of the benefits to the needs and
4     interests of the participating employees and the employer;
5         (4) the ability of the company to provide benefits
6     under the contract and the financial stability of the
7     company; and
8         (5) the efficacy of the contract in the recruitment and
9     retention of employees.
10     The System, in consultation with the employers, shall
11 periodically review each approved company. A company may
12 continue to provide administrative services and funding
13 vehicles for the self-managed plan only so long as it continues
14 to be an approved company under contract with the Board.
15      In addition to the companies approved by the System under
16 this subsection (c), the System may offer its participants an
17 investment fund managed by the System.
18     (d) Employee Direction. Employees who are participating in
19 the program must be allowed to direct the transfer of their
20 account balances among the various investment options offered,
21 subject to applicable contractual provisions. The participant
22 shall not be deemed a fiduciary by reason of providing such
23 investment direction. A person who is a fiduciary shall not be
24 liable for any loss resulting from such investment direction
25 and shall not be deemed to have breached any fiduciary duty by
26 acting in accordance with that direction. Neither the System

 

 

SB0304 - 36 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 nor the employer guarantees any of the investments in the
2 employee's account balances.
3     (e) Participation. A currently eligible An employee
4 eligible to participate in the self-managed plan must make a
5 written election in accordance with the provisions of Section
6 15-134.5 and the procedures established by the System.
7 Participation in the self-managed plan by an electing employee
8 shall begin on the first day of the first pay period following
9 the later of the date the employee's election is filed with the
10 System or the effective date as of which the employee's
11 employer begins to offer participation in the self-managed
12 plan. Employers may not make the self-managed plan available
13 earlier than January 1, 1998. An employee's participation in
14 any other retirement program administered by the System under
15 this Article shall terminate on the date that participation in
16 the self-managed plan begins.
17     An employee who has elected to participate in the
18 self-managed plan under this Section must continue
19 participation while employed in an eligible position, and may
20 not participate in any other retirement program administered by
21 the System under this Article while employed by that employer
22 or any other employer that has adopted the self-managed plan,
23 unless the self-managed plan is terminated in accordance with
24 subsection (i).
25     Participation in the self-managed plan under this Section
26 shall constitute membership in the State Universities

 

 

SB0304 - 37 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 Retirement System.
2     A participant under this Section shall be entitled to the
3 benefits of Article 20 of this Code.
4     (f) Establishment of Initial Account Balance. If at the
5 time an employee elects to participate in the self-managed plan
6 he or she has rights and credits in the System due to previous
7 participation in the traditional benefit package, the System
8 shall establish for the employee an opening account balance in
9 the self-managed plan, equal to the amount of contribution
10 refund that the employee would be eligible to receive under
11 Section 15-154 if the employee terminated employment on that
12 date and elected a refund of contributions, except that this
13 hypothetical refund shall include interest at the effective
14 rate for the respective years. The System shall transfer assets
15 from the defined benefit retirement program to the self-managed
16 plan, as a tax free transfer in accordance with Internal
17 Revenue Service guidelines, for purposes of funding the
18 employee's opening account balance.
19     (g) No Duplication of Service Credit. Notwithstanding any
20 other provision of this Article, an employee may not purchase
21 or receive service or service credit applicable to any other
22 retirement program administered by the System under this
23 Article for any period during which the employee was a
24 participant in the self-managed plan established under this
25 Section.
26     (h) Contributions. The self-managed plan shall be funded by

 

 

SB0304 - 38 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 contributions from employees participating in the self-managed
2 plan and employer contributions as provided in this Section.
3     The contribution rate for employees participating in the
4 self-managed plan under this Section shall be equal to the
5 employee contribution rate for other participants in the
6 System, as provided in Section 15-157. This required
7 contribution shall be made as an "employer pick-up" under
8 Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any
9 successor Section thereof. Any employee participating in the
10 System's traditional benefit package prior to his or her
11 election to participate in the self-managed plan shall continue
12 to have the employer pick up the contributions required under
13 Section 15-157. However, the amounts picked up after the
14 election of the self-managed plan shall be remitted to and
15 treated as assets of the self-managed plan. In no event shall
16 an employee have an option of receiving these amounts in cash.
17 Employees may make additional contributions to the
18 self-managed plan in accordance with procedures prescribed by
19 the System, to the extent permitted under rules prescribed by
20 the System.
21     The program shall provide for employer contributions to be
22 credited to each self-managed plan participant in an amount
23 equal to the regular employer contribution that would be
24 required to fund the actual regular cost incurred for each year
25 of service credit earned had the participant chosen to enroll
26 in the traditional benefit plan. at a rate of 7.6% of the

 

 

SB0304 - 39 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 participating employee's salary, less the amount used by the
2 System to provide disability benefits for the employee. The
3 amounts so credited shall be paid into the participant's
4 self-managed plan accounts in a manner to be prescribed by the
5 System.
6     An amount of employer contribution, not exceeding 1% of the
7 participating employee's salary, shall be used for the purpose
8 of providing the disability benefits of the System to the
9 employee. Prior to the beginning of each plan year under the
10 self-managed plan, the Board of Trustees shall determine, as a
11 percentage of salary, the amount of employer contributions to
12 be allocated during that plan year for providing disability
13 benefits for employees in the self-managed plan.
14     The State of Illinois shall make contributions by
15 appropriations to the System of the employer contributions
16 required for employees who participate in the self-managed plan
17 under this Section. The amount required shall be certified by
18 the Board of Trustees of the System and paid by the State in
19 accordance with Section 15-165. The System shall not be
20 obligated to remit the required employer contributions to any
21 of the insurance and annuity companies, mutual fund companies,
22 banks, trust companies, financial institutions, or other
23 sponsors of any of the funding vehicles offered under the
24 self-managed plan until it has received the required employer
25 contributions from the State. In the event of a deficiency in
26 the amount of State contributions, the System shall implement

 

 

SB0304 - 40 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 those procedures described in subsection (c) of Section 15-165
2 to obtain the required funding from the General Revenue Fund.
3     (i) (Blank) Termination. The self-managed plan authorized
4 under this Section may be terminated by the System, subject to
5 the terms of any relevant contracts, and the System shall have
6 no obligation to reestablish the self-managed plan under this
7 Section. This Section does not create a right to continued
8 participation in any self-managed plan set up by the System
9 under this Section. If the self-managed plan is terminated, the
10 participants shall have the right to participate in one of the
11 other retirement programs offered by the System and receive
12 service credit in such other retirement program for any years
13 of employment following the termination.
14     (j) Vesting; Withdrawal; Return to Service. A participant
15 in the self-managed plan becomes vested in the employer
16 contributions credited to his or her accounts in the
17 self-managed plan on the earliest to occur of the following:
18 (1) completion of 5 years of service with an employer described
19 in Section 15-106; (2) the death of the participating employee
20 while employed by an employer described in Section 15-106, if
21 the participant has completed at least 1 1/2 years of service;
22 or (3) the participant's election to retire and apply the
23 reciprocal provisions of Article 20 of this Code.
24     A participant in the self-managed plan who receives a
25 distribution of his or her vested amounts from the self-managed
26 plan while not yet eligible for retirement under this Article

 

 

SB0304 - 41 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 (and Article 20, if applicable) shall forfeit all service
2 credit and accrued rights in the System; if subsequently
3 re-employed, the participant shall be considered a new
4 employee. If a former participant again becomes a participating
5 employee (or becomes employed by a participating system under
6 Article 20 of this Code) and continues as such for at least 2
7 years, all such rights, service credits, and previous status as
8 a participant shall be restored upon repayment of the amount of
9 the distribution, without interest.
10     (k) Benefit amounts. If an employee who is vested in
11 employer contributions terminates employment, the employee
12 shall be entitled to a benefit which is based on the account
13 values attributable to both employer and employee
14 contributions and any investment return thereon.
15     If an employee who is not vested in employer contributions
16 terminates employment, the employee shall be entitled to a
17 benefit based solely on the account values attributable to the
18 employee's contributions and any investment return thereon,
19 and the employer contributions and any investment return
20 thereon shall be forfeited. Any employer contributions which
21 are forfeited shall be held in escrow by the company investing
22 those contributions and shall be used as directed by the System
23 for future allocations of employer contributions or for the
24 restoration of amounts previously forfeited by former
25 participants who again become participating employees.
26 (Source: P.A. 93-347, eff. 7-24-03.)
 

 

 

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1     (40 ILCS 5/15-198.1 new)
2     Sec. 15-198.1. New benefit increases. To the extent that
3 the changes made to this Article by this amendatory Act of the
4 96th General Assembly authorizing the System to offer a
5 self-managed plan are determined to be a new benefit increase
6 within the meaning of Section 15-198, the changes made by this
7 amendatory Act are exempt from the provisions of subsection (d)
8 of Section 15-198.
 
9     (40 ILCS 5/16-104.1 new)
10     Sec. 16-104.1. Traditional benefit package. "Traditional
11 benefit package" means the defined benefit retirement program
12 maintained by the System, which includes retirement annuities
13 payable directly from the System, as provided in Sections
14 16-132 through 16-136.4; disability benefits payable under
15 Sections 16-149 through 16-149.5; survivor's benefits payable
16 directly from the System, as provided in Sections 16-140
17 through 16-143.1; and contribution refunds, as provided in
18 Sections 16-138, 16-143.2, and 16-151.
 
19     (40 ILCS 5/16-104.2 new)
20     Sec. 16-104.2. Self-managed plan. "Self-managed plan"
21 means the defined contribution retirement program maintained
22 by the System, as described in Section 16-158.2. The
23 self-managed plan also includes disability benefits, as

 

 

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1 provided in Sections 16-149 through 16-149.5 (but disregarding
2 disability retirement annuities under Section 16-149.2). The
3 self-managed plan does not include retirement annuities or
4 survivor's benefits payable directly from the System as
5 provided in Sections 16-132 through 16-136.4, Sections 16-140
6 through 16-143.1, and Section 16-149.2, or refunds determined
7 under Sections 16-138, 16-143.2, and 16-151.
 
8     (40 ILCS 5/16-131.7 new)
9     Sec. 16-131.7. Retirement program elections.
10     (a) For the purposes of this Act:
11     "Eligible member" means a either a currently eligible
12 member or a newly eligible member.
13     "Currently eligible member" means a member who is employed
14 by an employer on the date on which the employer first offers
15 to its employees the self-managed plan as an alternative to the
16 traditional benefit package.
17     "Newly eligible member" is a member who first becomes
18 employed by an employer after the date on which the employer
19 first offers its members the self-managed plan as an
20 alternative to the traditional benefit package.
21     (b) Effective as of the date that an employer adopts the
22 self-managed plan as described in Section 16-158.2 as an
23 alternative to the traditional benefit package, each of that
24 employer's currently eligible members shall be given the choice
25 to elect which retirement program he or she wishes to

 

 

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1 participate in with respect to all periods of covered
2 employment occurring on and after the effective date of the
3 employee's election. The retirement program election made by a
4 currently eligible member must be made in writing, in the
5 manner prescribed by the System, and within the time period
6 described in this Section.
7     If a currently eligible member elects the self-managed
8 plan, then that election is irrevocable. If a currently
9 eligible member who elected to participate or participated by
10 default in the traditional benefit plan terminates employment
11 under this Article, then the member, upon his or her subsequent
12 re-employment under this Article, may make an election under
13 this Section.
14     A currently eligible member who fails to make an election
15 under this Section shall, by default, participate in the
16 traditional benefit package.
17     (c) A currently eligible member may elect to participate in
18 the traditional benefit package or the self-managed plan.
19     A currently eligible member must make this election within
20 5 years after the effective date of the employer's adoption of
21 the self-managed plan or, in the case of a currently eligible
22 member who terminates employment under this Article, within 6
23 months after his or her re-employment under this Article.
24     A newly eligible member is automatically enrolled in the
25 self-managed plan under Section 16-158.2.
26     (d) If a currently eligible member elects to participate in

 

 

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1 the self-managed plan, the System shall fund their account as
2 stated in subsection (f) of Section 16-158.2. Employer
3 contributions to the self-managed plan shall commence as of the
4 first pay period that begins after the System receives the
5 member's election.
6     (e) A currently eligible member shall be provided with
7 written information prepared or prescribed by the System that
8 describes the member's retirement program choices. The
9 eligible member shall be offered an opportunity to receive
10 counseling from the System prior to making his or her election.
11 This counseling may consist of videotaped materials, group
12 presentations, individual consultation with an employee or
13 authorized representative of the System in person or by
14 telephone or other electronic means, or any combination of
15 these methods.
 
16     (40 ILCS 5/16-152)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-152)
17     Sec. 16-152. Contributions by members.
18     (a) Each member shall make contributions for membership
19 service to this System as follows:
20         (1) Effective July 1, 1998, contributions of 7.50% of
21     salary towards the cost of the retirement annuity. Such
22     contributions shall be deemed "normal contributions".
23         (2) Effective July 1, 1969, contributions of 1/2 of 1%
24     of salary toward the cost of the automatic annual increase
25     in retirement annuity provided under Section 16-133.1.

 

 

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1         (3) Effective July 24, 1959, contributions of 1% of
2     salary towards the cost of survivor benefits. Such
3     contributions shall not be credited to the individual
4     account of the member and shall not be subject to refund
5     except as provided under Section 16-143.2.
6         (4) Effective July 1, 2005, contributions of 0.40% of
7     salary toward the cost of the early retirement without
8     discount option provided under Section 16-133.2. This
9     contribution shall cease upon termination of the early
10     retirement without discount option as provided in Section
11     16-176. The contributions made under this paragraph (4)
12     shall be used by the System to fund benefits under Sections
13     16-149 through 16-149.5 for those that participate in the
14     self-managed plan.
15     (b) The minimum required contribution for any year of
16 full-time teaching service shall be $192.
17     (c) Contributions shall not be required of any annuitant
18 receiving a retirement annuity who is given employment as
19 permitted under Section 16-118 or 16-150.1.
20     (d) A person who (i) was a member before July 1, 1998, (ii)
21 retires with more than 34 years of creditable service, and
22 (iii) does not elect to qualify for the augmented rate under
23 Section 16-129.1 shall be entitled, at the time of retirement,
24 to receive a partial refund of contributions made under this
25 Section for service occurring after the later of June 30, 1998
26 or attainment of 34 years of creditable service, in an amount

 

 

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1 equal to 1.00% of the salary upon which those contributions
2 were based.
3     (e) A member's contributions toward the cost of early
4 retirement without discount made under item (a)(4) of this
5 Section shall not be refunded if the member has elected early
6 retirement without discount under Section 16-133.2 and has
7 begun to receive a retirement annuity under this Article
8 calculated in accordance with that election. Otherwise, a
9 member's contributions toward the cost of early retirement
10 without discount made under item (a)(4) of this Section shall
11 be refunded according to whichever one of the following
12 circumstances occurs first:
13         (1) The contributions shall be refunded to the member,
14     without interest, within 120 days after the member's
15     retirement annuity commences, if the member does not elect
16     early retirement without discount under Section 16-133.2.
17         (2) The contributions shall be included, without
18     interest, in any refund claimed by the member under Section
19     16-151.
20         (3) The contributions shall be refunded to the member's
21     designated beneficiary (or if there is no beneficiary, to
22     the member's estate), without interest, if the member dies
23     without having begun to receive a retirement annuity under
24     this Article.
25         (4) The contributions shall be refunded to the member,
26     without interest, within 120 days after the early

 

 

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1     retirement without discount option provided under Section
2     16-133.2 is terminated under Section 16-176.
3 (Source: P.A. 93-320, eff. 7-23-03; 94-4, eff. 6-1-05.)
 
4     (40 ILCS 5/16-158.2 new)
5     Sec. 16-158.2. Self-managed plan.
6     (a) The General Assembly finds that it is important for
7 schools to be able to attract and retain the most qualified
8 employees and that in order to attract and retain these
9 employees, schools should have the flexibility to provide a
10 defined contribution (self-managed) plan for eligible members.
11 Accordingly, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of
12 Illinois is hereby authorized to establish and administer a
13 self-managed plan, which shall offer participating members the
14 opportunity to accumulate assets for retirement through a
15 combination of member and employer contributions that may be
16 invested in mutual funds, collective investment funds, or other
17 investment products and used to purchase annuity contracts,
18 either fixed or variable or a combination of fixed and
19 variable. The plan must be qualified under the Internal Revenue
20 Code of 1986.
21     (b) Each employer subject to this Article shall adopt the
22 self-managed plan established under this Section. This
23 election is irrevocable. An employer's election to adopt the
24 self-managed plan makes available to the eligible members of
25 that employer the elections described in Section 16-131.7.

 

 

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1     The Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois
2 shall be the plan sponsor for the self-managed plan and shall
3 prepare a plan document and adopt any rules and procedures as
4 are considered necessary or desirable for the administration of
5 the self-managed plan. Consistent with its fiduciary duty to
6 the participants and beneficiaries of the self-managed plan,
7 the Board of Trustees of the System may delegate aspects of
8 plan administration as it sees fit to companies authorized to
9 do business in this State, to the employers, or to a
10 combination of both.
11     (c) Selection of service providers and funding vehicles.
12 The System shall solicit proposals to provide administrative
13 services and funding vehicles for the self-managed plan from
14 insurance and annuity companies and mutual fund companies,
15 banks, trust companies, or other financial institutions
16 authorized to do business in this State. In reviewing the
17 proposals received and approving and contracting with no fewer
18 than 2 and no more than 7 companies, the Board of Trustees of
19 the System shall consider, among other things, the following
20 criteria:
21         (1) the nature and extent of the benefits that would be
22     provided to the participants;
23         (2) the reasonableness of the benefits in relation to
24     the premium charged;
25         (3) the suitability of the benefits to the needs and
26     interests of the participating members and employers;

 

 

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1         (4) the ability of the company to provide benefits
2     under the contract and the financial stability of the
3     company; and
4         (5) the efficacy of the contract in the recruitment and
5     retention of employees.
6     The System shall periodically review each approved
7 company. A company may continue to provide administrative
8 services and funding vehicles for the self-managed plan only so
9 long as it continues to be an approved company under contract
10 with the Board.
11     In addition to the companies approved by the System under
12 this subsection (c), the System may offer its participants an
13 investment fund managed by the System.
14     (d) Participants in the program must be allowed to direct
15 the transfer of their account balances among the various
16 investment options offered, subject to applicable contractual
17 provisions. The participant shall not be deemed a fiduciary by
18 reason of providing such investment direction. A person who is
19 a fiduciary shall not be liable for any loss resulting from
20 such investment direction and shall not be deemed to have
21 breached any fiduciary duty by acting in accordance with that
22 direction. Neither the System nor the employer guarantees any
23 of the investments in the participant's account balances.
24     (e) A currently eligible member, as defined in Section
25 16-131.7, must make a written election to participate in the
26 self-managed plan in accordance with the provisions of Section

 

 

SB0304 - 51 - LRB096 07811 AMC 17914 b

1 16-131.7 and the procedures established by the System.
2 Participation in the self-managed plan shall begin on the first
3 day of the month immediately following the month in which the
4 currently eligible member's election is filed with the System
5 or when a newly eligible member, as defined in Section
6 16-131.7, enters the System, but not sooner than the effective
7 date of the self-managed plan. The System shall make the
8 self-managed plan available under this Article by January 1,
9 2011. A member's participation in the traditional retirement
10 package under this Article shall terminate on the date that
11 participation in the self-managed plan begins.
12     A member who has elected to participate in the self-managed
13 plan under this Section must continue participation while he or
14 she remains a member, and may not participate in the
15 traditional benefit package while employed by that employer or
16 any other employer under this Article.
17     Participation in the self-managed plan under this Section
18 shall constitute membership in the Teachers' Retirement System
19 of the State of Illinois.
20     A participant under this Section shall be entitled to the
21 benefits of Article 20 of this Code.
22     (f) If, at the time an employee elects to participate in
23 the self-managed plan, the employee has rights and credits in
24 the System due to previous participation in the traditional
25 benefit package, the System shall establish for the employee an
26 opening account balance in the self-managed plan, equal to (i)

 

 

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1 the amount of the contribution refund that the employee would
2 be eligible to receive under Section 16-143.2 and 16-151 if the
3 employee terminated employment on that date and elected a
4 refund of contributions, plus (ii) an amount equal to the
5 regular employer contribution that would be required to fund
6 the actual regular cost incurred for each year of service
7 credit earned, provided that the total opening account balance
8 does not exceed 7.6% of that participant's salary for that
9 year, plus interest. The interest used in this subsection (f)
10 is calculated as the average annual rate of return that the
11 System has earned over the past 20 fiscal years and is
12 compounded. The System shall transfer assets from the defined
13 benefit retirement program to the self-managed plan, as a
14 tax-free transfer in accordance with Internal Revenue Service
15 guidelines, for purposes of funding the employee's opening
16 account balance.
17     (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a
18 member may not purchase or receive service or service credit
19 applicable to the traditional benefit package under this
20 Article for any period during which the member was a
21 participant in the self-managed plan established under this
22 Section.
23     (h) The self-managed plan shall be funded by contributions
24 from participants in the self-managed plan and employer
25 contributions as provided in this Section.
26     The contribution rate for participants in the self-managed

 

 

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1 plan under this Section shall be equal to the member
2 contribution rate for all participants in the System, as
3 provided in Section 16-152. This required contribution shall be
4 made as an employer pick-up under Section 414(h) of the
5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor Section thereof.
6 A participant in the System's traditional benefit package prior
7 to his or her election to participate in the self-managed plan
8 shall continue to have the employer pick up the contributions
9 required under Section 16-152. However, the amounts picked up
10 after the election of the self-managed plan shall be remitted
11 to and treated as assets of the self-managed plan. In no event
12 shall a member have the option of receiving these amounts in
13 cash. Members may make additional contributions to the
14 self-managed plan in accordance with procedures prescribed by
15 the System, to the extent permitted under rules prescribed by
16 the System.
17     The program shall provide for State contributions to be
18 credited to each self-managed plan participant in an amount
19 equal to the regular employer contribution that would be
20 required to fund the actual regular cost incurred for each year
21 of service credit earned had the participant chosen to enroll
22 in the traditional benefit plan.
23     An amount of employer contribution, not exceeding 1% of the
24 participating member's salary, shall be used for the purpose of
25 providing the disability benefits of the System to the member.
26 Prior to the beginning of each plan year under the self-managed

 

 

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1 plan, the Board of Trustees shall determine, as a percentage of
2 salary, the amount of member contributions to be allocated
3 during that plan year for providing disability benefits for
4 members in the self-managed plan. The provisions of this
5 paragraph shall be administered in conjunction with the
6 provisions of Section 16-132.
7     The State of Illinois shall make contributions by
8 appropriations to the System of the employer contributions
9 required for participants in the self-managed plan under this
10 Section. The amount required shall be certified by the Board of
11 Trustees of the System and paid by the State in accordance with
12 Section 16-158. The System shall not be obligated to remit the
13 required employer contributions to any of the insurance and
14 annuity companies, mutual fund companies, banks, trust
15 companies, financial institutions, or other sponsors of any of
16 the funding vehicles offered under the self-managed plan until
17 it has received the required employer contributions from the
18 State. In the event of a deficiency in the amount of State
19 contributions, the System shall implement those procedures
20 described in subsection (b-1) of Section 16-158 to obtain the
21 required funding from the Common School Fund.
22     (i) A participant in the self-managed plan becomes vested
23 in the employer contributions credited to his or her accounts
24 in the self-managed plan on the earliest to occur of the
25 following: (1) attainment of at least 5 years of creditable
26 service under this Article; (2) the death of the participating

 

 

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1 member while employed under this Article, if the participant
2 has completed at least 1.5 years of service; or (3) the
3 participant's election to retire and apply the reciprocal
4 provisions of Article 20 of this Code.
5     A participant in the self-managed plan who receives a
6 distribution of his or her vested amounts from the self-managed
7 plan while not yet eligible for retirement under this Article
8 (and Article 20, if applicable) shall forfeit all service
9 credit and accrued rights in the System; if subsequently
10 re-employed under this Article, the participant shall be
11 considered a new member. If a former participant in the
12 self-managed plan again becomes a member (or becomes employed
13 by a participating system under Article 20 of this Code) and
14 continues as such for at least 2 years, all such rights,
15 service credits, and previous status as a participant shall be
16 restored upon repayment of the amount of the distribution,
17 without interest.
18     (j) If a member participating in the self-managed plan who
19 is vested in employer contributions terminates employment, the
20 member shall be entitled to a benefit that is based on the
21 account values attributable to both employer and member
22 contributions and any investment return thereon.
23     If a member participating in the self-managed plan who is
24 not vested in employer contributions terminates employment,
25 the member shall be entitled to a benefit based solely on the
26 account values attributable to the member's contributions and

 

 

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1 any investment return thereon, and the employer contributions
2 and any investment return thereon shall be forfeited. Any
3 employer contributions that are forfeited shall be held in
4 escrow by the company investing those contributions and shall
5 be used, as directed by the System, for future allocations of
6 employer contributions or for the restoration of amounts
7 previously forfeited by former participants who again become
8 participants in the self-managed plan.
 
9     (40 ILCS 5/16-203.1 new)
10     Sec. 16-203.1. New benefit increases. To the extent that
11 the changes made to this Article by this amendatory Act of the
12 96th General Assembly authorizing the System to offer a
13 self-managed plan are determined to be a new benefit increase
14 within the meaning of Section 16-203, the changes made by this
15 amendatory Act are exempt from the provisions of subsection (d)
16 of Section 16-203.
 
17     (40 ILCS 5/18-105.1 new)
18     Sec. 18-105.1. Traditional benefit package. "Traditional
19 benefit package" means the defined benefit retirement program
20 maintained by the System, which includes retirement annuities
21 payable directly from the System, as provided in Sections
22 18-124 through 18-125.1; disability retirement annuities
23 payable under Sections 18-126 and 18-126.1; survivor's
24 annuities payable directly from the System, as provided in

 

 

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1 Section 18-123 and Sections 18-128 through 18-128.1 and Section
2 18-128.3; and contribution refunds as provided in Section
3 18-129.
 
4     (40 ILCS 5/18-105.2 new)
5     Sec. 18-105.2. Self-managed plan. "Self-managed plan"
6 means the defined contribution retirement program maintained
7 by the System, as described in Section 18-133.2. The
8 self-managed plan also includes disability benefits, as
9 provided in Section 18-126.1. The self-managed plan does not
10 include retirement annuities or survivor's annuities payable
11 directly from the System, as provided in Section 18-123,
12 Sections 18-124 through 18-126, Sections 18-128 through
13 18-128.1, and Section 18-128.3 or refunds determined under
14 Section 18-129.
 
15     (40 ILCS 5/18-123.3 new)
16     Sec. 18-123.3. Retirement program elections.
17     (a) For the purposes of this Section:
18     "Eligible participant" means either a currently eligible
19 participant or a newly eligible participant.
20     "Currently eligible participant" means a participant who
21 is employed as a judge on the date on which the System first
22 offers the self-managed plan as an alternative to the
23 traditional benefit package.
24     "Newly eligible participant" means a participant who first

 

 

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1 becomes employed as a judge after the date on which the System
2 first offers the self-managed plan as an alternative to the
3 traditional benefit package.
4     (b) When the System offers to participants the self-managed
5 plan as an alternative to the traditional benefit package, each
6 currently eligible participant shall be given the choice to
7 elect which retirement program he or she wishes to participate
8 in with respect to all periods of covered employment occurring
9 on or after the effective date of the participant's election.
10 The retirement program election made by a currently eligible
11 participant must be made in writing, in the manner prescribed
12 by the System, and within the time period described in this
13 Section.
14     If a currently eligible participant elects the
15 self-managed plan, then that election is irrevocable. If a
16 currently eligible participant who elected to participate or
17 participated by default in the traditional benefit plan
18 terminates employment under this Article, then the
19 participant, upon his or her subsequent re-employment under
20 this Article, may make an election under this Section.
21     A currently eligible participant who fails to make an
22 election under this Section shall, by default, participate in
23 the traditional benefit package.
24     (c) A currently eligible participant may elect to
25 participate in the traditional benefit package or the
26 self-managed plan.

 

 

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1     A currently eligible participant must make this election
2 within 5 years after the effective date of the employer's
3 adoption of the self-managed plan or, in the case of a
4 currently eligible participant who terminates employment under
5 this Article, within 6 months after his or her re-employment
6 under this Article.
7     A newly eligible participant is automatically enrolled in
8 the self-managed plan under Section 18-133.2.
9     (d) If a currently eligible participant elects to
10 participate in the self-managed plan, the System shall fund
11 their account as stated in subsection (f) of Section 18-133.2.
12 Employer contributions to the self-managed plan shall commence
13 as of the first pay period that begins after the System
14 receives the member's election.
15     (e) A currently eligible participant shall be provided with
16 written information prepared or prescribed by the System that
17 describes the participant's retirement program choices. The
18 eligible participant shall be offered an opportunity to receive
19 counseling from the System prior to making his or her election.
20 This counseling may consist of videotaped materials, group
21 presentations, individual consultation with an employee or
22 authorized representative of the System in person or by
23 telephone or other electronic means, or any combination of
24 these methods.
 
25     (40 ILCS 5/18-133)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 18-133)

 

 

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1     Sec. 18-133. Financing; employee contributions.
2     (a) Effective July 1, 1967, each participant is required to
3 contribute 7 1/2% of each payment of salary toward the
4 retirement annuity. Such contributions shall continue during
5 the entire time the participant is in service, with the
6 following exceptions:
7         (1) Contributions for the retirement annuity are not
8     required on salary received after 18 years of service by
9     persons who were participants before January 2, 1954.
10         (2) A participant who continues to serve as a judge
11     after becoming eligible to receive the maximum rate of
12     annuity may elect, through a written direction filed with
13     the Board, to discontinue contributing to the System. Any
14     such option elected by a judge shall be irrevocable unless
15     prior to January 1, 2000, and while continuing to serve as
16     judge, the judge (A) files with the Board a letter
17     cancelling the direction to discontinue contributing to
18     the System and requesting that such contributing resume,
19     and (B) pays into the System an amount equal to the total
20     of the discontinued contributions plus interest thereon at
21     5% per annum. Service credits earned in any other
22     "participating system" as defined in Article 20 of this
23     Code shall be considered for purposes of determining a
24     judge's eligibility to discontinue contributions under
25     this subdivision (a)(2).
26         (3) A participant who (i) has attained age 60, (ii)

 

 

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1     continues to serve as a judge after becoming eligible to
2     receive the maximum rate of annuity, and (iii) has not
3     elected to discontinue contributing to the System under
4     subdivision (a)(2) of this Section (or has revoked any such
5     election) may elect, through a written direction filed with
6     the Board, to make contributions to the System based only
7     on the amount of the increases in salary received by the
8     judge on or after the date of the election, rather than the
9     total salary received. If a judge who is making
10     contributions to the System on the effective date of this
11     amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly makes an
12     election to limit contributions under this subdivision
13     (a)(3) within 90 days after that effective date, the
14     election shall be deemed to become effective on that
15     effective date and the judge shall be entitled to receive a
16     refund of any excess contributions paid to the System
17     during that 90-day period; any other election under this
18     subdivision (a)(3) becomes effective on the first of the
19     month following the date of the election. An election to
20     limit contributions under this subdivision (a)(3) is
21     irrevocable. Service credits earned in any other
22     participating system as defined in Article 20 of this Code
23     shall be considered for purposes of determining a judge's
24     eligibility to make an election under this subdivision
25     (a)(3).
26     (b) Beginning July 1, 1969, each participant is required to

 

 

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1 contribute 1% of each payment of salary towards the automatic
2 increase in annuity provided in Section 18-125.1. However, such
3 contributions need not be made by any participant who has
4 elected prior to September 15, 1969, not to be subject to the
5 automatic increase in annuity provisions.
6     (c) Effective July 13, 1953, each married participant
7 subject to the survivor's annuity provisions is required to
8 contribute 2 1/2% of each payment of salary, whether or not he
9 or she is required to make any other contributions under this
10 Section. Such contributions shall be made concurrently with the
11 contributions made for annuity purposes.
12     Notwithstanding any provision in this subsection (c) to the
13 contrary, in the case of an employee who participates in the
14 self-managed plan under Section 18-133.2, contributions for
15 survivor's annuity shall be used to fund benefits under Section
16 18-133.2.
17 (Source: P.A. 91-653, eff. 12-10-99.)
 
18     (40 ILCS 5/18-133.2 new)
19     Sec. 18-133.2. Self-managed plan.
20     (a) The General Assembly finds that it is important to be
21 able to attract and retain the most qualified judges and that
22 in order to attract and retain these judges, the System should
23 have the flexibility to provide a defined contribution
24 (self-managed) plan for eligible participants. Accordingly,
25 the Judges Retirement System of Illinois is hereby authorized

 

 

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1 to establish and administer a self-managed plan, which shall
2 offer participants the opportunity to accumulate assets for
3 retirement through a combination of participant and employer
4 contributions that may be invested in mutual funds, collective
5 investment funds, or other investment products and used to
6 purchase annuity contracts, either fixed or variable or a
7 combination thereof. The plan must be qualified under the
8 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
9     (b) The Board shall adopt the self-managed plan established
10 under this Section. An employer's election to adopt the
11 self-managed plan makes available to the eligible participants
12 of that employer the elections described in Section 18-133.2.
13     The Judges Retirement System of Illinois shall be the plan
14 sponsor for the self-managed plan and shall prepare a plan
15 document and prescribe such rules and procedures as are
16 considered necessary or desirable for the administration of the
17 self-managed plan. Consistent with its fiduciary duty to the
18 participants and beneficiaries of the self-managed plan, the
19 Board of Trustees of the System may delegate aspects of plan
20 administration as it sees fit to companies authorized to do
21 business in this State.
22     (c) The System shall solicit proposals to provide
23 administrative services and funding vehicles for the
24 self-managed plan from insurance and annuity companies and
25 mutual fund companies, banks, trust companies, or other
26 financial institutions authorized to do business in this State.

 

 

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1 In reviewing the proposals received and approving and
2 contracting with no fewer than 2 and no more than 7 companies,
3 the Board of Trustees of the System shall consider, among other
4 things, the following criteria:
5         (1) the nature and extent of the benefits that would be
6     provided to the participants;
7         (2) the reasonableness of the benefits in relation to
8     the premium charged;
9         (3) the suitability of the benefits to the needs and
10     interests of the participants and the employer;
11         (4) the ability of the company to provide benefits
12     under the contract and the financial stability of the
13     company; and
14         (5) the efficacy of the contract in the recruitment and
15     retention of judges.
16     The System shall periodically review each approved
17 company. A company may continue to provide administrative
18 services and funding vehicles for the self-managed plan only so
19 long as it continues to be an approved company under contract
20 with the Board.
21     In addition to the companies approved by the System under
22 this subsection (c), the System may offer its participants an
23 investment fund managed by the System.
24     (d) Participants who are under the self-managed plan must
25 be allowed to direct the transfer of their account balances
26 among the various investment options offered, subject to

 

 

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1 applicable contractual provisions. The participant shall not
2 be deemed a fiduciary by reason of providing such investment
3 direction. A person who is a fiduciary shall not be liable for
4 any loss resulting from such investment direction and shall not
5 be deemed to have breached any fiduciary duty by acting in
6 accordance with that direction. Neither the System nor the
7 State guarantees any of the investments in the participant's
8 account balances.
9     (e) A currently eligible participant, as defined in Section
10 18-123.3, must make a written election to participate in the
11 self-managed plan in accordance with the provisions of Section
12 18-133.2 and the procedures established by the System.
13 Participation in the self-managed plan shall begin on the first
14 day of the month immediately following the month in which the
15 currently eligible participant's election is filed with the
16 System or when a newly eligible participant, as defined in
17 Section 18-123.3, enters the System, but not sooner than the
18 effective date of the self-managed plan. The System shall make
19 the self-managed plan available under this Article by January
20 1, 2011. A participant's participation in the traditional
21 retirement package under this Article shall terminate on the
22 date that participation in the self-managed plan begins.
23     A participant who has elected to participate in the
24 self-managed plan under this Section must continue
25 participation while employed as a judge, and may not
26 participate in the traditional benefit package administered by

 

 

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1 the System under this Article while employed as a judge.
2     Participation in the self-managed plan under this Section
3 shall constitute membership in the Judges Retirement System of
4 Illinois.
5     A participant under this Section shall be entitled to the
6 benefits of Article 20 of this Code.
7     (f) If, at the time a participant elects to participate in
8 the self-managed plan, the participant rights and credits in
9 the System due to previous participation in the traditional
10 benefit package, the System shall establish for the participant
11 an opening account balance in the self-managed plan, equal to
12 (i) the amount of the contribution refund that the participant
13 would be eligible to receive under Section 18-129 if the
14 participant terminated employment on that date and elected a
15 refund of contributions, plus (ii) an amount equal to the
16 regular employer contribution that would be required to fund
17 the actual regular cost incurred for each year of service
18 credit earned, provided that the total opening account balance
19 does not exceed 7.6% of that participant's salary for that
20 year, plus interest. The interest used in this subsection (f)
21 is calculated as the average annual rate of return that the
22 System has earned over the past 20 fiscal years and is
23 compounded. The System shall transfer assets from the defined
24 benefit retirement program to the self-managed plan, as a
25 tax-free transfer in accordance with Internal Revenue Service
26 guidelines, for purposes of funding the participant's opening

 

 

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1 account balance.
2     (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a
3 participant may not purchase or receive service or service
4 credit applicable to the traditional benefit package under this
5 Article for any period during which the participant was covered
6 under the self-managed plan established under this Section.
7     (h) The self-managed plan shall be funded by contributions
8 from participants participating in the self-managed plan and
9 State contributions as provided in this Section.
10     The contribution rate for persons participating in the
11 self-managed plan under this Section shall be equal to the
12 participant contribution rate for other participants in the
13 System, as provided in Section 18-133. This required
14 contribution shall be made as an employer pick-up under Section
15 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor
16 Section thereof. Any employee participating in the System's
17 traditional benefit package prior to his or her election to
18 participate in the self-managed plan shall continue to have the
19 employer pick up that contribution. However, the amounts picked
20 up after the election of the self-managed plan shall be
21 remitted to and treated as assets of the self-managed plan. In
22 no event shall a participant have the option of receiving these
23 amounts in cash. Participants may make additional
24 contributions to the self-managed plan in accordance with
25 procedures prescribed by the System, to the extent permitted
26 under rules prescribed by the System.

 

 

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1     The program shall provide for State contributions to be
2 credited to each self-managed plan participant in an amount
3 equal to the regular employer contribution that would be
4 required to fund the actual regular cost incurred for each year
5 of service credit earned had the participant chosen to enroll
6 in the traditional benefit plan.
7     An amount of participant contribution, not exceeding 1% of
8 the participant's salary, shall be used for the purpose of
9 providing the disability benefits of the System to the
10 employee. Prior to the beginning of each plan year under the
11 self-managed plan, the Board of Trustees shall determine, as a
12 percentage of salary, the amount of participant contributions
13 to be allocated during that plan year for providing disability
14 benefits for participants in the self-managed plan. The
15 provisions of this paragraph shall be administered in
16 conjunction with the provisions of Section 18-124.
17     The State of Illinois shall make contributions by
18 appropriations to the System of the employer contributions
19 required for participants who are covered under the
20 self-managed plan under this Section. The amount required shall
21 be certified by the Board of Trustees of the System and paid by
22 the State in accordance with Section 18-140. The System shall
23 not be obligated to remit the required employer contributions
24 to any of the insurance and annuity companies, mutual fund
25 companies, banks, trust companies, financial institutions, or
26 other sponsors of any of the funding vehicles offered under the

 

 

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1 self-managed plan until it has received the required employer
2 contributions from the State. In the event of a deficiency in
3 the amount of State contributions, the System shall implement
4 those procedures described in subsection (b) of Section 18-140
5 to obtain the required funding from the General Revenue Fund.
6     (i) A participant in the self-managed plan becomes vested
7 in the employer contributions credited to his or her accounts
8 in the self-managed plan on the earliest to occur of the
9 following: (1) attainment of 5 years of service credit; (2) the
10 death of the participant while employed as a judge, if the
11 participant has completed at least 1.5 years of service; or (3)
12 the participant's election to retire and apply the reciprocal
13 provisions of Article 20 of this Code.
14     A participant in the self-managed plan who receives a
15 distribution of his or her vested amounts from the self-managed
16 plan while not yet eligible for retirement under this Article
17 (and Article 20, if applicable) shall forfeit all service
18 credit and accrued rights in the System; if subsequently
19 re-employed as a judge, the participant shall be considered a
20 new employee. If a former participant again becomes a
21 participating employee (or becomes employed by a participating
22 system under Article 20 of this Code) and continues as such for
23 at least 2 years, all such rights, service credits, and
24 previous status as a participant shall be restored upon
25 repayment of the amount of the distribution, without interest.
26     (j) If a participant who is vested in employer

 

 

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1 contributions terminates employment, the participant shall be
2 entitled to a benefit which is based on the account values
3 attributable to both employer and participant contributions
4 and any investment return thereon.
5     If a participant who is not vested in employer
6 contributions terminates employment, the participant shall be
7 entitled to a benefit based solely on the account values
8 attributable to the participant's contributions and any
9 investment return thereon, and the employer contributions and
10 any investment return thereon shall be forfeited. Any employer
11 contributions which are forfeited shall be held in escrow by
12 the company investing those contributions and shall be used, as
13 directed by the System, for future allocations of employer
14 contributions or for the restoration of amounts previously
15 forfeited by former participants who again become
16 participating employees.
 
17     (40 ILCS 5/18-169.1 new)
18     Sec. 18-169.1. New benefit increases. To the extent that
19 the changes made to this Article by this amendatory Act of the
20 96th General Assembly authorizing the System to offer a
21 self-managed plan are determined to be a new benefit increase
22 within the meaning of Section 18-169, the changes made by this
23 amendatory Act are exempt from the provisions of subsection (d)
24 of Section 18-169.
 
25     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1 becoming law.

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3     40 ILCS 5/2-103.1 new
4     40 ILCS 5/2-103.2 new
5     40 ILCS 5/2-117.4 new
6     40 ILCS 5/2-126 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 2-126
7     40 ILCS 5/2-126.2 new
8     40 ILCS 5/2-162.1 new
9     40 ILCS 5/14-103.40 new
10     40 ILCS 5/14-103.41 new
11     40 ILCS 5/14-105.8 new
12     40 ILCS 5/14-133 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 14-133
13     40 ILCS 5/14-133.2 new
14     40 ILCS 5/14-152.2
15     40 ILCS 5/15-103.3
16     40 ILCS 5/15-134.5
17     40 ILCS 5/15-158.2
18     40 ILCS 5/15-198.1 new
19     40 ILCS 5/16-104.1 new
20     40 ILCS 5/16-104.2 new
21     40 ILCS 5/16-131.7 new
22     40 ILCS 5/16-152 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-152
23     40 ILCS 5/16-158.2 new
24     40 ILCS 5/16-203.1 new
25     40 ILCS 5/18-105.1 new

 

 

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1     40 ILCS 5/18-105.2 new
2     40 ILCS 5/18-123.3 new
3     40 ILCS 5/18-133 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 18-133
4     40 ILCS 5/18-133.2 new
5     40 ILCS 5/18-169.1 new