Section 1650.345  Service Credit for Periods Away From Teaching Due to Pregnancy

a)         Service credit of up to three years shall be granted for periods beginning prior to July 1, 1983, during which a teacher ceased covered employment due to pregnancy.  The maximum lifetime amount of credit available for any type of leave of absence, including pregnancy related absences, is 3.000 years.  Type of leave of absences include pregnancy, leave of absence, involuntary layoff, and adoption.

b)         For purposes of determining eligibility to receive optional service credit under the provisions of 40 ILCS 5/16-127(b)(5)(iii), the following definitions shall apply:

1)         "Pregnancy" shall mean the period beginning at the moment of conception and continuing through termination of the pregnancy or delivery of the child.

2)         "Due to pregnancy" shall mean due to the state of being pregnant and recovery therefrom due to the termination of a pregnancy or due to the delivery of a child.

3)         "Covered employment" means employment in a position requiring membership contributions to the System as a condition of employment.

4)         "Teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System" means employment in a position requiring membership contributions to the System or the State Universities Retirement System as a condition of employment.

c)         The documents necessary to establish service credit under this Section shall include:

1)         School employment records;

2)         Medical records;

3)         Birth or death certificates; and/or

4)         Other contemporaneous documentation that reliably supports the service credit to be established while eliminating the possibility of mistake or fraud.

d)         For purposes of granting service credit for periods away from teaching due to pregnancy, the statutory return-to-teaching requirement is met when the member returns to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System for the period the member was away from teaching due to pregnancy or one year, whichever is less.

(Source:  Amended at 41 Ill. Reg. 14256, effective November 8, 2017)