Public Act 095-0083
 
HB0857 Enrolled LRB095 06238 AMC 26332 b

    AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing
Sections 15-113.6, 15-113.7, 15-141, 15-158.3, and 15-178 as
follows:
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-113.6)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-113.6)
    Sec. 15-113.6. Service for employment in public schools.
"Service for employment in public schools": Includes those
periods not exceeding the lesser of 10 years or 2/3 of the
service granted under other Sections of this Article dealing
with service credit, during which a person who entered the
system after September 1, 1974 was employed full time by a
public common school, public college and public university, or
by an agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing, of any
state, territory, dependency or possession of the United States
of America, including the Philippine Islands, or a school
operated by or under the auspices of any agency or department
of any other state, if the person (1) cannot qualify for a
retirement pension or other benefit based upon employer
contributions from another retirement system, exclusive of
federal social security, based in whole or in part upon this
employment, and (2) pays the lesser of (A) an amount equal to
8% of his or her annual basic compensation on the date of
becoming a participating employee subsequent to this service
multiplied by the number of years of such service, together
with compound interest from the date participation begins to
the date payment is received by the board at the rate of 6% per
annum through August 31, 1982, and at the effective rates after
that date, and (B) 50% of the actuarial value of the increase
in the retirement annuity provided by this service, and (3)
contributes for at least 5 years subsequent to this employment
to one or more of the following systems: the State Universities
Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State
of Illinois, and the Public School Teachers' Pension and
Retirement Fund of Chicago.
    The service granted under this Section shall not be
considered in determining whether the person has the minimum of
8 years of service required to qualify for a retirement annuity
at age 55 or the 5 years of service required to qualify for a
retirement annuity at age 62, as provided in Section 15-135.
The maximum allowable service of 10 years for this governmental
employment shall be reduced by the service credit which is
validated under paragraph (2) of subsection (b) (3) of Section
16-127 and paragraph 1 of Section 17-133.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-113.7)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-113.7)
    Sec. 15-113.7. Service for other public employment.
"Service for other public employment": Includes those periods
not exceeding the lesser of 10 years or 2/3 of the service
granted under other Sections of this Article dealing with
service credit, during which a person was employed full time by
the United States government, or by the government of a state,
or by a political subdivision of a state, or by an agency or
instrumentality of any of the foregoing, if the person (1)
cannot qualify for a retirement pension or other benefit based
upon employer contributions from another retirement system,
exclusive of federal social security, based in whole or in part
upon this employment, and (2) pays the lesser of (A) an amount
equal to 8% of his or her annual basic compensation on the date
of becoming a participating employee subsequent to this service
multiplied by the number of years of such service, together
with compound interest from the date participation begins to
the date payment is received by the board at the rate of 6% per
annum through August 31, 1982, and at the effective rates after
that date, and (B) 50% of the actuarial value of the increase
in the retirement annuity provided by this service, and (3)
contributes for at least 5 years subsequent to this employment
to one or more of the following systems: the State Universities
Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State
of Illinois, and the Public School Teachers' Pension and
Retirement Fund of Chicago. If a function of a governmental
unit as defined by Section 20-107 is transferred by law, in
whole or in part to an employer, and an employee transfers
employment from this governmental unit to such employer within
6 months of the transfer of the function, the payment for
service authorized under this Section shall not exceed the
amount which would have been payable for this service to the
retirement system covering the governmental unit from which the
function was transferred.
    The service granted under this Section shall not be
considered in determining whether the person has the minimum of
8 years of service required to qualify for a retirement annuity
at age 55 or the 5 years of service required to qualify for a
retirement annuity at age 62, as provided in Section 15-135.
The maximum allowable service of 10 years for this governmental
employment shall be reduced by the service credit which is
validated under paragraph (2) of subsection (b) (3) of Section
16-127 and paragraph one of Section 17-133.
    Except as hereinafter provided, this Section shall not
apply to persons who become participants in the system after
September 1, 1974.
(Source: P.A. 90-65, eff. 7-7-97; 90-511, eff. 8-22-97.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-141)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-141)
    Sec. 15-141. Death benefits - Death of participant.
    (a) The beneficiary of a participant under the traditional
benefit package is entitled to a death benefit equal to the sum
of (1) the employee's accumulated normal and additional
contributions on the date of death, (2) the employee's
accumulated survivors insurance contributions on the date of
death, if a survivors insurance benefit is not payable, (3) an
amount equal to the employee's final rate of earnings, but not
more than $5,000, if (i) the beneficiary, under rules of the
board, was dependent upon the participant, (ii) the participant
was a participating employee immediately prior to his or her
death, and (iii) a survivors insurance benefit is not payable,
and (4) $2,500 if (i) the beneficiary was not dependent upon
the participant, (ii) the participant was a participating
employee immediately prior to his or her death, and (iii) a
survivors insurance benefit is not payable.
    (b) If the participant has elected to participate in the
portable benefit package and has completed the one-year waiting
period required under subsection (e) of Section 15-134.5, the
death benefit shall be equal to the employee's accumulated
normal and additional contributions on the date of death plus,
if the employee died with 1.5 or more years of service for
employment as defined in Section 15-113.1, employer
contributions in an amount equal to the sum of the accumulated
normal and additional contributions; except that if a
pre-retirement survivor annuity is payable under Section
15-136.4, the death benefit payable under this paragraph shall
be reduced, but to not less than zero, by the actuarial value
of the benefit payable to the surviving spouse. If the
recipient of a pre-retirement survivor annuity dies before an
amount equal to all accumulated normal and additional
contributions as of the date of death have been paid out, the
remaining difference shall be paid to the member's beneficiary.
The primary beneficiary of the participant must be his or her
spouse unless the spouse has consented to the designation of
another beneficiary in the manner described in subsection (d)
of Section 15-136.4.
    (c) If payments are made under any State or federal
workers' compensation or occupational diseases law because of
the death of an employee, the portion of the death benefit
payable from employer contributions shall be reduced by the
total amount of the payments.
(Source: P.A. 90-448, eff. 8-16-97; 90-766, eff. 8-14-98;
91-877, eff. 7-6-00.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-158.3)
    Sec. 15-158.3. Reports on cost reduction; effect on
retirement at any age with 30 years of service.
    (a) On or before November 15, 2001 and on or before
November 15th of each year thereafter, the Board shall have the
System's actuary prepare a report showing, on a fiscal year by
fiscal year basis, the actual rate of participation in the
self-managed plan authorized by Section 15-158.2, (i) by
employees of the System's covered higher educational
institutions who were hired on or after the implementation date
of the self-managed plan and (ii) by other System participants.
    The actuary's report must also quantify the extent to which
employee optional retirement plan participation has reduced
the State's required contributions to the System, expressed
both in dollars and as a percentage of covered payroll, in
relation to what the State's contributions to the System would
have been (1) if the self-managed plan had not been
implemented, and (2) if 45% of employees of the System's
covered higher educational institutions who were hired on or
after the implementation date of the self-managed plan had
elected to participate in the self-managed plan and 10% of
other System participants had transferred to the self-managed
plan following its implementation.
    (b) On or before November 15th of 2001 and on or before
November 15th of each year thereafter, the Illinois Board of
Higher Education, in conjunction with the Bureau of the Budget
(now Governor's Office of Management and Budget) shall prepare
a report showing, on a fiscal year by fiscal year basis, the
amount by which the costs associated with compensable sick
leave have been reduced as a result of the termination of
compensable sick leave accrual on and after January 1, 1998 by
employees of higher education institutions who are
participants in the System.
    (c) On or before November 15 of 2001 and on or before
November 15th of each year thereafter, the Department of
Central Management Services shall prepare a report showing, on
a fiscal year by fiscal year basis, the amount by which the
State's cost for health insurance coverage under the State
Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 for retirees of the
State's universities and their survivors has declined as a
result of requiring some of those retirees and survivors to
contribute to the cost of their basic health insurance. These
year-by-year reductions in cost must be quantified both in
dollars and as a level percentage of payroll covered by the
System.
    (d) The reports required under subsections (a), (b), and
(c) shall be disseminated to the Board, the Pension Laws
Commission (until it ceases to exist), the Commission on
Government Forecasting and Accountability, the Illinois Board
of Higher Education, and the Governor.
    (e) The reports required under subsections (a), (b), and
(c) shall be taken into account by the Pension Laws Commission
(or its successor, the Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability) in making any recommendation to extend by
legislation beyond December 31, 2002 the provision that allows
a System participant to retire at any age with 30 or more years
of service as authorized in Section 15-135. If that provision
is extended beyond December 31, 2002, and if the most recent
report under subsection (a) indicates that actual State
contributions to the System for the period during which the
self-managed plan has been in operation have exceeded the
projected State contributions under the assumptions in clause
(2) of subsection (a), then any extension of the provision
beyond December 31, 2002 must require that the System's higher
educational institutions and agencies cover any funding
deficiency through an annual payment to the System out of
appropriate resources of their own.
(Source: P.A. 93-632, eff. 2-1-04; 93-1067, eff. 1-15-05.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-178)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-178)
    Sec. 15-178. Duties of the State Comptroller and payroll
officers. The State Comptroller and employer payroll officers,
in drawing warrants and checks for items of salary on payroll
vouchers certified by employers, shall draw such warrants and
checks to participating employees for the amount of salary or
wages specified for the period, and shall draw a warrant, or
check, or electronic funds transfer to this system for the
total of the contributions required under Section 15-157. All
warrants and electronic funds transfers covering such
contributions, and together with a deduction register
pertaining to the payroll supplied by the employer, shall be
transmitted immediately to the board.
    The Comptroller shall draw warrants or prepare direct
deposit transmittals upon the State Treasurer payable from
funds appropriated for the purposes specified in this Article
upon the presentation of vouchers approved by the board.
(Source: P.A. 87-8.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-167.3 rep.)
    Section 10. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
repealing Section 15-167.3.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.