Public Act 103-0017
 
HB1297 EnrolledLRB103 25566 RPS 51915 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 Section 16-127 as follows:
 


    (40 ILCS 5/16-127)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127)




    Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service. 

    (a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all

service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for 
which
satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions 
have been paid.

    (b) The following periods of service shall earn optional 
credit and
each member shall receive credit for all such 
service for which
satisfactory evidence is supplied and all 
contributions have been paid as
of the date specified:

        (1) Prior service as a teacher.

        (2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or 
    equivalent to that of a
teacher, in the public common 
    schools in school districts in this State not
included 
    within the provisions of this System, or of any other 
    State,
territory, dependency or possession of the United 
    States, or in schools
operated by or under the auspices of 
    the United States, or under the
auspices of any agency or 
    department of any other State, and service during
any 
    period of professional speech correction or special 
    education
experience for a public agency within this State 
    or any other State,
territory, dependency or possession of 
    the United States, and service prior
to February 1, 1951 
    as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of

    Public Safety, for a period not exceeding the lesser of 
    2/5 of the total
creditable service of the member or 10 
    years.  The maximum service of 10
years which is allowable 
    under this paragraph shall be reduced by the
service 
    credit which is validated by other retirement systems 
    under
paragraph (i) of Section 15-113 and paragraph 1 of 
    Section 17-133.  Credit
granted under this paragraph may 
    not be used in determination of a
retirement annuity or 
    disability benefits unless the member has at least 5
years 
    of creditable service earned subsequent to this employment 
    with one
or more of the following systems: Teachers' 
    Retirement System of the State
of Illinois, State 
    Universities Retirement System, and the Public School

    Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago.  Whenever 
    such service
credit exceeds the maximum allowed for all 
    purposes of this Article, the
first service rendered in 
    point of time shall be considered.
The changes to this 
    subdivision (b)(2) made by Public Act 86-272 shall
apply 
    not only to persons who on or after its effective date 
    (August 23,
1989) are in service as a teacher under the 
    System, but also to persons
whose status as such a teacher 
    terminated prior to such effective date,
whether or not 
    such person is an annuitant on that date.

        (3) Any periods immediately following teaching 
    service, under this
System or under Article 17, (or 
    immediately following service prior to
February 1, 1951 as 
    a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of
Public 
    Safety) spent in active service with the military forces 
    of the
United States; periods spent in educational 
    programs that prepare for
return to teaching sponsored by 
    the federal government following such
active military 
    service; if a teacher returns to teaching service within

    one calendar year after discharge or after the completion 
    of the
educational program, a further period, not 
    exceeding one calendar year,
between time spent in 
    military service or in such educational programs and
the 
    return to employment as a teacher under this System; and a 
    period of up
to 2 years of active military service not 
    immediately following employment
as a teacher.

        The changes to this Section and Section 16-128 
    relating to military
service made by P.A. 87-794 shall 
    apply not only to persons who on or after its
effective 
    date are in service as a teacher under the System, but also 
    to
persons whose status as a teacher terminated prior to 
    that date, whether or not
the person is an annuitant on 
    that date.  In the case of an annuitant who
applies for 
    credit allowable under this Section for a period of 
    military
service that did not immediately follow 
    employment, and who has made the
required contributions 
    for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to

    include the additional service credit, with the increase 
    taking effect on the
date the System received written 
    notification of the annuitant's intent to
purchase the 
    credit, if payment of all the required contributions is 
    made
within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first 
    annuity payment date
following the date of payment of the 
    required contributions.  In calculating
the automatic 
    annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated 
    under
this Section, the increase attributable to the 
    additional service allowable
under P.A. 87-794 shall be 
    included in the calculation of automatic annual
increases 
    accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

        Credit for military service shall be determined as 
    follows: if entry
occurs during the months of July, 
    August, or September and the member was a
teacher at the 
    end of the immediately preceding school term, credit shall

    be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or she 
    entered service; if
entry occurs during the school term 
    and the teacher was in teaching service
at the beginning 
    of the school term, credit shall be granted from July 1 of

    such year. In all other cases where credit for military 
    service is allowed,
credit shall be granted from the date 
    of entry into the service.

        The total period of military service for which credit 
    is granted shall
not exceed 5 years for any member unless 
    the service:  (A) is validated
before July 1, 1964, and (B) 
    does not extend beyond July 1, 1963.  Credit
for military 
    service shall be granted under this Section only if not 
    more
than 5 years of the military service for which credit 
    is granted under this
Section is used by the member to 
    qualify for a military retirement
allotment from any 
    branch of the armed forces of the United States. The

    changes to this subdivision (b)(3) made by Public Act 
    86-272 shall apply
not only to persons who on or after its 
    effective date (August 23, 1989)
are in service as a 
    teacher under the System, but also to persons whose
status 
    as such a teacher terminated prior to such effective date, 
    whether
or not such person is an annuitant on that date.

        (4) Any periods served as a member of the General 
    Assembly.

        (5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined in 
    Section
16-106, is granted a leave of absence, provided he 
    or she returns to teaching
service creditable under this 
    System or the State Universities Retirement
System 
    following the leave; (ii) periods during which a teacher 
    is
involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided he or 
    she returns to teaching
following the lay-off; (iii) 
    periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which
a teacher 
    ceased covered employment due to pregnancy, provided that 
    the teacher
returned to teaching service creditable under 
    this System or the State
Universities Retirement System 
    following the pregnancy and submits evidence
satisfactory 
    to the Board documenting that the employment ceased due to

    pregnancy; and (iv) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during 
    which a teacher
ceased covered employment for the purpose 
    of adopting an infant under 3 years
of age or caring for a 
    newly adopted infant under 3 years of age, provided that

    the teacher returned to teaching service creditable under 
    this System or the
State Universities Retirement System 
    following the adoption and submits
evidence satisfactory 
    to the Board documenting that the employment ceased for

    the purpose of adopting an infant under 3 years of age or 
    caring for a newly
adopted infant under 3 years of age.  
    However, total credit under this
paragraph (5) may not 
    exceed 3 years.

        Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for credit 
    under item (iii)
or (iv) of this paragraph (5) without 
    regard to whether service was
terminated before the 
    effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997.  In the case 
    of an annuitant who establishes credit under item (iii)
or 
    (iv), the annuity shall be recalculated to include the 
    additional
service credit.  The increase in annuity shall 
    take effect on the date the
System receives written 
    notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the

    credit, if the required evidence is submitted and the 
    required contribution
paid within 60 days of that 
    notification, otherwise on the first annuity
payment date 
    following the System's receipt of the required evidence 
    and
contribution.  The increase in an annuity recalculated 
    under this provision
shall be included in the calculation 
    of automatic annual increases in the
annuity accruing 
    after the effective date of the recalculation.

        Optional credit may be purchased under this subsection 
    (b)(5) for
periods during which a teacher has been granted 
    a leave of absence pursuant
to Section 24-13 of the School 
    Code.  A teacher whose service under this
Article 
    terminated prior to the effective date of P.A. 86-1488 
    shall be
eligible to purchase such optional credit.  If a 
    teacher who purchases this
optional credit is already 
    receiving a retirement annuity under this Article,
the 
    annuity shall be recalculated as if the annuitant had 
    applied for the leave
of absence credit at the time of 
    retirement.  The difference between the
entitled annuity 
    and the actual annuity shall be credited to the purchase 
    of
the optional credit.  The remainder of the purchase cost 
    of the optional credit
shall be paid on or before April 1, 
    1992.

        The change in this paragraph made by Public Act 86-273 
    shall
be applicable to teachers who retire after June 1, 
    1989, as well as to
teachers who are in service on that 
    date.

        (6) Any days of unused and uncompensated accumulated 
    sick leave earned
by a teacher.  The service credit granted 
    under this paragraph shall be the
ratio of the number of 
    unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave days
to 
    170 days, subject to a maximum of 2 years of service

    credit.  Prior to the member's retirement, each former 
    employer shall
certify to the System the number of unused 
    and uncompensated accumulated
sick leave days credited to 
    the member at the time of termination of service.
The 
    period of unused sick leave shall not be considered in 
    determining
the effective date of retirement.  A member is 
    not required to make
contributions in order to obtain 
    service credit for unused sick leave.

        Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be granted 
    by the System
for any retiring regional or assistant 
    regional superintendent of schools
at the rate of 6 days 
    per year of creditable service or portion thereof

    established while serving as such superintendent or 
    assistant
superintendent.

        (7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an 
    employee of the
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy 
    for which credit has not been
terminated under Section 
    15-113.9 of this Code.

        (8) Service as a substitute teacher for work performed

    prior to July 1, 1990.

        (9) Service as a part-time teacher for work performed

    prior to July 1, 1990.

        (10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern 
    Illinois University -
Carbondale from September 1, 1959 to 
    August 31, 1961, or with Governors
State University from 
    September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the

    teacher has no credit under Article 15.  To receive credit 
    under this item
(10), a teacher must apply in writing to 
    the Board and pay the required
contributions before May 1, 
    1993 and have at least 12 years of service
credit under 
    this Article.

    (b-1) A member may establish optional credit for up to 2 
years of service
as a teacher or administrator employed by a 
private school recognized by the
Illinois State Board of 
Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified
under 
the law governing the certification of teachers at the time 
the service
was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or before 
June 30, 2028 2023, (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of 
the employment, (iv)
completes at least 10 years of 
contributing service as a teacher as defined in
Section 
16-106, and (v) pays the contribution required in subsection 
(d-5) of
Section 16-128.  The member may apply for credit under 
this subsection and pay
the required contribution before 
completing the 10 years of contributing
service required under 
item (iv), but the credit may not be used until the
item (iv) 
contributing service requirement has been met.

    (c) The service credits specified in this Section shall be 
granted only
if: (1) such service credits are not used for 
credit in any other statutory
tax-supported public employee 
retirement system other than the federal Social
Security 
program; and (2) the member makes the required contributions 
as
specified in Section 16-128.  Except as provided in 
subsection (b-1) of
this Section, the service credit shall be 
effective as of the date the
required contributions are 
completed.

    Any service credits granted under this Section shall 
terminate upon
cessation of membership for any cause.

    Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any 
period for
which an age retirement or disability retirement 
allowance has been paid.

    Credit may not be granted under this Section for service 
as an employee of an entity that provides substitute teaching 
services under Section 2-3.173 of the School Code and is not a 
school district. 
(Source: P.A. 102-525, eff. 8-20-21.)


 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law. 
  


Effective Date:  6/9/2023