Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

40 ILCS 5/4-109.1

(40 ILCS 5/4-109.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-109.1)

Sec. 4-109.1.

Increase in pension.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (e), the monthly pension of a
firefighter who retires after July 1, 1971 and prior to January 1, 1986, shall,
upon either the first of the month following the first anniversary of the date
of retirement if 60 years of age or over at retirement date, or upon the first
day of the month following attainment of age 60 if it occurs after the first
anniversary of retirement, be increased by 2% of the originally granted monthly
pension and by an additional 2% in each January thereafter.  Effective January
1976, the rate of the annual increase shall be 3% of the originally granted
monthly pension.

(b) The monthly pension of a firefighter who retired
from service with 20 or more years of service, on or before
July 1, 1971, shall be increased, in January of the year
following the year of attaining age 65 or in January
1972, if then over age 65, by 2% of the originally granted monthly
pension, for each year the firefighter received pension payments.
In each January thereafter, he or she shall receive an additional
increase of 2% of the original monthly pension.  Effective
January 1976, the rate of the annual increase shall be 3%.

(c) The monthly pension of a firefighter who is receiving
a disability pension under this Article shall be increased, in
January of the year following the year the firefighter attains
age 60, or in January 1974, if then over age 60, by 2% of the
originally granted monthly pension for each
year he or she received pension payments.
In each January thereafter, the firefighter shall receive an additional
increase of 2% of the original monthly pension.  Effective January 1976,
the rate of the annual increase shall be 3%.

(c-1) On January 1, 1998, every child's disability benefit payable on that
date under Section 4-110 or 4-110.1 shall be increased by an amount equal to
1/12 of 3% of the amount of the benefit, multiplied by the number of months for
which the benefit has been payable.  On each January 1 thereafter, every
child's disability benefit payable under Section 4-110 or 4-110.1 shall be
increased by 3% of the amount of the benefit then being paid, including any
previous increases received under this Article.  These increases are not
subject to any limitation on the maximum benefit amount included in Section
4-110 or 4-110.1.

(c-2) On July 1, 2004, every pension payable to or on behalf of a minor
or disabled surviving child that is payable on that date under Section 4-114
shall be increased by an amount equal to 1/12 of 3% of the amount of the
pension, multiplied by the number of months for which the benefit has been
payable.  On July 1, 2005, July 1, 2006, July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008, every pension payable to or on behalf
of a minor or disabled surviving child that is payable under Section 4-114
shall be increased by 3% of the amount of the pension then being paid,
including any previous increases received under this Article.  These increases
are not subject to any limitation on the maximum benefit amount included in
Section 4-114.

(d) The monthly pension of a firefighter who retires after January 1,
1986, shall, upon either the first of the month following the first
anniversary of the date of retirement if 55 years of age or over, or
upon the first day of the month following attainment of
age 55 if it occurs after the first anniversary of retirement, be increased
by 1/12 of 3% of the originally granted monthly pension for each full
month that has elapsed since the pension began, and by an
additional 3% in each January thereafter.

The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act of the 91st
General Assembly apply to all initial increases that become payable under this
subsection on or after January 1, 1999.  All initial increases that became
payable under this subsection on or after January 1, 1999 and before the
effective date of this amendatory Act shall be recalculated and the additional
amount accruing for that period, if any, shall be payable to the pensioner in a
lump sum.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), upon the
first day of the month following (1) the first anniversary of the date of
retirement, or (2) the attainment of age 55, or (3) July 1, 1987, whichever
occurs latest, the monthly pension of a firefighter who retired on or after
January 1, 1977 and on or before January 1, 1986 and did not receive an
increase under subsection (a) before July 1, 1987,
shall be increased by 3% of the originally granted monthly pension for
each full year that has elapsed since the pension began, and by an
additional 3% in each January thereafter.  The increases provided under
this subsection are in lieu of the increases provided in subsection (a).

(f) In July 2009, the monthly pension of a
firefighter who retired before July 1, 1977 shall be recalculated and increased to reflect the amount that the firefighter would have received in July 2009 had the firefighter  been receiving a 3% compounded increase for each year he or she received pension payments after January 1, 1986, plus any increases in pension received for each year prior to January 1, 1986. In each January thereafter,  he or she shall receive an additional
increase of 3% of the amount of the pension then being paid. The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly apply without regard to whether the firefighter was in service on or after its effective date.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the monthly pension of a
person who first becomes a firefighter under this Article on or after January 1, 2011 shall be increased on the January 1 occurring either on or after the attainment of age 60 or the first anniversary of the pension start date, whichever is later.  Each annual increase shall be calculated at 3% or one-half the annual unadjusted percentage increase (but not less than zero) in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months ending with the September preceding each November 1, whichever is less, of the originally granted pension.  If the annual unadjusted percentage change in the consumer price index-u for a 12-month period ending in September is zero or, when compared with the preceding period, decreases, then the pension shall not be increased.

For the purposes of this subsection (g), "consumer price index-u" means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that measures the average change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84 = 100. The new amount resulting from each annual adjustment shall be determined by the Public Pension Division of the Department of Insurance and made available to the boards of the pension funds.

(Source: P.A. 96-775, eff. 8-28-09; 96-1495, eff. 1-1-11.)