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90_HB0580
40 ILCS 5/16-127 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127
Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Pension Code
to define "military service" to include service in the Peace
Corps. Effective immediately.
LRB9002670EGfg
LRB9002670EGfg
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code by changing
2 Section 16-127.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
6 changing Section 16-127 as follows:
7 (40 ILCS 5/16-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127)
8 Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service.
9 (a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all
10 service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for
11 which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions
12 have been paid.
13 (b) The following periods of service shall earn optional
14 credit and each member shall receive credit for all such
15 service for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all
16 contributions have been paid as of the date specified:
17 (1) Prior service as a teacher.
18 (2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or
19 equivalent to that of a teacher, in the public common
20 schools in school districts in this State not included
21 within the provisions of this System, or of any other
22 State, territory, dependency or possession of the United
23 States, or in schools operated by or under the auspices
24 of the United States, or under the auspices of any agency
25 or department of any other State, and service during any
26 period of professional speech correction or special
27 education experience for a public agency within this
28 State or any other State, territory, dependency or
29 possession of the United States, and service prior to
30 February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois
31 Department of Public Safety, for a period not exceeding
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1 the lesser of 2/5 of the total creditable service of the
2 member or 10 years. The maximum service of 10 years
3 which is allowable under this paragraph shall be reduced
4 by the service credit which is validated by other
5 retirement systems under paragraph (i) of Section 15-113
6 and paragraph 1 of Section 17-133. Credit granted under
7 this paragraph may not be used in determination of a
8 retirement annuity or disability benefits unless the
9 member has at least 5 years of creditable service earned
10 subsequent to this employment with one or more of the
11 following systems: Teachers' Retirement System of the
12 State of Illinois, State Universities Retirement System,
13 and the Public School Teachers' Pension and Retirement
14 Fund of Chicago. Whenever such service credit exceeds
15 the maximum allowed for all purposes of this Article, the
16 first service rendered in point of time shall be
17 considered. The changes to this subdivision (b)(2) made
18 by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who
19 on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in
20 service as a teacher under the System, but also to
21 persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior
22 to such effective date, whether or not such person is an
23 annuitant on that date.
24 (3) Any periods immediately following teaching
25 service, under this System or under Article 17, (or
26 immediately following service prior to February 1, 1951
27 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of
28 Public Safety) spent in active service with the military
29 forces of the United States or the United States Peace
30 Corps; periods spent in educational programs that prepare
31 for return to teaching sponsored by the federal
32 government following such active military service; if a
33 teacher returns to teaching service within one calendar
34 year after discharge or after the completion of the
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1 educational program, a further period, not exceeding one
2 calendar year, between time spent in military service or
3 in such educational programs and the return to employment
4 as a teacher under this System; and a period of up to 2
5 years of active military service not immediately
6 following employment as a teacher.
7 For the purpose of this Section and Section 16-128,
8 "military service" includes service in the United States
9 Peace Corps.
10 The changes to this Section and Section 16-128
11 relating to military service made by this amendatory Act
12 of 1997 and P.A. 87-794 shall apply without regard to
13 whether the person is in service on or after the
14 effective date of the amendment or not only to persons
15 who on or after its effective date are in service as a
16 teacher under the System, but also to persons whose
17 status as a teacher terminated prior to that date,
18 whether or not the person is an annuitant on that date.
19 In the case of an annuitant who applies for credit
20 allowable under this Section for a period of military
21 service that was served in the Peace Corps or did not
22 immediately follow employment, and who has made the
23 required contributions for such credit, the annuity shall
24 be recalculated to include the additional service credit,
25 with the increase taking effect on the date the System
26 received written notification of the annuitant's intent
27 to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required
28 contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or
29 else on the first annuity payment date following the date
30 of payment of the required contributions. In calculating
31 the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has
32 been recalculated under this Section, the increase
33 attributable to the additional service allowable under
34 this amendatory Act of 1997 or P.A. 87-794 shall be
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1 included in the calculation of automatic annual increases
2 accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.
3 Credit for military service shall be determined as
4 follows: if entry occurs during the months of July,
5 August, or September and the member was a teacher at the
6 end of the immediately preceding school term, credit
7 shall be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or
8 she entered service; if entry occurs during the school
9 term and the teacher was in teaching service at the
10 beginning of the school term, credit shall be granted
11 from July 1 of such year. In all other cases where credit
12 for military service is allowed, credit shall be granted
13 from the date of entry into the service.
14 The total period of military service for which
15 credit is granted shall not exceed 5 years for any member
16 unless the service: (A) is validated before July 1,
17 1964, and (B) does not extend beyond July 1, 1963.
18 Credit for military service shall be granted under this
19 Section only if not more than 5 years of the military
20 service for which credit is granted under this Section is
21 used by the member to qualify for a military retirement
22 allotment from any branch of the armed forces of the
23 United States. The changes to this subdivision (b)(3)
24 made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons
25 who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are
26 in service as a teacher under the System, but also to
27 persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior
28 to such effective date, whether or not such person is an
29 annuitant on that date.
30 (4) Any periods served as a member of the General
31 Assembly.
32 (5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined
33 in Section 16-106, is granted a leave of absence,
34 provided he or she returns to teaching service creditable
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1 under this System or the State Universities Retirement
2 System following the leave; (ii) periods during which a
3 teacher is involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided
4 he or she returns to teaching following the lay-off; and
5 (iii) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a
6 teacher ceased covered employment due to pregnancy,
7 provided that the teacher returned to teaching service
8 creditable under this System or the State Universities
9 Retirement System following the pregnancy and submits
10 evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the
11 employment ceased due to pregnancy. However, total
12 credit under this paragraph (5) may not exceed 3 years.
13 Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for
14 credit under item (iii) of this paragraph (5) without
15 regard to whether service was terminated before the
16 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995. In the
17 case of an annuitant who establishes credit under item
18 (iii), the annuity shall be recalculated to include the
19 additional service credit. The increase in annuity shall
20 take effect on the date the System receives written
21 notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the
22 credit, if the required evidence is submitted and the
23 required contribution paid within 60 days of that
24 notification, otherwise on the first annuity payment date
25 following the System's receipt of the required evidence
26 and contribution. The increase in an annuity
27 recalculated under this provision shall be included in
28 the calculation of automatic annual increases in the
29 annuity accruing after the effective date of the
30 recalculation.
31 Optional credit may be purchased under this
32 subsection (b)(5) for periods during which a teacher has
33 been granted a leave of absence pursuant to Section 24-13
34 of the School Code. A teacher whose service under this
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1 Article terminated prior to the effective date of P.A.
2 86-1488 shall be eligible to purchase such optional
3 credit. If a teacher who purchases this optional credit
4 is already receiving a retirement annuity under this
5 Article, the annuity shall be recalculated as if the
6 annuitant had applied for the leave of absence credit at
7 the time of retirement. The difference between the
8 entitled annuity and the actual annuity shall be credited
9 to the purchase of the optional credit. The remainder of
10 the purchase cost of the optional credit shall be paid on
11 or before April 1, 1992.
12 The change in this paragraph made by Public Act
13 86-273 shall be applicable to teachers who retire after
14 June 1, 1989, as well as to teachers who are in service
15 on that date.
16 (6) Any days of unused and uncompensated
17 accumulated sick leave earned by a teacher. The service
18 credit granted under this paragraph shall be the ratio of
19 the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick
20 leave days to 170 days, subject to a maximum of one year
21 of service credit. Prior to the member's retirement,
22 each former employer shall certify to the System the
23 number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave
24 days credited to the member at the time of termination of
25 service. The period of unused sick leave shall not be
26 considered in determining the effective date of
27 retirement. A member is not required to make
28 contributions in order to obtain service credit for
29 unused sick leave.
30 Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be
31 granted by the System for any retiring regional or
32 assistant regional superintendent of schools at the rate
33 of 6 days per year of creditable service or portion
34 thereof established while serving as such superintendent
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1 or assistant superintendent.
2 (7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an
3 employee of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
4 for which credit has not been terminated under Section
5 15-113.9 of this Code.
6 (8) Service as a substitute teacher for work
7 performed prior to July 1, 1990.
8 (9) Service as a part-time teacher for work
9 performed prior to July 1, 1990.
10 (10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern
11 Illinois University - Carbondale from September 1, 1959
12 to August 31, 1961, or with Governors State University
13 from September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the
14 teacher has no credit under Article 15. To receive
15 credit under this item (10), a teacher must apply in
16 writing to the Board and pay the required contributions
17 before May 1, 1993 and have at least 12 years of service
18 credit under this Article.
19 (c) The service credits specified in this Section shall
20 be granted only if: (1) such service credits are not used
21 for credit in any other statutory tax-supported public
22 employee retirement system other than the federal Social
23 Security program; and (2) the member makes the required
24 contributions as specified in Section 16-128. The service
25 credit shall be effective as of the date the required
26 contributions are completed.
27 Any service credits granted under this Section shall
28 terminate upon cessation of membership for any cause.
29 Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any
30 period for which an age retirement or disability retirement
31 allowance has been paid.
32 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-430, eff. 12-15-95.)
33 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
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1 becoming law.