(40 ILCS 5/8-138.4)

Sec. 8-138.4. Early retirement incentive.

(a) To be eligible for the benefits provided in this Section, an employee must:

(1) have been a contributor to the Fund who (i) on October 15, 2003, was in active payroll status as an employee; (ii) returns to active payroll status from an approved leave of absence prior to December 15, 2003; (iii) on October 15, 2003, is receiving ordinary or duty disability benefits under Section 8-160 or 8-161; or (iv) has been subjected to an involuntary termination or layoff by the employer and restored to service by his or her employer prior to January 31, 2004;

(2) have not previously retired under this Article;

(3) file with the Board on or before January 30, 2004, a written election requesting the benefits provided in this Section;

(4) withdraw from service on or after January 31, 2004 and on or before February 29, 2004 (or the date established under subsection (a-5), if applicable); and

(5) by the date of withdrawal or by February 29, 2004, whichever is earlier, have attained age 50 with at least 10 years of creditable service in this Fund, without including any creditable service established under this Section, and a total of at least 70 combined years of age and creditable service, without including any creditable service established under this Section, in one or more of the participating systems under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act.

A person is not eligible for the benefits provided in this Section if the person (i) elects to receive the alternative annuity for city officers under Section 8-243.2, or (ii) elects to receive a retirement annuity calculated under the alternative formula formerly set forth in Section 20-122.

(a-5) To ensure that the efficient operation of employers under this Article is not jeopardized by the simultaneous retirement of large numbers of critical personnel, each employer may, for its critical employees, extend the February 29, 2004 deadline for terminating employment under this Article established in subdivision (a)(4) of this Section to a date not later than May 31, 2004 by so notifying the Fund by January 31, 2004.

(b) An eligible employee may establish up to 5 years of creditable service under this Section, in increments of one month, by making the contributions specified in subsection (d). In addition, for each month of creditable service established under this Section, a person's age at retirement shall be deemed to be one month older than it actually is, except for determination of eligibility for automatic annual increases under Sections 8-137 and 8-137.1. Furthermore, an eligible employee must establish at least the amount of age and creditable service necessary to bring his or her age and total creditable service, including service in this Fund, service established under this Section, and service in any of the other participating systems under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, to a minimum that will satisfy the requirements of Section 8-138.

The creditable service under this Section may be used for all purposes under this Article and the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, except for the computation of average annual salary and the determination of salary, earnings, or compensation under this or any other Article of this Code.

(c) An eligible employee shall be entitled to have his or her retirement annuity calculated in accordance with the formula provided in Section 8-138, except that the annuity shall not be subject to reduction because of withdrawal or commencement of the annuity before attainment of age 60.

(d) For each month of creditable service established under this Section, the employee must pay to the Fund an employee contribution, to be calculated by the Fund, equal to 4.25% of the member's monthly salary rate on October 15, 2003. The employee may elect to pay the entire contribution before the retirement annuity commences, or to have it deducted from the annuity over a period not longer than 24 months. If the retired employee dies before the contribution has been paid in full, the unpaid installments may be deducted from any annuity or other benefit payable to the employee's survivors.

All employee contributions paid under this Section shall not be deemed contributions made by employees for annuity purposes under Section 8-173, and shall be made and credited to a special reserve, without interest. Employee contributions paid under this Section may be refunded under the same terms and conditions as are applicable to other employee contributions for retirement annuity.

(e) Notwithstanding Section 8-165, an annuitant who reenters service under this Article after receiving a retirement annuity based on benefits provided under this Section thereby forfeits the right to continue to receive those benefits, and shall have his or her retirement annuity recalculated at the appropriate time without the benefits provided in this Section.

(f) No employer action in declaring an employee to be a critical employee pursuant to subsection (a-5) shall be construed as an impairment of any pension benefit or entitlement. No early retirement option or resultant benefit conferred under this Section shall, in any manner, vest for any employee until the earlier date of the employer's decision to release the employee from service or May 31, 2004.

(Source: P.A. 93-654, eff. 1-16-04.)