97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB2994

 

Introduced 2/23/2011, by Rep. Michael J. Zalewski

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
40 ILCS 5/17-121  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-121
40 ILCS 5/17-122  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-122
40 ILCS 5/17-124  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-124
40 ILCS 5/17-125  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-125
30 ILCS 805/8.35 new

    Amends the Chicago Teachers Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that attainment of age 18 does not terminate the children's pension of a child who is disabled and was dependent upon a deceased teacher at the time of his or her death. Provides that, if there is no eligible surviving spouse or eligible child of a deceased teacher, his or her parent is entitled to a survivor's pension if he or she was dependent upon the deceased teacher at the time of his or her death. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.


LRB097 05115 JDS 45160 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2994LRB097 05115 JDS 45160 b

1    AN ACT in relation to public employee benefits.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing
5Sections 17-121, 17-122, 17-124, and 17-125 as follows:
 
6    (40 ILCS 5/17-121)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-121)
7    Sec. 17-121. Survivor's pensions - Eligibility.
8    (a)  A surviving spouse of a teacher shall be entitled to a
9survivor's pension only if the surviving spouse was married to
10the teacher for at least one year immediately prior to the
11teacher's death.
12    The changes made to this subsection (a) by this amendatory
13Act of the 92nd General Assembly apply (i) only to the
14surviving spouse of a person who dies on or after the effective
15date of this amendatory Act, and only if the amount of any
16refund of contributions for survivor's pension is repaid with
17interest in accordance with subsection (f), and (ii)
18notwithstanding Section 17-157 and without regard to whether
19the deceased person was in service on or after the effective
20date of this amendatory Act.
21    (b)  If the surviving spouse is under age 50 and there are
22no eligible minor children born to or legally adopted by the
23contributor and his or her surviving spouse, payment of the

 

 

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1survivor's pension shall begin when the surviving spouse
2attains age 50.
3    (c)  Beginning January 1, 2003, the remarriage of a
4surviving spouse at any age does not terminate his or her
5survivor's pension.
6    A surviving spouse whose survivor's pension (or
7expectation of a survivor's pension upon attainment of age 50)
8was terminated before January 1, 2003 due to remarriage and who
9applies for reinstatement of that pension and repays the amount
10of any refund of contributions for survivor's pension with
11interest in accordance with subsection (f) shall be entitled to
12have the survivor's pension (or expectation of a survivor's
13pension upon attainment of age 50) reinstated. The reinstated
14pension shall begin to accrue on the first day of the month
15following the month in which the application and repayment, if
16any, are received by the Fund, but in no event sooner than
17January 1, 2003 and, if subsection (b) applies, no sooner than
18upon attainment of age 50. The reinstated pension shall include
19any one-time or annual increases in the survivor's pension
20received prior to the date of termination, but not any
21increases that would otherwise have accrued from the date of
22termination to the date of reinstatement.
23    This subsection (c) applies notwithstanding Section 17-157
24and without regard to whether the deceased teacher was in
25service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
26of the 92nd General Assembly.

 

 

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1    (d)  Except as provided in subsection (c), remarriage of
2the surviving spouse prior to September 1, 1983 while in
3receipt of a survivor's pension shall permanently terminate
4payment thereof, regardless of any subsequent change in marital
5status; however, beginning September 1, 1983, remarriage of a
6surviving spouse after attainment of age 55 shall not terminate
7the survivor's pension.
8    A surviving spouse whose pension was terminated on or after
9September 1, 1983 due to remarriage after attainment of age 55,
10and who applies for reinstatement of that pension before
11January 1, 1990, shall be entitled to have the pension
12reinstated effective January 1, 1990.
13    (e)  A surviving spouse of a member or annuitant under this
14Fund who is also a dependent beneficiary under the provisions
15of Section 16-140 is eligible for a reciprocal survivor's
16pension, provided that any refund of survivor's pension
17contributions is repaid to the Fund and application is made
18within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
19of the 92nd General Assembly.
20    (f)  If a refund of contributions for survivor's pension
21has been paid, a person choosing to establish or reestablish
22the right to receive a survivor's pension pursuant to the
23changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 92nd
24General Assembly must first repay to the Fund the amount of the
25refund of contributions for survivor's pension, together with
26interest thereon at the rate of 5% per year, compounded

 

 

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1annually, from the date of the refund to the date of repayment.
2(Source: P.A. 92-416, eff. 8-17-01; 92-599, eff. 6-28-02.)
 
3    (40 ILCS 5/17-122)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-122)
4    Sec. 17-122. Survivor's and children's pensions - Amount.
5Upon the death of a teacher who has completed at least 1 1/2
6years of contributing service with either this Fund or the
7State Universities Retirement System or the Teachers'
8Retirement System of the State of Illinois, provided his death
9occurred while (a) in active service covered by the Fund or
10during his first 18 months of continuous employment without a
11break in service under any other participating system as
12defined in the Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act
13except the State Universities Retirement System and the
14Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, (b) on a
15creditable leave of absence, (c) on a noncreditable leave of
16absence of no more than one year, or (d) a pension was deferred
17or pending provided the teacher had at least 10 years of
18validated service credit, or upon the death of a pensioner
19otherwise qualified for such benefit, the surviving spouse,
20eligible and unmarried minor children of the deceased teacher
21under age 18, and dependent parents of the deceased teacher
22shall be entitled to pensions, under the conditions stated
23hereinafter. Such survivor's and children's pensions shall be
24based on the average of the 4 highest consecutive years of
25salary in the last 10 years of service or on the average salary

 

 

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1for total service, if total service has been less than 4 years,
2according to the following percentages:
3    30% of average salary or 50% of the retirement pension
4earned by the teacher, whichever is larger, subject to the
5prescribed maximum monthly payment, for a surviving spouse
6alone on attainment of age 50;
7    60% of average salary for a surviving spouse and eligible
8minor children of the deceased teacher.
9    If no eligible spouse survives, or the surviving spouse
10remarries, or the parent of the children of the deceased member
11is otherwise ineligible for a survivor's pension, a children's
12pension for eligible minor children under age 18 shall be paid
13to their parent or legal guardian for their benefit according
14to the following percentages:
15    30% of average salary for one child;
16    60% of average salary for 2 or more children.
17    A disabled child who was dependent upon a deceased teacher
18at the time of his or her death whose children's pension was
19terminated due to attainment of age 18 may apply to the Fund
20for reinstatement of that pension. An application for
21reinstatement shall be accompanied by the payment of an amount
22equal to (1) the amount of any refund received by the deceased
23teacher under Section 17-125 and (2) interest thereon from the
24date of the payment of the refund to the date of application
25for reinstatement at the rate of 5% per year. The reinstated
26pension shall begin to accrue on the first day of the month

 

 

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1following the month the application is received by the Fund,
2but in no event sooner than January 1, 2012. However, if the
3pension is payable to anyone else, the pension shall not be
4reinstated until the pension is no longer payable to any
5eligible surviving spouse or other eligible children. A
6reinstated annuity shall include any one-time or annual
7increases received prior to the date of termination, as well as
8any increases that would otherwise have accrued from the date
9of termination to the date of reinstatement.
10    The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of
11the 97th General Assembly pertaining to reinstatement of a
12children's pension apply notwithstanding Section 17-157 and
13without regard to whether the deceased teacher was in service
14on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.
15    If there is no eligible spouse and no eligible child, then
16a pension shall be paid to the eligible parents of the deceased
17teacher, if any, according to the following percentages:
18    30% of average salary for one eligible parent;
19    60% of average salary for 2 eligible parents.
20    On January 1, 1981, any survivor or child who was receiving
21a survivor's or children's pension on or before January 1,
221971, shall have his survivor's or children's pension then
23being paid increased by 1% for each full year which has elapsed
24from the date the pension began. On January 1, 1982, any
25survivor or child whose pension began after January 1, 1971,
26but before January 1, 1981, shall have his survivor's or

 

 

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1children's pension then being paid increased 1% for each full
2year which has elapsed from the date the pension began. On
3January 1, 1987, any survivor or child whose pension began on
4or before January 1, 1977, shall have the monthly survivor's or
5children's pension increased by $1 for each full year which has
6elapsed since the pension began.
7    Beginning January 1, 1990, every survivor's and children's
8pension shall be increased (1) on each January 1 occurring on
9or after the commencement of the pension if the deceased
10teacher died while receiving a retirement pension, or (2) in
11other cases, on each January 1 occurring on or after the first
12anniversary of the commencement of the pension, by an amount
13equal to 3% of the current amount of the pension, including all
14increases previously granted under this Article,
15notwithstanding Section 17-157. Such increases shall apply
16without regard to whether the deceased teacher was in service
17on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991,
18but shall not accrue for any period prior to January 1, 1990.
19    Subject to the minimum established below, the maximum
20amount of pension for a surviving spouse alone or one minor
21child shall be $400 per month, and the maximum combined
22pensions for a surviving spouse and children of the deceased
23teacher shall be $600 per month, with individual pensions
24adjusted for all beneficiaries pro rata to conform with this
25limitation. If proration is unnecessary the minimum survivor's
26and children's pensions shall be $40 per month. The minimum

 

 

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1total survivor's and children's pension payable upon the death
2of a contributor or annuitant which occurs after December 31,
31986, shall be 50% of the earned retirement pension of such
4contributor or annuitant, calculated without early retirement
5discount in the case of death in service.
6    On death after retirement, the total survivor's and
7children's pensions shall not exceed the monthly retirement or
8disability pension paid to the deceased retirant. Survivor's
9and children's benefits described in this Section shall apply
10to all service and disability pensioners eligible for a pension
11as of July 1, 1981.
12    For the purposes of this Section, the term "eligible child"
13means an unmarried minor child of a deceased teacher who is
14under 18 years of age or a child of a deceased teacher who is
15disabled and was dependent upon the deceased teacher at the
16time of his or her death.
17    For the purposes of this Section, the term "eligible
18parent" means a parent of a deceased teacher who was dependent
19upon the teacher at the time of his or her death.
20    In this Article, the term "survivor's and children's
21benefits" includes benefits paid to an eligible parent and the
22term "survivor's and children's pension" includes a pension
23paid to an eligible parent, unless the context requires
24otherwise.
25(Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97; 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
 

 

 

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1    (40 ILCS 5/17-124)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-124)
2    Sec. 17-124. Death Benefits - Death on pension. On written
3application to the Board, there shall be paid to the estate of
4a deceased teacher-pensioner pension payments, accrued,
5temporarily withheld or represented by checks uncashed at the
6date of his death and the excess, if any, of an amount equal to
7his refundable contributions for service or disability
8retirement pension over pension to the date of death; provided,
9that if there be filed with the Board prior to the death of the
10pensioner his written direction, signed and acknowledged
11before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments, that such
12payments be paid to designated beneficiaries, they shall be so
13paid on written application therefor to the Board. If none of
14several named beneficiaries survives the pensioner and no
15directive was furnished by the member to cover this
16contingency, the deceased beneficiary's share shall be paid to
17the estate of the pensioner.
18    If a reversionary pension is payable upon death of a
19pensioner, the determination and payment of any refund of
20contributions payable under this Section shall be made upon
21death of the reversionary pensioner. At such time a refund of
22contributions less (1) the amount contributed for annual
23increases in pension and (2) total pension payments to the
24teacher-pensioner and survivor shall be paid in the manner
25provided in this Section to the designated beneficiaries, or
26estate of the deceased survivor.

 

 

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1    If a pension is payable to a surviving spouse, eligible
2child, or an eligible parent and/or minor children upon death
3of a pensioner, the determination of any refund of
4contributions payable under this Section shall be made when the
5last of those pensions is no longer payable upon death of the
6survivor and marriage or attainment of age 18 of minor
7children. At that time a refund of contributions for retirement
8and survivors' and children's pensions less total pension
9payments to the teacher-pensioner, surviving spouse, eligible
10survivor and minor children, and eligible parents shall be paid
11in the manner provided in this Section to the designated
12beneficiaries, or estate of the deceased survivor.
13    If eligible beneficiaries for survivors' or children's
14benefits existed at the time of a pensioner's retirement but
15not on the date of his death thereafter, the excess of total
16contributions for retirement and survivors' and children's
17pensions over pensions paid shall be determined upon death of
18the pensioner and paid in the manner provided in this Section
19to the designated beneficiaries, or estate of the deceased
20teacher-pensioner.
21    Reversionary or survivor's pension payments accrued,
22temporarily withheld, or represented by uncashed checks to the
23date of death shall be paid to the reversionary pensioner's or
24survivor's designated beneficiaries, or estate in the manner
25provided in this Section.
26    On death of a retired teacher whose death occurs on or

 

 

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1after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, there
2shall be payable a lump sum death benefit equal to 6 times the
3teacher's salary rate for his last month of service or $10,000,
4whichever is less, upon death during the first year on pension
5minus 1/5 of the death benefit, as defined herein, for each
6year or fraction thereof on pension after the first full year,
7to a minimum of $5,000.
8    Notwithstanding Section 17-157, the changes made in this
9Section and Section 17-123 by this amendatory Act of 1991 shall
10apply to teachers dying on or after the effective date of this
11amendatory Act of 1991 without regard to whether service
12terminated prior to that date.
13(Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
 
14    (40 ILCS 5/17-125)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-125)
15    Sec. 17-125. Refund of contributions. Upon certification
16by the Employer of his resignation or cancellation of his
17teaching certificate prior to completion of the minimum term of
18service required to establish eligibility for a pension and on
19written application therefor, a teacher shall be paid a refund
20of all the amounts he has contributed to the Fund, less any
21former refund that has not been repaid.
22    Upon certification by the Employer of his resignation or
23cancellation of his teaching certificate after completion of
24the minimum term of service required to establish eligibility
25for a pension and on written application therefor, a teacher

 

 

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1shall be paid a refund of all the amounts he has contributed,
2less (1) any former refund that has not been repaid, and (2)
3pension payments received, provided he has executed and
4delivered to the Board his written receipt and release in that
5behalf. Thereupon, he shall have no further interest in or
6claim against the Fund.
7    A request for refund under either of the preceding
8paragraphs shall be considered valid if withdrawal from service
9occurred at least 2 months prior to the filing of such request.
10    Upon retirement of a teacher either on immediate or
11deferred pension, if the teacher is not then married, or if his
12spouse, or children, or parents do not meet the qualifying
13conditions for survivor's or children's pensions, the total
14amount contributed by him or otherwise paid by deductions from
15salary for survivor's pension, shall be refunded to him,
16without interest. No survivor's or children's pension rights
17shall be effective thereafter in such a case.
18    During a teacher's term of service, no refund is payable
19except contributions made in error.
20(Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
 
21    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
22Section 8.35 as follows:
 
23    (30 ILCS 805/8.35 new)
24    Sec. 8.35. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8

 

 

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1of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
2implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
3the 97th General Assembly.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.