99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB2654

 

Introduced , by Rep. Kathleen Willis

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
40 ILCS 5/3-110.12 new
40 ILCS 5/4-108  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-108
30 ILCS 805/8.39 new

    Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Authorizes an active member of a downstate firefighters' pension fund to transfer up to 6 years of creditable service to that fund from the downstate police pension fund that is administered by the same unit of local government. Requires application within 6 months after the effective date. Authorizes reinstatement of service that was terminated by a refund. Provides that if the transferred police service was Tier 1, then the firefighter shall be considered to be a Tier 1 firefighter. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.


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

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning 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
5Section 4-108 and by adding Section 3-110.12 as follows:
 
6    (40 ILCS 5/3-110.12 new)
7    Sec. 3-110.12. Transfer to Article 4 fund.
8    (a) At any time during the 6 months following the effective
9date of this Section, an active member of an Article 4
10firefighters' pension fund may apply for transfer to that fund
11of up to 6 years of his or her creditable service accumulated
12in the police pension fund under this Article that is
13administered by the same unit of local government. The
14creditable service shall be transferred upon payment by the
15police pension fund to the Article 4 fund of an amount equal
16to:
17        (1) the amounts accumulated to the credit of the
18    applicant on the books of the fund on the date of transfer
19    for the service to be transferred; and
20        (2) employer contributions in an amount equal to the
21    amount determined under item (1); and
22        (3) any interest paid by the applicant in order to
23    reinstate service.

 

 

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1    Participation in the police pension fund with respect to
2the transferred creditable service shall terminate on the date
3of transfer.
4    (b) At the time of applying for transfer of creditable
5service under this Section, an active member of an Article 4
6firefighters' pension fund may, for the purpose of that
7transfer, reinstate creditable service that was terminated by
8receipt of a refund, by payment to the police pension fund of
9the amount of the refund with interest thereon at the rate of
106% per year, compounded annually, from the date of the refund
11to the date of payment.
 
12    (40 ILCS 5/4-108)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-108)
13    Sec. 4-108. Creditable service.
14    (a) Creditable service is the time served as a firefighter
15of a municipality. In computing creditable service, furloughs
16and leaves of absence without pay exceeding 30 days in any one
17year shall not be counted, but leaves of absence for illness or
18accident regardless of length, and periods of disability for
19which a firefighter received no disability pension payments
20under this Article, shall be counted.
21    (b) Furloughs and leaves of absence of 30 days or less in
22any one year may be counted as creditable service, if the
23firefighter makes the contribution to the fund that would have
24been required had he or she not been on furlough or leave of
25absence. To qualify for this creditable service, the

 

 

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1firefighter must pay the required contributions to the fund not
2more than 90 days subsequent to the termination of the furlough
3or leave of absence, to the extent that the municipality has
4not made such contribution on his or her behalf.
5    (c) Creditable service includes:
6        (1) Service in the military, naval or air forces of the
7    United States entered upon when the person was an active
8    firefighter, provided that, upon applying for a permanent
9    pension, and in accordance with the rules of the board the
10    firefighter pays into the fund the amount that would have
11    been contributed had he or she been a regular contributor
12    during such period of service, if and to the extent that
13    the municipality which the firefighter served made no such
14    contributions in his or her behalf. The total amount of
15    such creditable service shall not exceed 5 years, except
16    that any firefighter who on July 1, 1973 had more than 5
17    years of such creditable service shall receive the total
18    amount thereof as of that date.
19        (1.5) Up to 24 months of service in the military,
20    naval, or air forces of the United States that was served
21    prior to employment by a municipality or fire protection
22    district as a firefighter. To receive the credit for the
23    military service prior to the employment as a firefighter,
24    the firefighter must apply in writing to the fund and must
25    make contributions to the fund equal to (i) the employee
26    contributions that would have been required had the service

 

 

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1    been rendered as a member, plus (ii) an amount determined
2    by the fund to be equal to the employer's normal cost of
3    the benefits accrued for that military service, plus (iii)
4    interest at the actuarially assumed rate provided by the
5    Department of Financial and Professional Regulation,
6    compounded annually from the first date of membership in
7    the fund to the date of payment on items (i) and (ii). The
8    changes to this paragraph (1.5) by this amendatory Act of
9    the 95th General Assembly apply only to participating
10    employees in service on or after its effective date.
11        (2) Service prior to July 1, 1976 by a firefighter
12    initially excluded from participation by reason of age who
13    elected to participate and paid the required contributions
14    for such service.
15        (3) Up to 8 years of service by a firefighter as an
16    officer in a statewide firefighters' association when he is
17    on a leave of absence from a municipality's payroll,
18    provided that (i) the firefighter has at least 10 years of
19    creditable service as an active firefighter, (ii) the
20    firefighter contributes to the fund the amount that he
21    would have contributed had he remained an active member of
22    the fund, (iii) the employee or statewide firefighter
23    association contributes to the fund an amount equal to the
24    employer's required contribution as determined by the
25    board, and (iv) for all leaves of absence under this
26    subdivision (3), including those beginning before the

 

 

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1    effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General
2    Assembly, the firefighter continues to remain in sworn
3    status, subject to the professional standards of the public
4    employer or those terms established in statute.
5        (4) Time spent as an on-call fireman for a
6    municipality, calculated at the rate of one year of
7    creditable service for each 5 years of time spent as an
8    on-call fireman, provided that (i) the firefighter has at
9    least 18 years of creditable service as an active
10    firefighter, (ii) the firefighter spent at least 14 years
11    as an on-call firefighter for the municipality, (iii) the
12    firefighter applies for such creditable service within 30
13    days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
14    1989, (iv) the firefighter contributes to the Fund an
15    amount representing employee contributions for the number
16    of years of creditable service granted under this
17    subdivision (4), based on the salary and contribution rate
18    in effect for the firefighter at the date of entry into the
19    Fund, to be determined by the board, and (v) not more than
20    3 years of creditable service may be granted under this
21    subdivision (4).
22        Except as provided in Section 4-108.5, creditable
23    service shall not include time spent as a volunteer
24    firefighter, whether or not any compensation was received
25    therefor. The change made in this Section by Public Act
26    83-0463 is intended to be a restatement and clarification

 

 

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1    of existing law, and does not imply that creditable service
2    was previously allowed under this Article for time spent as
3    a volunteer firefighter.
4        (5) Time served between July 1, 1976 and July 1, 1988
5    in the position of protective inspection officer or
6    administrative assistant for fire services, for a
7    municipality with a population under 10,000 that is located
8    in a county with a population over 3,000,000 and that
9    maintains a firefighters' pension fund under this Article,
10    if the position included firefighting duties,
11    notwithstanding that the person may not have held an
12    appointment as a firefighter, provided that application is
13    made to the pension fund within 30 days after the effective
14    date of this amendatory Act of 1991, and the corresponding
15    contributions are paid for the number of years of service
16    granted, based upon the salary and contribution rate in
17    effect for the firefighter at the date of entry into the
18    pension fund, as determined by the Board.
19        (6) Service before becoming a participant by a
20    firefighter initially excluded from participation by
21    reason of age who becomes a participant under the amendment
22    to Section 4-107 made by this amendatory Act of 1993 and
23    pays the required contributions for such service.
24        (7) Up to 3 years of time during which the firefighter
25    receives a disability pension under Section 4-110,
26    4-110.1, or 4-111, provided that (i) the firefighter

 

 

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1    returns to active service after the disability for a period
2    at least equal to the period for which credit is to be
3    established and (ii) the firefighter makes contributions
4    to the fund based on the rates specified in Section 4-118.1
5    and the salary upon which the disability pension is based.
6    These contributions may be paid at any time prior to the
7    commencement of a retirement pension. The firefighter may,
8    but need not, elect to have the contributions deducted from
9    the disability pension or to pay them in installments on a
10    schedule approved by the board. If not deducted from the
11    disability pension, the contributions shall include
12    interest at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually,
13    from the date for which service credit is being established
14    to the date of payment. If contributions are paid under
15    this subdivision (c)(7) in excess of those needed to
16    establish the credit, the excess shall be refunded. This
17    subdivision (c)(7) applies to persons receiving a
18    disability pension under Section 4-110, 4-110.1, or 4-111
19    on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st
20    General Assembly, as well as persons who begin to receive
21    such a disability pension after that date.
22        (8) Up to 6 years of service as a police officer and
23    participant in an Article 3 police pension fund
24    administered by the unit of local government that employs
25    the firefighter under this Article, provided that the
26    service has been transferred to, and the required payment

 

 

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1    received by, the Article 4 fund in accordance with Section
2    3-110.12 of this Code. If a firefighter who establishes
3    creditable service under this item (8) first became a
4    police officer and participant in the Article 3 fund before
5    January 1, 2011, then for the purposes of this Article the
6    firefighter shall be considered to be a person who first
7    became a firefighter under this Article before January 1,
8    2011.
9(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)
 
10    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
11Section 8.39 as follows:
 
12    (30 ILCS 805/8.39 new)
13    Sec. 8.39. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
14of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
15implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
16the 99th General Assembly.
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.