SB2156 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 13062 RPS 36944 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2156

Introduced 7/14/2015, by Sen. Bill Cunningham

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

40 ILCS 5/15-111

from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-111

Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that severance payments are not included in the definition of "earnings".

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing Section 15-111 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/15-111) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-111)

(Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599, which has been held unconstitutional)

Sec. 15-111. Earnings.

(a) "Earnings": An amount paid for personal services equal to the sum of the basic compensation plus extra compensation for summer teaching, overtime or other extra service. For periods for which an employee receives service credit under subsection (c) of Section 15-113.1 or Section 15-113.2, earnings are equal to the basic compensation on which contributions are paid by the employee during such periods. Compensation for employment which is irregular, intermittent and temporary shall not be considered earnings, unless the participant is also receiving earnings from the employer as an employee under Section 15-107.

With respect to transition pay paid by the University of Illinois to a person who was a participating employee employed in the fire department of the University of Illinois's Champaign-Urbana campus immediately prior to the elimination of that fire department:

(1) "Earnings" includes transition pay paid to the employee on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly.

(2) "Earnings" includes transition pay paid to the employee before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly only if (i) employee contributions under Section 15-157 have been withheld from that transition pay or (ii) the employee pays to the System before January 1, 2001 an amount representing employee contributions under Section 15-157 on that transition pay. Employee contributions under item (ii) may be paid in a lump sum, by withholding from additional transition pay accruing before January 1, 2001, or in any other manner approved by the System. Upon payment of the employee contributions on transition pay, the corresponding employer contributions become an obligation of the State.

(a-5) Payments made to facilitate termination of employment or to induce someone to retire, or not to retire, are not for services rendered but are made in conjunction with an employee's termination of employment or retirement and are not "earnings". These payments shall not be included in the final rate of earnings under Section 15-112.

(b) For a Tier 2 member, the annual earnings shall not exceed $106,800; however, that amount shall annually thereafter be increased by the lesser of (i) 3% of that amount, including all previous adjustments, or (ii) 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, including all previous adjustments.

For the purposes of this Section, "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 retirement systems and pension funds by November 1 of each year.

(Source: P.A. 98-92, eff. 7-16-13.)