Full Text of HB1297 103rd General Assembly
HB1297 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 HB1297 Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. Amy Elik SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 40 ILCS 5/16-127 | from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127 |
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Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a member may establish optional credit for up to 2 years of service as a teacher or administrator employed by a private school recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified under the law governing the certification of teachers at the time the service was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or before June 30, 2028 (instead of June 30, 2023), (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of the employment, (iv) completes at least 10 years of contributing service as a teacher, and (v) pays the required contribution. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | | HB1297 | | LRB103 25566 RPS 51915 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 16-127 as follows:
| 6 | | (40 ILCS 5/16-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127)
| 7 | | Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service.
| 8 | | (a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all
| 9 | | service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for | 10 | | which
satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions | 11 | | have been paid.
| 12 | | (b) The following periods of service shall earn optional | 13 | | credit and
each member shall receive credit for all such | 14 | | service for which
satisfactory evidence is supplied and all | 15 | | contributions have been paid as
of the date specified:
| 16 | | (1) Prior service as a teacher.
| 17 | | (2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or | 18 | | equivalent to that of a
teacher, in the public common | 19 | | schools in school districts in this State not
included | 20 | | within the provisions of this System, or of any other | 21 | | State,
territory, dependency or possession of the United | 22 | | States, or in schools
operated by or under the auspices of | 23 | | the United States, or under the
auspices of any agency or |
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| 1 | | department of any other State, and service during
any | 2 | | period of professional speech correction or special | 3 | | education
experience for a public agency within this State | 4 | | or any other State,
territory, dependency or possession of | 5 | | the United States, and service prior
to February 1, 1951 | 6 | | as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of
| 7 | | Public Safety, for a period not exceeding the lesser of | 8 | | 2/5 of the total
creditable service of the member or 10 | 9 | | years. The maximum service of 10
years which is allowable | 10 | | under this paragraph shall be reduced by the
service | 11 | | credit which is validated by other retirement systems | 12 | | under
paragraph (i) of Section 15-113 and paragraph 1 of | 13 | | Section 17-133. Credit
granted under this paragraph may | 14 | | not be used in determination of a
retirement annuity or | 15 | | disability benefits unless the member has at least 5
years | 16 | | of creditable service earned subsequent to this employment | 17 | | with one
or more of the following systems: Teachers' | 18 | | Retirement System of the State
of Illinois, State | 19 | | Universities Retirement System, and the Public School
| 20 | | Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago. Whenever | 21 | | such service
credit exceeds the maximum allowed for all | 22 | | purposes of this Article, the
first service rendered in | 23 | | point of time shall be considered.
The changes to this | 24 | | subdivision (b)(2) made by Public Act 86-272 shall
apply | 25 | | not only to persons who on or after its effective date | 26 | | (August 23,
1989) are in service as a teacher under the |
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| 1 | | System, but also to persons
whose status as such a teacher | 2 | | terminated prior to such effective date,
whether or not | 3 | | such person is an annuitant on that date.
| 4 | | (3) Any periods immediately following teaching | 5 | | service, under this
System or under Article 17, (or | 6 | | immediately following service prior to
February 1, 1951 as | 7 | | a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of
Public | 8 | | Safety) spent in active service with the military forces | 9 | | of the
United States; periods spent in educational | 10 | | programs that prepare for
return to teaching sponsored by | 11 | | the federal government following such
active military | 12 | | service; if a teacher returns to teaching service within
| 13 | | one calendar year after discharge or after the completion | 14 | | of the
educational program, a further period, not | 15 | | exceeding one calendar year,
between time spent in | 16 | | military service or in such educational programs and
the | 17 | | return to employment as a teacher under this System; and a | 18 | | period of up
to 2 years of active military service not | 19 | | immediately following employment
as a teacher.
| 20 | | The changes to this Section and Section 16-128 | 21 | | relating to military
service made by P.A. 87-794 shall | 22 | | apply not only to persons who on or after its
effective | 23 | | date are in service as a teacher under the System, but also | 24 | | to
persons whose status as a teacher terminated prior to | 25 | | that date, whether or not
the person is an annuitant on | 26 | | that date. In the case of an annuitant who
applies for |
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| 1 | | credit allowable under this Section for a period of | 2 | | military
service that did not immediately follow | 3 | | employment, and who has made the
required contributions | 4 | | for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to
| 5 | | include the additional service credit, with the increase | 6 | | taking effect on the
date the System received written | 7 | | notification of the annuitant's intent to
purchase the | 8 | | credit, if payment of all the required contributions is | 9 | | made
within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first | 10 | | annuity payment date
following the date of payment of the | 11 | | required contributions. In calculating
the automatic | 12 | | annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated | 13 | | under
this Section, the increase attributable to the | 14 | | additional service allowable
under P.A. 87-794 shall be | 15 | | included in the calculation of automatic annual
increases | 16 | | accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.
| 17 | | Credit for military service shall be determined as | 18 | | follows: if entry
occurs during the months of July, | 19 | | August, or September and the member was a
teacher at the | 20 | | end of the immediately preceding school term, credit shall
| 21 | | be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or she | 22 | | entered service; if
entry occurs during the school term | 23 | | and the teacher was in teaching service
at the beginning | 24 | | of the school term, credit shall be granted from July 1 of
| 25 | | such year. In all other cases where credit for military | 26 | | service is allowed,
credit shall be granted from the date |
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| 1 | | of entry into the service.
| 2 | | The total period of military service for which credit | 3 | | is granted shall
not exceed 5 years for any member unless | 4 | | the service: (A) is validated
before July 1, 1964, and (B) | 5 | | does not extend beyond July 1, 1963. Credit
for military | 6 | | service shall be granted under this Section only if not | 7 | | more
than 5 years of the military service for which credit | 8 | | is granted under this
Section is used by the member to | 9 | | qualify for a military retirement
allotment from any | 10 | | branch of the armed forces of the United States. The
| 11 | | changes to this subdivision (b)(3) made by Public Act | 12 | | 86-272 shall apply
not only to persons who on or after its | 13 | | effective date (August 23, 1989)
are in service as a | 14 | | teacher under the System, but also to persons whose
status | 15 | | as such a teacher terminated prior to such effective date, | 16 | | whether
or not such person is an annuitant on that date.
| 17 | | (4) Any periods served as a member of the General | 18 | | Assembly.
| 19 | | (5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined in | 20 | | Section
16-106, is granted a leave of absence, provided he | 21 | | or she returns to teaching
service creditable under this | 22 | | System or the State Universities Retirement
System | 23 | | following the leave; (ii) periods during which a teacher | 24 | | is
involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided he or | 25 | | she returns to teaching
following the lay-off; (iii) | 26 | | periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which
a teacher |
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| 1 | | ceased covered employment due to pregnancy, provided that | 2 | | the teacher
returned to teaching service creditable under | 3 | | this System or the State
Universities Retirement System | 4 | | following the pregnancy and submits evidence
satisfactory | 5 | | to the Board documenting that the employment ceased due to
| 6 | | pregnancy; and (iv) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during | 7 | | which a teacher
ceased covered employment for the purpose | 8 | | of adopting an infant under 3 years
of age or caring for a | 9 | | newly adopted infant under 3 years of age, provided that
| 10 | | the teacher returned to teaching service creditable under | 11 | | this System or the
State Universities Retirement System | 12 | | following the adoption and submits
evidence satisfactory | 13 | | to the Board documenting that the employment ceased for
| 14 | | the purpose of adopting an infant under 3 years of age or | 15 | | caring for a newly
adopted infant under 3 years of age. | 16 | | However, total credit under this
paragraph (5) may not | 17 | | exceed 3 years.
| 18 | | Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for credit | 19 | | under item (iii)
or (iv) of this paragraph (5) without | 20 | | regard to whether service was
terminated before the | 21 | | effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. In the case | 22 | | of an annuitant who establishes credit under item (iii)
or | 23 | | (iv), the annuity shall be recalculated to include the | 24 | | additional
service credit. The increase in annuity shall | 25 | | take effect on the date the
System receives written | 26 | | notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the
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| 1 | | credit, if the required evidence is submitted and the | 2 | | required contribution
paid within 60 days of that | 3 | | notification, otherwise on the first annuity
payment date | 4 | | following the System's receipt of the required evidence | 5 | | and
contribution. The increase in an annuity recalculated | 6 | | under this provision
shall be included in the calculation | 7 | | of automatic annual increases in the
annuity accruing | 8 | | after the effective date of the recalculation.
| 9 | | Optional credit may be purchased under this subsection | 10 | | (b)(5) for
periods during which a teacher has been granted | 11 | | a leave of absence pursuant
to Section 24-13 of the School | 12 | | Code. A teacher whose service under this
Article | 13 | | terminated prior to the effective date of P.A. 86-1488 | 14 | | shall be
eligible to purchase such optional credit. If a | 15 | | teacher who purchases this
optional credit is already | 16 | | receiving a retirement annuity under this Article,
the | 17 | | annuity shall be recalculated as if the annuitant had | 18 | | applied for the leave
of absence credit at the time of | 19 | | retirement. The difference between the
entitled annuity | 20 | | and the actual annuity shall be credited to the purchase | 21 | | of
the optional credit. The remainder of the purchase cost | 22 | | of the optional credit
shall be paid on or before April 1, | 23 | | 1992.
| 24 | | The change in this paragraph made by Public Act 86-273 | 25 | | shall
be applicable to teachers who retire after June 1, | 26 | | 1989, as well as to
teachers who are in service on that |
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| 1 | | date.
| 2 | | (6) Any days of unused and uncompensated accumulated | 3 | | sick leave earned
by a teacher. The service credit granted | 4 | | under this paragraph shall be the
ratio of the number of | 5 | | unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave days
to | 6 | | 170 days, subject to a maximum of 2 years of service
| 7 | | credit. Prior to the member's retirement, each former | 8 | | employer shall
certify to the System the number of unused | 9 | | and uncompensated accumulated
sick leave days credited to | 10 | | the member at the time of termination of service.
The | 11 | | period of unused sick leave shall not be considered in | 12 | | determining
the effective date of retirement. A member is | 13 | | not required to make
contributions in order to obtain | 14 | | service credit for unused sick leave.
| 15 | | Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be granted | 16 | | by the System
for any retiring regional or assistant | 17 | | regional superintendent of schools
at the rate of 6 days | 18 | | per year of creditable service or portion thereof
| 19 | | established while serving as such superintendent or | 20 | | assistant
superintendent.
| 21 | | (7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an | 22 | | employee of the
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy | 23 | | for which credit has not been
terminated under Section | 24 | | 15-113.9 of this Code.
| 25 | | (8) Service as a substitute teacher for work performed
| 26 | | prior to July 1, 1990.
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| 1 | | (9) Service as a part-time teacher for work performed
| 2 | | prior to July 1, 1990.
| 3 | | (10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern | 4 | | Illinois University -
Carbondale from September 1, 1959 to | 5 | | August 31, 1961, or with Governors
State University from | 6 | | September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the
| 7 | | teacher has no credit under Article 15. To receive credit | 8 | | under this item
(10), a teacher must apply in writing to | 9 | | the Board and pay the required
contributions before May 1, | 10 | | 1993 and have at least 12 years of service
credit under | 11 | | this Article.
| 12 | | (b-1) A member may establish optional credit for up to 2 | 13 | | years of service
as a teacher or administrator employed by a | 14 | | private school recognized by the
Illinois State Board of | 15 | | Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified
under | 16 | | the law governing the certification of teachers at the time | 17 | | the service
was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or before | 18 | | June 30, 2028 2023 , (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of | 19 | | the employment, (iv)
completes at least 10 years of | 20 | | contributing service as a teacher as defined in
Section | 21 | | 16-106, and (v) pays the contribution required in subsection | 22 | | (d-5) of
Section 16-128. The member may apply for credit under | 23 | | this subsection and pay
the required contribution before | 24 | | completing the 10 years of contributing
service required under | 25 | | item (iv), but the credit may not be used until the
item (iv) | 26 | | contributing service requirement has been met.
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| 1 | | (c) The service credits specified in this Section shall be | 2 | | granted only
if: (1) such service credits are not used for | 3 | | credit in any other statutory
tax-supported public employee | 4 | | retirement system other than the federal Social
Security | 5 | | program; and (2) the member makes the required contributions | 6 | | as
specified in Section 16-128. Except as provided in | 7 | | subsection (b-1) of
this Section, the service credit shall be | 8 | | effective as of the date the
required contributions are | 9 | | completed.
| 10 | | Any service credits granted under this Section shall | 11 | | terminate upon
cessation of membership for any cause.
| 12 | | Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any | 13 | | period for
which an age retirement or disability retirement | 14 | | allowance has been paid.
| 15 | | Credit may not be granted under this Section for service | 16 | | as an employee of an entity that provides substitute teaching | 17 | | services under Section 2-3.173 of the School Code and is not a | 18 | | school district. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 102-525, eff. 8-20-21.)
| 20 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 21 | | becoming law.
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