Full Text of SB1115 103rd General Assembly
SB1115enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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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 Sections 15-150, 15-153, 15-153.2, and 15-198 as | 6 | | follows:
| 7 | | (40 ILCS 5/15-150) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-150)
| 8 | | Sec. 15-150. Disability benefits; eligibility benefits - | 9 | | Eligibility . A participant may
be granted a disability benefit | 10 | | if: (1) while a
participating employee, he or she becomes | 11 | | physically or mentally
incapacitated and unable to perform the | 12 | | duties of his or her assigned
position for any period | 13 | | exceeding 60 days; and (2) the employee had completed
2 years | 14 | | of service at the time of disability, unless the disability is | 15 | | a result
of an accident or the employee is a police officer who | 16 | | qualifies for the calculation under subsection (b) of Section | 17 | | 15-153 .
| 18 | | An employee shall be considered disabled only during the | 19 | | period for which
the board determines, based upon the evidence | 20 | | listed below, that the employee is unable
to reasonably | 21 | | perform the duties of his or her assigned position as a result
| 22 | | of a physical or mental disability. This determination shall | 23 | | be based upon:
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| 1 | | (i) a written certificate from one or more licensed | 2 | | and practicing
physicians appointed by or acceptable to | 3 | | the board, stating that the employee
is disabled and | 4 | | unable to reasonably perform the duties of his or her | 5 | | assigned
position;
| 6 | | (ii) a written certificate from the employer
stating | 7 | | that the employee is unable to perform the duties of his or | 8 | | her
assigned position and, if the employee is a police | 9 | | officer, the employer's position on whether the disability | 10 | | qualifies as a line of duty disability ; and
| 11 | | (iii) any other medical examinations, hospital | 12 | | records, laboratory
results, or other information | 13 | | necessary for determining the employment capacity
and | 14 | | condition of the employee ; and .
| 15 | | (iv) if the employee is a police officer applying for | 16 | | a line of duty disability, a written certification from | 17 | | one or more licensed and practicing physicians appointed | 18 | | by or acceptable to the board, stating that the disability | 19 | | qualifies as a line of duty disability under subsection | 20 | | (b) of Section 15-153. | 21 | | The board shall prescribe rules governing the filing, | 22 | | investigation,
control, and supervision of disability claims.
| 23 | | Costs incurred by a claimant in connection with completing a | 24 | | claim for
disability benefits shall be paid (A) by the | 25 | | claimant, in the case of the one
required medical examination, | 26 | | medical certificate, and employer's certificate
and any other |
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| 1 | | requirements generally imposed by the board on all disability
| 2 | | benefit claimants; and (B) by the System, in the case of any | 3 | | additional medical
examination or other additional requirement | 4 | | imposed on a particular claimant
that is not imposed generally | 5 | | on all disability benefit claimants.
| 6 | | Pregnancy and childbirth shall be considered a disability.
| 7 | | The same application shall be used to determine | 8 | | eligibility for the calculation of disability benefits under | 9 | | subsection (a) or subsection (b) of Section 15-153. | 10 | | (Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)
| 11 | | (40 ILCS 5/15-153) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153)
| 12 | | Sec. 15-153. Disability benefits; amount benefits - | 13 | | Amount . | 14 | | (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the The | 15 | | disability benefit shall
be the greater of (1) 50% of the basic | 16 | | compensation which would have been paid
had the participant | 17 | | continued in service for the entire period during which
| 18 | | disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary | 19 | | increases subsequent
to the date of disability or extra | 20 | | prospective earnings on a summer teaching
contract or other | 21 | | extra service not yet entered upon or (2) 50% of the
| 22 | | participant's average earnings during the 24 months | 23 | | immediately preceding the
month in which disability occurs. In | 24 | | determining the disability benefit, the
basic compensation of | 25 | | a participating employee on leave of absence or on
lay-off |
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| 1 | | status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic | 2 | | compensation
on the date the leave of absence or lay-off | 3 | | begins.
| 4 | | (b) In lieu of the amount of the disability benefit | 5 | | otherwise provided for in subsection (a) of this Section, for | 6 | | a participant who is employed as a police officer and who | 7 | | incurs a line of duty disability, the disability benefit under | 8 | | this Section shall be the greater of: (1) 65% of the basic | 9 | | compensation that would have been paid had the participant | 10 | | continued in employment for the entire period during which | 11 | | disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary | 12 | | increases subsequent to the date of disability; or (2) 65% of | 13 | | the participant's average earnings during the 24 months | 14 | | immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs. In | 15 | | determining the disability benefit, the basic compensation of | 16 | | a participating employee on leave of absence or on lay-off | 17 | | status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic | 18 | | compensation on the date the leave of absence or lay-off | 19 | | begins. | 20 | | Any police officer who suffers a heart attack or stroke as | 21 | | a result of the performance and discharge of police duty shall | 22 | | be considered to have been injured in the performance of an act | 23 | | of duty and shall be eligible for the calculation of benefits | 24 | | provided for under this subsection (b). | 25 | | A police officer shall be considered to be in the | 26 | | performance of an act of duty while on any assignment approved |
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| 1 | | by the police officer's chief, whether the assignment is on or | 2 | | off the employer's property. | 3 | | The changes made to this Section shall apply to | 4 | | participants whose line of duty disability occurred on or | 5 | | after January 1, 2022. | 6 | | For the purposes of this Section, "line of duty | 7 | | disability" means that, as the result of sickness, accident, | 8 | | or injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an | 9 | | act of duty, the police officer is found to be physically or | 10 | | mentally disabled for employment as a police officer so as to | 11 | | render necessary his or her suspension or retirement from | 12 | | employment as a police officer or is found to be unable to | 13 | | perform his or her duties as a police officer by reason of | 14 | | heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, or any disease of the | 15 | | lungs or respiratory tract, resulting from employment as a | 16 | | police officer. | 17 | | If the disability benefit is 50% of basic compensation | 18 | | under subsection (a) or 65% of basic compensation under | 19 | | subsection (b) , payments during the
academic year shall accrue | 20 | | over the period that the basic
compensation would have been | 21 | | paid had the participant continued in
service. If the | 22 | | disability benefit is 50% under subsection (a) or 65% under | 23 | | subsection (b) of the average earnings of the
participant | 24 | | during the 24 months immediately preceding the month in
which | 25 | | disability occurs, payments during the year shall accrue
over | 26 | | a period of 12 months. Disability benefits shall be paid as of |
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| 1 | | the
end of each calendar month during which payments accrue. | 2 | | Payments for
fractional parts of a month shall be determined | 3 | | by prorating the total
amount payable for the full month on the | 4 | | basis of days elapsing during
the month. Any disability | 5 | | benefit accrued but unpaid on the death of
a participant shall | 6 | | be paid to the participant's beneficiary.
| 7 | | (Source: P.A. 93-347, eff. 7-24-03.)
| 8 | | (40 ILCS 5/15-153.2) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153.2)
| 9 | | Sec. 15-153.2. Disability retirement annuity. | 10 | | (a) This subsection (a) applies to a participant receiving | 11 | | benefits calculated under subsection (a) of Section 15-153. A | 12 | | participant whose
disability benefits are discontinued under | 13 | | the provisions of clause (6) of
Section 15-152 and who is not a | 14 | | participant in the optional retirement plan
established under | 15 | | Section 15-158.2 is entitled to a disability
retirement | 16 | | annuity of 35% of the basic compensation which was payable to | 17 | | the
participant at the time that disability began, provided | 18 | | that the board determines that the participant has a medically | 19 | | determinable physical or
mental impairment that prevents him | 20 | | or her from
engaging in any substantial gainful activity, and | 21 | | which can be expected to
result in death or which has lasted or | 22 | | can be expected to last for a continuous
period of not less | 23 | | than 12 months.
| 24 | | (b) This subsection (b) applies to a participant receiving | 25 | | benefits calculated under subsection (b) of Section 15-153. A |
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| 1 | | participant whose disability benefits are discontinued under | 2 | | clause (6) of Section 15-152 and who is not a participant in | 3 | | the optional retirement plan established under Section | 4 | | 15-158.2 is entitled to a disability retirement annuity of 65% | 5 | | of the basic compensation that was payable to the participant | 6 | | at the time that disability began, provided that the board | 7 | | determines that the participant has a medically determinable | 8 | | physical or mental impairment that prevents him or her from | 9 | | engaging in any substantial gainful activity and can be | 10 | | expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to | 11 | | last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. | 12 | | (c) The board's determination of whether a participant is | 13 | | disabled shall be
based upon:
| 14 | | (i) a written certificate from one or more licensed | 15 | | and practicing
physicians appointed by or acceptable to | 16 | | the board, stating that the
participant is unable to | 17 | | engage in any substantial gainful activity; and
| 18 | | (ii) any other medical examinations, hospital records, | 19 | | laboratory
results, or other information necessary for | 20 | | determining the employment
capacity and condition of the | 21 | | participant.
| 22 | | The terms "medically determinable physical or mental | 23 | | impairment" and
"substantial gainful activity" shall have the | 24 | | meanings ascribed to them in the
federal Social Security Act, | 25 | | as now or hereafter amended, and the
regulations issued | 26 | | thereunder.
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| 1 | | (d) The disability retirement annuity payment period shall | 2 | | begin immediately
following the expiration of the disability | 3 | | benefit payments under clause
(6) of Section 15-152 and shall | 4 | | be discontinued for a recipient of a disability retirement | 5 | | annuity when (1) the physical or
mental impairment no longer | 6 | | prevents the recipient from engaging in any
substantial | 7 | | gainful activity, (2) the recipient dies, (3) the recipient
| 8 | | elects to receive a retirement annuity under Sections 15-135 | 9 | | and 15-136, (4) the recipient refuses to submit to a | 10 | | reasonable physical examination by a physician approved by the | 11 | | board, or (5) the recipient fails to provide an earnings | 12 | | verification necessary to determine continuance of benefits.
| 13 | | If a person's disability retirement annuity is discontinued | 14 | | under clause
(1), all rights and credits accrued in the system | 15 | | on the date that the
disability retirement annuity began shall | 16 | | be restored, and the disability
retirement annuity paid shall | 17 | | be considered as disability payments under
clause (6) of | 18 | | Section 15-152.
| 19 | | (e) The board shall adopt rules governing the filing, | 20 | | investigation, control, and supervision of disability | 21 | | retirement annuity claims. Costs incurred by a claimant in | 22 | | connection with completing a claim for a disability retirement | 23 | | annuity shall be paid: (A) by the claimant in the case of the | 24 | | one required medical examination, medical certificate, and any | 25 | | other requirements generally imposed by the board on all | 26 | | disability retirement annuity claimants; and (B) by the System |
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| 1 | | in the case of any additional medical examination or other | 2 | | additional requirement imposed on a particular claimant that | 3 | | is not imposed generally on all disability retirement annuity | 4 | | claimants. | 5 | | (Source: P.A. 100-556, eff. 12-8-17.)
| 6 | | (40 ILCS 5/15-198)
| 7 | | Sec. 15-198. Application and expiration of new benefit | 8 | | increases. | 9 | | (a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means | 10 | | an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this | 11 | | Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for | 12 | | any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment | 13 | | to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the | 14 | | effective date of Public Act 94-4). "New benefit increase", | 15 | | however, does not include any benefit increase resulting from | 16 | | the changes made to Article 1 or this Article by Public Act | 17 | | 100-23, Public Act 100-587, Public Act 100-769, Public Act | 18 | | 101-10, Public Act 101-610, Public Act 102-16, or this | 19 | | amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly this amendatory | 20 | | Act of the 102nd General Assembly . | 21 | | (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or | 22 | | any subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit | 23 | | increase is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be | 24 | | granted only in conformance with and contingent upon | 25 | | compliance with the provisions of this Section.
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| 1 | | (c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must | 2 | | identify and provide for payment to the System of additional | 3 | | funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual | 4 | | increase in cost to the System as it accrues. | 5 | | Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General | 6 | | Assembly providing the additional funding required under this | 7 | | subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and | 8 | | Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional | 9 | | funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and | 10 | | shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of | 11 | | the Department of Insurance. A new benefit increase created by | 12 | | a Public Act that does not include the additional funding | 13 | | required under this subsection is null and void. If the Public | 14 | | Pension Division determines that the additional funding | 15 | | provided for a new benefit increase under this subsection is | 16 | | or has become inadequate, it may so certify to the Governor and | 17 | | the State Comptroller and, in the absence of corrective action | 18 | | by the General Assembly, the new benefit increase shall expire | 19 | | at the end of the fiscal year in which the certification is | 20 | | made.
| 21 | | (d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after | 22 | | its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified | 23 | | in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided | 24 | | under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General | 25 | | Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase | 26 | | by law. |
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| 1 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating | 2 | | the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires | 3 | | under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied | 4 | | and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit | 5 | | increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and | 6 | | alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any | 7 | | other person, including, without limitation, a person who | 8 | | continues in service after the expiration date and did not | 9 | | apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new | 10 | | benefit increase was in effect.
| 11 | | (Source: P.A. 101-10, eff. 6-5-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; | 12 | | 101-610, eff. 1-1-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)
| 13 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 | | becoming law.
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