Full Text of HR0358 99th General Assembly
HR0358 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Public Act 96-0889 was passed in 2010 and | 3 | | established, among other provisions, a "Tier 2" pension plan; | 4 | | and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Public employees who began service on or after | 6 | | January 1, 2011 are now enrolled in what is commonly referred | 7 | | to as the "Tier 2" pension plan; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Tier 2 pension plan dramatically reduced | 9 | | benefits for these members of the Teachers' Retirement System | 10 | | (TRS) and the State Universities Retirement System (SURS); and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, At the time of passage of this plan, it was | 12 | | estimated that this change would result in $64 billion in | 13 | | savings to State taxpayers; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Members of the Tier 2 pension plan in TRS and SURS | 15 | | do not participate in Social Security, and many experts believe | 16 | | that the Tier 2 pension plan does not provide benefits that are | 17 | | at least comparable to those provided by the Old-Age portion of | 18 | | the Social Security program; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Failure to provide benefits at least comparable to | 20 | | Social Security for Tier 2 members who do not participate in |
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| 1 | | Social Security could result in severe unforeseen consequences | 2 | | for taxpayers in the State of Illinois; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Illinois taxpayers need to be advised of all the | 4 | | implications regarding this change, especially the possible | 5 | | impact on property taxes, higher education budgets, and school | 6 | | funding; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The Governor has called for the mandatory | 8 | | participation of current Tier 1 members in the Tier 2 plan | 9 | | after an undetermined date; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, It would be irresponsible to pursue such a drastic | 11 | | change without a federal determination as to whether or not | 12 | | Tier 2 participants in TRS and SURS receive benefits that are | 13 | | in compliance with protections provided under the Internal | 14 | | Revenue Code of 1986; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Such a change would harm thousands of working | 16 | | families throughout Illinois and significantly impact our | 17 | | universities' and schools' workforces; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, It would be irresponsible for the State of | 19 | | Illinois to enact such a drastic proposal without studying the | 20 | | financial impact it would have on taxpayers and working | 21 | | families; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 | | urge TRS and SURS to pursue an Internal Revenue Service ruling | 4 | | on the compliance of Tier 2 with safe harbor provisions under | 5 | | Section 3121(b)(7)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and | 6 | | be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That TRS and SURS provide a detailed analysis on | 8 | | the financial impact that the Governor's proposal would have on | 9 | | the members of working families who are currently in the Tier 1 | 10 | | pension plan; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That this report be completed prior to any | 12 | | consideration of the Governor's proposal to move Tier 1 | 13 | | participants in TRS and SURS into Tier 2.
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