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90_SB0803
40 ILCS 5/7-145.1 new
40 ILCS 5/7-145.2 new
30 ILCS 805/8.21 new
Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Article of
the Pension Code to provide an optional plan of additional
benefits and contributions for elected county officers and
their survivors. Effective immediately.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code by adding
2 Sections 7-145.1 and 7-145.2 and to amend the State Mandates
3 Act.
4 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
5 represented in the General Assembly:
6 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
7 adding Sections 7-145.1 and 7-145.2 as follows:
8 (40 ILCS 5/7-145.1 new)
9 Sec. 7-145.1. Alternative annuity for county officers.
10 (a) An elected county officer may elect to establish
11 alternative credits for an alternative annuity by electing in
12 writing to make additional optional contributions in
13 accordance with this Section and procedures established by
14 the board. The elected county officer may discontinue making
15 the additional optional contributions by notifying the Fund
16 in writing in accordance with this Section and procedures
17 established by the board.
18 Additional optional contributions for the alternative
19 annuity shall be as follows:
20 (1) For service after the option is elected, an
21 additional contribution of 3% of salary shall be
22 contributed to the Fund on the same basis and under the
23 same conditions as contributions required under Section
24 7-173.
25 (2) For service before the option is elected, an
26 additional contribution of 3% of the salary for the
27 applicable period of service, plus interest at the
28 effective rate from the date of service to the date of
29 payment. All payments for past service must be paid in
30 full before credit is given. No additional optional
31 contributions may be made for any period of service for
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1 which credit has been previously forfeited by acceptance
2 of a refund, unless the refund is repaid in full with
3 interest at the effective rate from the date of refund to
4 the date of repayment.
5 (b) In lieu of the retirement annuity otherwise payable
6 under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has
7 elected to participate in the Fund and make additional
8 optional contributions in accordance with this Section and
9 (2) has attained age 55 with at least 8 years of service
10 credit (or has attained age 50 with at least 20 years of
11 service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee) may elect to
12 have his retirement annuity computed as follows: 3% of the
13 participant's salary at the time of termination of service
14 for each of the first 8 years of service credit, plus 4% of
15 that salary for each of the next 4 years of service credit,
16 plus 5% of that salary for each year of service credit in
17 excess of 12 years, subject to a maximum of 80% of that
18 salary. To the extent that the elected county officer has
19 made additional optional contributions with respect to only a
20 portion of his years of service credit, his retirement
21 annuity will first be determined in accordance with this
22 Section to the extent that additional optional contributions
23 were made, and then in accordance with the remaining Sections
24 of this Article to the extent of years of service credit with
25 respect to which additional optional contributions were not
26 made.
27 (c) In lieu of the disability benefits otherwise payable
28 under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has
29 elected to participate in the Fund, and (2) has become
30 permanently disabled and as a consequence is unable to
31 perform the duties of his office, and (3) was making optional
32 contributions in accordance with this Section at the time the
33 disability was incurred, may elect to receive a disability
34 annuity calculated in accordance with the formula in
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1 subsection (b). For the purposes of this subsection, an
2 elected county officer shall be considered permanently
3 disabled only if: (i) disability occurs while in service as
4 an elected county officer and is of such a nature as to
5 prevent him from reasonably performing the duties of his
6 office at the time; and (ii) the board has received a written
7 certification by at least 2 licensed physicians appointed by
8 it stating that the officer is disabled and that the
9 disability is likely to be permanent.
10 (d) Refunds of additional optional contributions shall
11 be made on the same basis and under the same conditions as
12 provided under Section 7-166, 7-167 and 7-168. Interest
13 shall be credited at the effective rate on the same basis and
14 under the same conditions as for other contributions.
15 (e) The plan of optional alternative benefits and
16 contributions shall be available to persons who are elected
17 county officers and active contributors to the Fund on or
18 after November 15, 1994. A person who was an elected county
19 officer and an active contributor to the Fund on November 15,
20 1994 but is no longer an active contributor may apply to make
21 additional optional contributions under this Section at any
22 time within 90 days after the effective date of this
23 amendatory Act of 1997; if the person is an annuitant, the
24 resulting increase in annuity shall begin to accrue on the
25 first day of the month following the month in which the
26 required payment is received by the Fund.
27 (f) For the purposes of this Section and Section
28 7-145.2, the terms "elected county officer" and "elected
29 county office" include, but are not limited to: (1) the
30 county clerk, recorder, treasurer, coroner, assessor (if
31 elected), auditor, sheriff, and State's Attorney; members of
32 the county board; and the clerk of the circuit court; and (2)
33 a person who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an
34 office that is normally filled by election on a countywide
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1 basis, for the duration of his or her service in that office.
2 (40 ILCS 5/7-145.2 new)
3 Sec. 7-145.2. Alternative survivor's benefits for
4 survivors of county officers.
5 In lieu of the survivor's benefits otherwise payable
6 under this Article, the spouse or eligible child of any
7 deceased elected county officer who (1) had elected to
8 participate in the Fund, and (2) was either making additional
9 optional contributions in accordance with Section 7-145.1 on
10 the date of death, or was receiving an annuity calculated
11 under that Section at the time of death, may elect to receive
12 an annuity beginning on the date of the elected county
13 officer's death, provided that the spouse and officer must
14 have been married on the date of the last termination of his
15 or her service as an elected county officer and for a
16 continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding
17 his or her death.
18 The annuity shall be payable beginning on the date of the
19 elected county officer's death if the spouse is then age 50
20 or over, or beginning at age 50 if the age of the spouse is
21 less than 50 years. If a minor unmarried child or children
22 of the county officer, under age 18, also survive, and the
23 child or children are under the care of the eligible spouse,
24 the annuity shall begin as of the date of death of the
25 elected county officer without regard to the spouse's age.
26 The annuity to a spouse shall be 66 2/3% of the amount of
27 retirement annuity earned by the elected county officer on
28 the date of death, subject to a minimum payment of 10% of
29 salary, provided that if an eligible spouse, regardless of
30 age, has in his or her care at the date of death of the
31 elected county officer any unmarried child or children of the
32 county officer, under age 18, the minimum annuity shall be
33 30% of the elected officer's salary, plus 10% of salary on
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1 account of each minor child of the elected county officer,
2 subject to a combined total payment on account of a spouse
3 and minor children not to exceed 50% of the deceased
4 officer's salary. In the event there shall be no spouse of
5 the elected county officer surviving, or should a spouse
6 remarry or die while eligible minor children still survive
7 the elected county officer, each such child shall be entitled
8 to an annuity equal to 20% of salary of the elected officer
9 subject to a combined total payment on account of all such
10 children not to exceed 50% of salary of the elected county
11 officer. The salary to be used in the calculation of these
12 benefits shall be the same as that prescribed for determining
13 a retirement annuity as provided in Section 7-145.1.
14 Upon the death of an elected county officer occurring
15 after termination of service or while in receipt of a
16 retirement annuity, the combined total payment to a spouse
17 and minor children, or to minor children alone if no eligible
18 spouse survives, shall be limited to 75% of the amount of
19 retirement annuity earned by the county officer.
20 Adopted children shall have status as children of the
21 elected county officer only if the proceedings for adoption
22 were commenced at least one year prior to the date of the
23 elected county officer's death.
24 Marriage of a child or attainment of age 18, whichever
25 first occurs, shall render the child ineligible for further
26 consideration in the payment of an annuity to a spouse or in
27 the increase in the amount thereof. Upon attainment of
28 ineligibility of the youngest minor child of the elected
29 county officer, the annuity shall immediately revert to the
30 amount payable upon death of an elected county officer
31 leaving no minor children surviving him or her. If the
32 spouse is under age 50 at such time, the annuity as revised
33 shall be deferred until such age is attained. Remarriage of
34 a widow or widower prior to attainment of age 55 shall
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1 disqualify the spouse from the receipt of an annuity.
2 Section 10. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
3 Section 8.21 as follows:
4 (30 ILCS 805/8.21 new)
5 Sec. 8.21. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6
6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
7 for the implementation of any mandate created by this
8 amendatory Act of 1997.
9 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10 becoming law.