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90_SB1909
40 ILCS 5/16-127 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127
Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Pension Code
to increase the amount of out-of-State service that may be
purchased by a teacher. Effective immediately.
LRB9011512EGfg
LRB9011512EGfg
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code by changing
2 Section 16-127.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
6 changing Section 16-127 as follows:
7 (40 ILCS 5/16-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127)
8 Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service.
9 (a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all
10 service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for
11 which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions
12 have been paid.
13 (b) The following periods of service shall earn optional
14 credit and each member shall receive credit for all such
15 service for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all
16 contributions have been paid as of the date specified:
17 (1) Prior service as a teacher.
18 (2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or
19 equivalent to that of a teacher, in the public common
20 schools in school districts in this State not included
21 within the provisions of this System, or of any other
22 State, territory, dependency or possession of the United
23 States, or in schools operated by or under the auspices
24 of the United States, or under the auspices of any agency
25 or department of any other State, and service during any
26 period of professional speech correction or special
27 education experience for a public agency within this
28 State or any other State, territory, dependency or
29 possession of the United States, and service prior to
30 February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois
31 Department of Public Safety, for a period not exceeding
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1 the lesser of 2/5 of the total number of years of
2 creditable service of the member at the time of
3 application or 15 10 years. The maximum period of
4 service of 10 years which is allowable under this
5 paragraph shall be reduced by the service credit which is
6 validated by other retirement systems under paragraph (i)
7 of Section 15-113 and paragraph 1 of Section 17-133.
8 Credit granted under this paragraph may not be used in
9 determination of a retirement annuity or disability
10 benefits unless the member has at least 5 years of
11 creditable service earned subsequent to this employment
12 with one or more of the following systems: Teachers'
13 Retirement System of the State of Illinois, State
14 Universities Retirement System, and the Public School
15 Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago.
16 Whenever such service credit exceeds the maximum allowed
17 for all purposes of this Article, the first service
18 rendered in point of time shall be considered. The
19 changes to this subdivision (b)(2) made by Public Act
20 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who on or after
21 its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in service as a
22 teacher under the System, but also to persons whose
23 status as such a teacher terminated prior to such
24 effective date, whether or not such person is an
25 annuitant on that date.
26 (3) Any periods immediately following teaching
27 service, under this System or under Article 17, (or
28 immediately following service prior to February 1, 1951
29 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of
30 Public Safety) spent in active service with the military
31 forces of the United States; periods spent in educational
32 programs that prepare for return to teaching sponsored by
33 the federal government following such active military
34 service; if a teacher returns to teaching service within
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1 one calendar year after discharge or after the completion
2 of the educational program, a further period, not
3 exceeding one calendar year, between time spent in
4 military service or in such educational programs and the
5 return to employment as a teacher under this System; and
6 a period of up to 2 years of active military service not
7 immediately following employment as a teacher.
8 The changes to this Section and Section 16-128
9 relating to military service made by P.A. 87-794 shall
10 apply not only to persons who on or after its effective
11 date are in service as a teacher under the System, but
12 also to persons whose status as a teacher terminated
13 prior to that date, whether or not the person is an
14 annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who
15 applies for credit allowable under this Section for a
16 period of military service that did not immediately
17 follow employment, and who has made the required
18 contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be
19 recalculated to include the additional service credit,
20 with the increase taking effect on the date the System
21 received written notification of the annuitant's intent
22 to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required
23 contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or
24 else on the first annuity payment date following the date
25 of payment of the required contributions. In calculating
26 the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has
27 been recalculated under this Section, the increase
28 attributable to the additional service allowable under
29 P.A. 87-794 shall be included in the calculation of
30 automatic annual increases accruing after the effective
31 date of the recalculation.
32 Credit for military service shall be determined as
33 follows: if entry occurs during the months of July,
34 August, or September and the member was a teacher at the
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1 end of the immediately preceding school term, credit
2 shall be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or
3 she entered service; if entry occurs during the school
4 term and the teacher was in teaching service at the
5 beginning of the school term, credit shall be granted
6 from July 1 of such year. In all other cases where credit
7 for military service is allowed, credit shall be granted
8 from the date of entry into the service.
9 The total period of military service for which
10 credit is granted shall not exceed 5 years for any member
11 unless the service: (A) is validated before July 1,
12 1964, and (B) does not extend beyond July 1, 1963.
13 Credit for military service shall be granted under this
14 Section only if not more than 5 years of the military
15 service for which credit is granted under this Section is
16 used by the member to qualify for a military retirement
17 allotment from any branch of the armed forces of the
18 United States. The changes to this subdivision (b)(3)
19 made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons
20 who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are
21 in service as a teacher under the System, but also to
22 persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior
23 to such effective date, whether or not such person is an
24 annuitant on that date.
25 (4) Any periods served as a member of the General
26 Assembly.
27 (5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined
28 in Section 16-106, is granted a leave of absence,
29 provided he or she returns to teaching service creditable
30 under this System or the State Universities Retirement
31 System following the leave; (ii) periods during which a
32 teacher is involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided
33 he or she returns to teaching following the lay-off;
34 (iii) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a
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1 teacher ceased covered employment due to pregnancy,
2 provided that the teacher returned to teaching service
3 creditable under this System or the State Universities
4 Retirement System following the pregnancy and submits
5 evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the
6 employment ceased due to pregnancy; and (iv) periods
7 prior to July 1, 1983 during which a teacher ceased
8 covered employment for the purpose of adopting an infant
9 under 3 years of age or caring for a newly adopted infant
10 under 3 years of age, provided that the teacher returned
11 to teaching service creditable under this System or the
12 State Universities Retirement System following the
13 adoption and submits evidence satisfactory to the Board
14 documenting that the employment ceased for the purpose of
15 adopting an infant under 3 years of age or caring for a
16 newly adopted infant under 3 years of age. However,
17 total credit under this paragraph (5) may not exceed 3
18 years.
19 Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for
20 credit under item (iii) or (iv) of this paragraph (5)
21 without regard to whether service was terminated before
22 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. In
23 the case of an annuitant who establishes credit under
24 item (iii) or (iv), the annuity shall be recalculated to
25 include the additional service credit. The increase in
26 annuity shall take effect on the date the System receives
27 written notification of the annuitant's intent to
28 purchase the credit, if the required evidence is
29 submitted and the required contribution paid within 60
30 days of that notification, otherwise on the first annuity
31 payment date following the System's receipt of the
32 required evidence and contribution. The increase in an
33 annuity recalculated under this provision shall be
34 included in the calculation of automatic annual increases
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1 in the annuity accruing after the effective date of the
2 recalculation.
3 Optional credit may be purchased under this
4 subsection (b)(5) for periods during which a teacher has
5 been granted a leave of absence pursuant to Section 24-13
6 of the School Code. A teacher whose service under this
7 Article terminated prior to the effective date of P.A.
8 86-1488 shall be eligible to purchase such optional
9 credit. If a teacher who purchases this optional credit
10 is already receiving a retirement annuity under this
11 Article, the annuity shall be recalculated as if the
12 annuitant had applied for the leave of absence credit at
13 the time of retirement. The difference between the
14 entitled annuity and the actual annuity shall be credited
15 to the purchase of the optional credit. The remainder of
16 the purchase cost of the optional credit shall be paid on
17 or before April 1, 1992.
18 The change in this paragraph made by Public Act
19 86-273 shall be applicable to teachers who retire after
20 June 1, 1989, as well as to teachers who are in service
21 on that date.
22 (6) Any days of unused and uncompensated
23 accumulated sick leave earned by a teacher. The service
24 credit granted under this paragraph shall be the ratio of
25 the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick
26 leave days to 170 days, subject to a maximum of one year
27 of service credit. Prior to the member's retirement,
28 each former employer shall certify to the System the
29 number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave
30 days credited to the member at the time of termination of
31 service. The period of unused sick leave shall not be
32 considered in determining the effective date of
33 retirement. A member is not required to make
34 contributions in order to obtain service credit for
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1 unused sick leave.
2 Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be
3 granted by the System for any retiring regional or
4 assistant regional superintendent of schools at the rate
5 of 6 days per year of creditable service or portion
6 thereof established while serving as such superintendent
7 or assistant superintendent.
8 (7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an
9 employee of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
10 for which credit has not been terminated under Section
11 15-113.9 of this Code.
12 (8) Service as a substitute teacher for work
13 performed prior to July 1, 1990.
14 (9) Service as a part-time teacher for work
15 performed prior to July 1, 1990.
16 (10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern
17 Illinois University - Carbondale from September 1, 1959
18 to August 31, 1961, or with Governors State University
19 from September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the
20 teacher has no credit under Article 15. To receive
21 credit under this item (10), a teacher must apply in
22 writing to the Board and pay the required contributions
23 before May 1, 1993 and have at least 12 years of service
24 credit under this Article.
25 (c) The service credits specified in this Section shall
26 be granted only if: (1) such service credits are not used
27 for credit in any other statutory tax-supported public
28 employee retirement system other than the federal Social
29 Security program; and (2) the member makes the required
30 contributions as specified in Section 16-128. The service
31 credit shall be effective as of the date the required
32 contributions are completed.
33 Any service credits granted under this Section shall
34 terminate upon cessation of membership for any cause.
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1 Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any
2 period for which an age retirement or disability retirement
3 allowance has been paid.
4 (Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95; 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.)
5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6 becoming law.