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91_HB1658
LRB9102927EGfg
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code by changing
2 Section 7-145.1.
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 7-145.1 as follows:
7 (40 ILCS 5/7-145.1)
8 Sec. 7-145.1. Alternative annuity for county officers.
9 (a) The benefits provided in this Section and Section
10 7-145.2 are available only if the county board has filed with
11 the Board of the Fund a resolution or ordinance expressly
12 consenting to the availability of these benefits for its
13 elected county officers. The county board's consent is
14 irrevocable.
15 An elected county officer may elect to establish
16 alternative credits for an alternative annuity by electing in
17 writing to make additional optional contributions in
18 accordance with this Section and procedures established by
19 the board. These alternative credits are available only for
20 periods of service as an elected county officer. The elected
21 county officer may discontinue making the additional optional
22 contributions by notifying the Fund in writing in accordance
23 with this Section and procedures established by the board.
24 Additional optional contributions for the alternative
25 annuity shall be as follows:
26 (1) For service as an elected county officer after
27 the option is elected, an additional contribution of 3%
28 of salary shall be contributed to the Fund on the same
29 basis and under the same conditions as contributions
30 required under Section 7-173.
31 (2) For service as an elected county officer before
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1 the option is elected, an additional contribution of 3%
2 of the salary for the applicable period of service, plus
3 interest at the effective rate from the date of service
4 to the date of payment. All payments for past service
5 must be paid in full before credit is given. No
6 additional optional contributions may be made for any
7 period of service for which credit has been previously
8 forfeited by acceptance of a refund, unless the refund is
9 repaid in full with interest at the effective rate from
10 the date of refund to the date of repayment.
11 (b) In lieu of the retirement annuity otherwise payable
12 under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has
13 elected to participate in the Fund and make additional
14 optional contributions in accordance with this Section, (2)
15 has held and made additional optional contributions with
16 respect to the same elected county office for at least 8
17 years, and (3) (2) has attained age 55 with at least 8 years
18 of service credit (or has attained age 50 with at least 20
19 years of service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee) may
20 elect to have his retirement annuity computed as follows: 3%
21 of the participant's salary at the time of termination of
22 service for each of the first 8 years of service credit, plus
23 4% of that salary for each of the next 4 years of service
24 credit, plus 5% of that salary for each year of service
25 credit in excess of 12 years, subject to a maximum of 80% of
26 that salary.
27 This formula applies only to service in an elected county
28 office that the officer held for at least 8 years, and only
29 to service for which additional optional contributions have
30 been paid under this Section. If an elected county officer
31 qualifies to have this formula applied to service in more
32 than one elected county office, the qualifying service shall
33 be accumulated for purposes of determining the applicable
34 accrual percentages, but the salary used for each office
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1 shall be the separate salary calculated for that office, as
2 defined in subsection (g).
3 To the extent that the elected county officer has service
4 credit that does not qualify for this formula, made
5 additional optional contributions with respect to only a
6 portion of his years of service credit, his retirement
7 annuity will first be determined in accordance with this
8 formula with respect to the service to which this formula
9 applies Section to the extent that additional optional
10 contributions were made, and then in accordance with the
11 remaining Sections of this Article to the extent of years of
12 service credit with respect to the service to which this
13 formula does not apply additional optional contributions were
14 not made.
15 (c) In lieu of the disability benefits otherwise payable
16 under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has
17 elected to participate in the Fund, and (2) has become
18 permanently disabled and as a consequence is unable to
19 perform the duties of his office, and (3) was making optional
20 contributions in accordance with this Section at the time the
21 disability was incurred, may elect to receive a disability
22 annuity calculated in accordance with the formula in
23 subsection (b). For the purposes of this subsection, an
24 elected county officer shall be considered permanently
25 disabled only if: (i) disability occurs while in service as
26 an elected county officer and is of such a nature as to
27 prevent him from reasonably performing the duties of his
28 office at the time; and (ii) the board has received a written
29 certification by at least 2 licensed physicians appointed by
30 it stating that the officer is disabled and that the
31 disability is likely to be permanent.
32 (d) Refunds of additional optional contributions shall
33 be made on the same basis and under the same conditions as
34 provided under Section 7-166, 7-167 and 7-168. Interest
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1 shall be credited at the effective rate on the same basis and
2 under the same conditions as for other contributions.
3 If an elected county officer fails to hold that same
4 elected county office for at least 8 years, he or she shall
5 be entitled after leaving office to receive a refund of the
6 additional optional contributions made with respect to that
7 office, plus interest at the effective rate.
8 (e) The plan of optional alternative benefits and
9 contributions shall be available to persons who are elected
10 county officers and active contributors to the Fund on or
11 after November 15, 1994. A person who was an elected county
12 officer and an active contributor to the Fund on November 15,
13 1994 but is no longer an active contributor may apply to make
14 additional optional contributions under this Section at any
15 time within 90 days after the effective date of this
16 amendatory Act of 1997; if the person is an annuitant, the
17 resulting increase in annuity shall begin to accrue on the
18 first day of the month following the month in which the
19 required payment is received by the Fund.
20 (f) For the purposes of this Section and Section
21 7-145.2, the terms "elected county officer" and "elected
22 county office" include, but are not limited to: (1) the
23 county clerk, recorder, treasurer, coroner, assessor (if
24 elected), auditor, sheriff, and State's Attorney; members of
25 the county board; and the clerk of the circuit court; and (2)
26 a person who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an
27 office that is normally filled by election on a countywide
28 basis, for the duration of his or her service in that office.
29 The terms "elected county officer" and "elected county
30 office" do not include any officer or office of a county that
31 has not consented to the availability of benefits under this
32 Section and Section 7-145.2.
33 (g) For the purposes of this Section and Section
34 7-145.2, the term "salary" means the final rate of earnings
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1 for the elected county office held, calculated in a manner
2 consistent with Section 7-116, but for that office only. If
3 an elected county officer qualifies to have the formula in
4 subsection (b) applied to service in more than one elected
5 county office, a separate salary shall be calculated and
6 applied with respect to each such office.
7 (h) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory
8 Act of the 91st General Assembly apply to persons who first
9 make an additional optional contribution under this Section
10 on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.
11 (Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.)
12 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
13 January 1, 2001.