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91_SB0426 LRB9105825EGfg 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 elected county 9 officers. 10 (a) The benefits provided in this Section and Section 11 7-145.2 are available only if the county board has filed with 12 the Board of the Fund a resolution or ordinance expressly 13 consenting to the availability of these benefits for its 14 elected county officers. The county board's consent is 15 irrevocable. 16 An elected county officer may elect to establish 17 alternative credits for an alternative annuity by electing in 18 writing to make additional optional contributions in 19 accordance with this Section and procedures established by 20 the board. The elected county officer may discontinue making 21 the additional optional contributions by notifying the Fund 22 in writing in accordance with this Section and procedures 23 established by the board. 24 Additional optional contributions for the alternative 25 annuity shall be as follows: 26 (1) For service after the option is elected, an 27 additional contribution of 3% of salary shall be 28 contributed to the Fund on the same basis and under the 29 same conditions as contributions required under Section 30 7-173. 31 (2) For service before the option is elected, an -2- LRB9105825EGfg 1 additional contribution of 3% of the salary for the 2 applicable period of service, plus interest at the 3 effective rate from the date of service to the date of 4 payment. All payments for past service must be paid in 5 full before credit is given. No additional optional 6 contributions may be made for any period of service for 7 which credit has been previously forfeited by acceptance 8 of a refund, unless the refund is repaid in full with 9 interest at the effective rate from the date of refund to 10 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 and 15 (2) has attained age 55 with at least 8 years of service 16 credit (or has attained age 50 with at least 20 years of 17 service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee) may elect to 18 have his retirement annuity computed as follows: 3% of the 19 participant's salary at the time of termination of service 20 for each of the first 8 years of service credit, plus 4% of 21 that salary for each of the next 4 years of service credit, 22 plus 5% of that salary for each year of service credit in 23 excess of 12 years, subject to a maximum of 80% of that 24 salary. To the extent that the elected county officer has 25 made additional optional contributions with respect to only a 26 portion of his years of service credit, his retirement 27 annuity will first be determined in accordance with this 28 Section to the extent that additional optional contributions 29 were made, and then in accordance with the remaining Sections 30 of this Article to the extent of years of service credit with 31 respect to which additional optional contributions were not 32 made. 33 (c) In lieu of the disability benefits otherwise payable 34 under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has -3- LRB9105825EGfg 1 elected to participate in the Fund, and (2) has become 2 permanently disabled and as a consequence is unable to 3 perform the duties of his office, and (3) was making optional 4 contributions in accordance with this Section at the time the 5 disability was incurred, may elect to receive a disability 6 annuity calculated in accordance with the formula in 7 subsection (b). For the purposes of this subsection, an 8 elected county officer shall be considered permanently 9 disabled only if: (i) disability occurs while in service as 10 an elected county officer and is of such a nature as to 11 prevent him from reasonably performing the duties of his 12 office at the time; and (ii) the board has received a written 13 certification by at least 2 licensed physicians appointed by 14 it stating that the officer is disabled and that the 15 disability is likely to be permanent. 16 (d) Refunds of additional optional contributions shall 17 be made on the same basis and under the same conditions as 18 provided under Section 7-166, 7-167 and 7-168. Interest 19 shall be credited at the effective rate on the same basis and 20 under the same conditions as for other contributions. 21 (e) The plan of optional alternative benefits and 22 contributions shall be available to persons who are elected 23 county officers and active contributors to the Fund on or 24 after November 15, 1994. A person who was an elected county 25 officer and an active contributor to the Fund on November 15, 26 1994 but is no longer an active contributor may apply to make 27 additional optional contributions under this Section at any 28 time within 90 days after the effective date of this 29 amendatory Act of 1997; if the person is an annuitant, the 30 resulting increase in annuity shall begin to accrue on the 31 first day of the month following the month in which the 32 required payment is received by the Fund. 33 (f) For the purposes of this Section and Section 34 7-145.2, the terms "elected county officer" and "elected -4- LRB9105825EGfg 1 county office" include, but are not limited to: (1) the 2 county clerk, recorder, treasurer, coroner, assessor (if 3 elected), auditor, sheriff, and State's Attorney; members of 4 the county board; and the clerk of the circuit court; and (2) 5 a person who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an 6 office that is normally filled by election on a countywide 7 basis, for the duration of his or her service in that office. 8 The terms "elected county officer" and "elected county 9 office" do not include any officer or office of a county that 10 has not consented to the availability of benefits under this 11 Section and Section 7-145.2. 12 (Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.) 13 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 14 becoming law.