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92_SB0097 LRB9201205EGfg 1 AN ACT in relation to public employee benefits. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by 5 changing Sections 16-127 and 16-128 as follows: 6 (40 ILCS 5/16-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127) 7 Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service. 8 (a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all 9 service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for 10 which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions 11 have been paid. 12 (b) The following periods of service shall earn optional 13 credit and each member shall receive credit for all such 14 service for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all 15 contributions have been paid as of the date specified: 16 (1) Prior service as a teacher. 17 (2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or 18 equivalent to that of a teacher, in the public common 19 schools in school districts in this State not included 20 within the provisions of this System, or of any other 21 State, territory, dependency or possession of the United 22 States, or in schools operated by or under the auspices 23 of the United States, or under the auspices of any agency 24 or department of any other State, and service during any 25 period of professional speech correction or special 26 education experience for a public agency within this 27 State or any other State, territory, dependency or 28 possession of the United States, and service prior to 29 February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois 30 Department of Public Safety, for a period not exceeding 31 the lesser of 2/5 of the total creditable service of the -2- LRB9201205EGfg 1 member or 10 years. The maximum service of 10 years 2 which is allowable under this paragraph shall be reduced 3 by the service credit which is validated by other 4 retirement systems under paragraph (i) of Section 15-113 5 and paragraph 1 of Section 17-133. Credit granted under 6 this paragraph may not be used in determination of a 7 retirement annuity or disability benefits unless the 8 member has at least 5 years of creditable service earned 9 subsequent to this employment with one or more of the 10 following systems: Teachers' Retirement System of the 11 State of Illinois, State Universities Retirement System, 12 and the Public School Teachers' Pension and Retirement 13 Fund of Chicago. Whenever such service credit exceeds 14 the maximum allowed for all purposes of this Article, the 15 first service rendered in point of time shall be 16 considered. The changes to this subdivision (b)(2) made 17 by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who 18 on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in 19 service as a teacher under the System, but also to 20 persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior 21 to such effective date, whether or not such person is an 22 annuitant on that date. 23 (3) Any periods immediately following teaching 24 service, under this System or under Article 17, (or 25 immediately following service prior to February 1, 1951 26 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of 27 Public Safety) spent in active service with the military 28 forces of the United States; periods spent in educational 29 programs that prepare for return to teaching sponsored by 30 the federal government following such active military 31 service; if a teacher returns to teaching service within 32 one calendar year after discharge or after the completion 33 of the educational program, a further period, not 34 exceeding one calendar year, between time spent in -3- LRB9201205EGfg 1 military service or in such educational programs and the 2 return to employment as a teacher under this System; and 3 a period of up to 2 years of active military service not 4 immediately following employment as a teacher. 5 The changes to this Section and Section 16-128 6 relating to military service made by P.A. 87-794 shall 7 apply not only to persons who on or after its effective 8 date are in service as a teacher under the System, but 9 also to persons whose status as a teacher terminated 10 prior to that date, whether or not the person is an 11 annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who 12 applies for credit allowable under this Section for a 13 period of military service that did not immediately 14 follow employment, and who has made the required 15 contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be 16 recalculated to include the additional service credit, 17 with the increase taking effect on the date the System 18 received written notification of the annuitant's intent 19 to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required 20 contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or 21 else on the first annuity payment date following the date 22 of payment of the required contributions. In calculating 23 the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has 24 been recalculated under this Section, the increase 25 attributable to the additional service allowable under 26 P.A. 87-794 shall be included in the calculation of 27 automatic annual increases accruing after the effective 28 date of the recalculation. 29 Credit for military service shall be determined as 30 follows: if entry occurs during the months of July, 31 August, or September and the member was a teacher at the 32 end of the immediately preceding school term, credit 33 shall be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or 34 she entered service; if entry occurs during the school -4- LRB9201205EGfg 1 term and the teacher was in teaching service at the 2 beginning of the school term, credit shall be granted 3 from July 1 of such year. In all other cases where credit 4 for military service is allowed, credit shall be granted 5 from the date of entry into the service. 6 The total period of military service for which 7 credit is granted shall not exceed 5 years for any member 8 unless the service: (A) is validated before July 1, 9 1964, and (B) does not extend beyond July 1, 1963. 10 Credit for military service shall be granted under this 11 Section only if not more than 5 years of the military 12 service for which credit is granted under this Section is 13 used by the member to qualify for a military retirement 14 allotment from any branch of the armed forces of the 15 United States. The changes to this subdivision (b)(3) 16 made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons 17 who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are 18 in service as a teacher under the System, but also to 19 persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior 20 to such effective date, whether or not such person is an 21 annuitant on that date. 22 (4) Any periods served as a member of the General 23 Assembly. 24 (5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined 25 in Section 16-106, is granted a leave of absence, 26 provided he or she returns to teaching service creditable 27 under this System or the State Universities Retirement 28 System following the leave; (ii) periods during which a 29 teacher is involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided 30 he or she returns to teaching following the lay-off; 31 (iii) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a 32 teacher ceased covered employment due to pregnancy, 33 provided that the teacher returned to teaching service 34 creditable under this System or the State Universities -5- LRB9201205EGfg 1 Retirement System following the pregnancy and submits 2 evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the 3 employment ceased due to pregnancy; and (iv) periods 4 prior to July 1, 1983 during which a teacher ceased 5 covered employment for the purpose of adopting an infant 6 under 3 years of age or caring for a newly adopted infant 7 under 3 years of age, provided that the teacher returned 8 to teaching service creditable under this System or the 9 State Universities Retirement System following the 10 adoption and submits evidence satisfactory to the Board 11 documenting that the employment ceased for the purpose of 12 adopting an infant under 3 years of age or caring for a 13 newly adopted infant under 3 years of age. However, 14 total credit under this paragraph (5) may not exceed 3 15 years. 16 Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for 17 credit under item (iii) or (iv) of this paragraph (5) 18 without regard to whether service was terminated before 19 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. In 20 the case of an annuitant who establishes credit under 21 item (iii) or (iv), the annuity shall be recalculated to 22 include the additional service credit. The increase in 23 annuity shall take effect on the date the System receives 24 written notification of the annuitant's intent to 25 purchase the credit, if the required evidence is 26 submitted and the required contribution paid within 60 27 days of that notification, otherwise on the first annuity 28 payment date following the System's receipt of the 29 required evidence and contribution. The increase in an 30 annuity recalculated under this provision shall be 31 included in the calculation of automatic annual increases 32 in the annuity accruing after the effective date of the 33 recalculation. 34 Optional credit may be purchased under this -6- LRB9201205EGfg 1 subsection (b)(5) for periods during which a teacher has 2 been granted a leave of absence pursuant to Section 24-13 3 of the School Code. A teacher whose service under this 4 Article terminated prior to the effective date of P.A. 5 86-1488 shall be eligible to purchase such optional 6 credit. If a teacher who purchases this optional credit 7 is already receiving a retirement annuity under this 8 Article, the annuity shall be recalculated as if the 9 annuitant had applied for the leave of absence credit at 10 the time of retirement. The difference between the 11 entitled annuity and the actual annuity shall be credited 12 to the purchase of the optional credit. The remainder of 13 the purchase cost of the optional credit shall be paid on 14 or before April 1, 1992. 15 The change in this paragraph made by Public Act 16 86-273 shall be applicable to teachers who retire after 17 June 1, 1989, as well as to teachers who are in service 18 on that date. 19 (6) Any days of unused and uncompensated 20 accumulated sick leave earned by a teacher. The service 21 credit granted under this paragraph shall be the ratio of 22 the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick 23 leave days to 170 days, subject to a maximum of one year 24 of service credit. Prior to the member's retirement, 25 each former employer shall certify to the System the 26 number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave 27 days credited to the member at the time of termination of 28 service. The period of unused sick leave shall not be 29 considered in determining the effective date of 30 retirement. A member is not required to make 31 contributions in order to obtain service credit for 32 unused sick leave. 33 Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be 34 granted by the System for any retiring regional or -7- LRB9201205EGfg 1 assistant regional superintendent of schools at the rate 2 of 6 days per year of creditable service or portion 3 thereof established while serving as such superintendent 4 or assistant superintendent. 5 (7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an 6 employee of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy 7 for which credit has not been terminated under Section 8 15-113.9 of this Code. 9 (8) Service as a substitute teacher for work 10 performed prior to July 1, 1990. 11 (9) Service as a part-time teacher for work 12 performed prior to July 1, 1990. 13 (10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern 14 Illinois University - Carbondale from September 1, 1959 15 to August 31, 1961, or with Governors State University 16 from September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the 17 teacher has no credit under Article 15. To receive 18 credit under this item (10), a teacher must apply in 19 writing to the Board and pay the required contributions 20 before May 1, 1993 and have at least 12 years of service 21 credit under this Article. 22 (b-1) A member may establish optional credit for up to 3 23 years of service as a teacher or administrator employed by a 24 private school recognized by the Illinois State Board of 25 Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified under 26 the law governing the certification of teachers at the time 27 the service was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or after 28 June 1, 2001 and on or before June 1, 2004, (iii) supplies 29 satisfactory evidence of the employment, (iv) completes at 30 least 5 years of contributing service as a teacher as defined 31 in Section 16-106, and (v) pays the contribution required in 32 subsection (d-5) of Section 16-128. The member may apply for 33 credit under this subsection and pay the required 34 contribution before completing the 5 years of contributing -8- LRB9201205EGfg 1 service required under item (iv), but the credit may not be 2 used until the item (iv) contributing service requirement has 3 been met. 4 (c) The service credits specified in this Section shall 5 be granted only if: (1) such service credits are not used for 6 credit in any other statutory tax-supported public employee 7 retirement system other than the federal Social Security 8 program; and (2) the member makes the required contributions 9 as specified in Section 16-128. Except as provided in 10 subsection (b-1) of this Section, the service credit shall be 11 effective as of the date the required contributions are 12 completed. 13 Any service credits granted under this Section shall 14 terminate upon cessation of membership for any cause. 15 Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any 16 period for which an age retirement or disability retirement 17 allowance has been paid. 18 (Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95; 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.) 19 (40 ILCS 5/16-128) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-128) 20 Sec. 16-128. Creditable service - required 21 contributions. 22 (a) In order to receive the creditable service specified 23 under subsection (b) of Section 16-127, a member is required 24 to make the following contributions: (i) an amount equal to 25 the contributions which would have been required had such 26 service been rendered as a member under this System; (ii) for 27 military service not immediately following employment and for 28 service established under subdivision (b)(10) of Section 29 16-127, an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the 30 employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for such 31 service; and (iii) interest from the date the contributions 32 would have been due (or, in the case of a person establishing 33 credit for military service under subdivision (b)(3) of -9- LRB9201205EGfg 1 Section 16-127, the date of first membership in the System, 2 if that date is later) to the date of payment, at the 3 following rate of interest, compounded annually: for periods 4 prior to July 1, 1965, regular interest; from July 1, 1965 to 5 June 30, 1977, 4% per year; on and after July 1, 1977, 6 regular interest. 7 (b) In order to receive creditable service under 8 paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 16-127 for those 9 who were not members on June 30, 1963, the minimum required 10 contribution shall be $420 per year of service together with 11 interest at 4% per year compounded annually from July 1, 12 preceding the date of membership until June 30, 1977 and at 13 regular interest compounded annually thereafter to the date 14 of payment. 15 (c) In determining the contribution required in order to 16 receive creditable service under paragraph (3) of subsection 17 (b) of Section 16-127, the salary rate for the remainder of 18 the school term in which a member enters military service 19 shall be assumed to be equal to the member's salary rate at 20 the time of entering military service. However, for military 21 service not immediately following employment, the salary rate 22 on the last date as a participating teacher prior to such 23 military service, or on the first date as a participating 24 teacher after such military service, whichever is greater, 25 shall be assumed to be equal to the member's salary rate at 26 the time of entering military service. For each school term 27 thereafter, the member's salary rate shall be assumed to be 28 5% higher than the salary rate in the previous school term. 29 (d) In determining the contribution required in order to 30 receive creditable service under paragraph (5) of subsection 31 (b) of Section 16-127, a member's salary rate during the 32 period for which credit is being established shall be assumed 33 to be equal to the member's last salary rate immediately 34 preceding that period. -10- LRB9201205EGfg 1 (d-5) For each year of service credit to be established 2 under subsection (b-1) of Section 16-127, a member is 3 required to contribute to the System (i) 16.5% of the annual 4 salary rate during the first year of full-time employment as 5 a teacher under this Article following the private school 6 service, plus (ii) interest thereon from the date of first 7 full-time employment as a teacher under this Article 8 following the private school service to the date of payment, 9 compounded annually, at the rate of 8.5% per year for periods 10 before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd 11 General Assembly, and for subsequent periods at a rate equal 12 to the System's actuarially assumed rate of return on 13 investments. 14 (e) The contributions required under this Section may be 15 made from the date the statement for such creditable service 16 is issued until retirement date. All such required 17 contributions must be made before any retirement annuity is 18 granted. 19 (Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95.) 20 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 21 becoming law.