HB4627eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4627 Engrossed LRB095 15155 AMC 41120 b

AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing Section 4-118.1 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/4-118.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-118.1)

Sec. 4-118.1. Contributions by firefighters.

(a) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, each firefighter shall contribute to the pension fund 7.415% of salary towards the cost of his or her pension. Beginning January 1, 1976 and until the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, each firefighter shall contribute to the pension fund 6 3/4% of salary towards the cost of his or her pension. Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, each firefighter shall contribute to the pension fund 6.955% of salary towards the cost of his or her pension.

(b) In addition, beginning January 1, 1976, each firefighter shall contribute 1% of salary toward the cost of the increase in pension provided in Section 4-109.1; beginning January 1, 1987, such contribution shall be 1.5% of salary; beginning July 1, 2004, the contribution shall be 2.5% of salary.

(c) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, each firefighter who elects to receive a pension under Section 4-109.3 and who has participated in at least one other pension fund under this Article for a period of at least one year shall contribute an additional 1.0% of salary toward the cost of the increase in pensions provided in Section 4-109.3.

In the event that a firefighter does not elect to receive a retirement pension provided under Section 4-109.3 from one or more of the pension funds in which the firefighter has credit, he or she shall, upon withdrawal from the last pension fund as defined in Section 4-109.3, be entitled to receive, from each such fund to which he or she has paid additional contributions under this subsection (c) and from which he or she does not receive a refund under Section 4-116, a refund of those contributions without interest.

A refund of total contributions to a particular firefighter pension fund under Section 4-116 shall include any refund of additional contributions paid to that fund under this subsection (c), but a firefighter who accepts a refund from a pension fund under Section 4-116 is thereafter ineligible to receive a pension provided under Section 4-109.3 from that fund. A firefighter who meets the eligibility requirements of Section 4-109.3 may receive a pension under Section 4-109.3 from any pension fund from which the firefighter has not received a refund under Section 4-116 or under this subsection (c).

(d) "Salary" means the annual salary, including longevity, attached to the firefighter's rank, as established by the municipality appropriation ordinance, including any compensation for overtime which is included in the salary so established, but excluding any "overtime pay", "holiday pay", "bonus pay", "merit pay", or any other cash benefit not included in the salary so established.

(e) The contributions shall be deducted and withheld from the salary of firefighters.

(Source: P.A. 93-689, eff. 7-1-04.)