State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_SB0661

 
                                               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.

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