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Public Act 91-0685
SB1103 Enrolled LRB9102714EGfg
AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code.
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 7-145.1 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/7-145.1)
Sec. 7-145.1. Alternative annuity for county officers.
(a) The benefits provided in this Section and Section
7-145.2 are available only if the county board has filed with
the Board of the Fund a resolution or ordinance expressly
consenting to the availability of these benefits for its
elected county officers. The county board's consent is
irrevocable with respect to persons participating in the
program, but may be revoked at any time with respect to
persons who have not paid an additional optional contribution
under this Section before the date of revocation.
An elected county officer may elect to establish
alternative credits for an alternative annuity by electing in
writing to make additional optional contributions in
accordance with this Section and procedures established by
the board. These alternative credits are available only for
periods of service as an elected county officer. The elected
county officer may discontinue making the additional optional
contributions by notifying the Fund in writing in accordance
with this Section and procedures established by the board.
Additional optional contributions for the alternative
annuity shall be as follows:
(1) For service as an elected county officer after
the option is elected, an additional contribution of 3%
of salary shall be contributed to the Fund on the same
basis and under the same conditions as contributions
required under Section 7-173.
(2) For service as an elected county officer before
the option is elected, an additional contribution of 3%
of the salary for the applicable period of service, plus
interest at the effective rate from the date of service
to the date of payment. All payments for past service
must be paid in full before credit is given. No
additional optional contributions may be made for any
period of service for which credit has been previously
forfeited by acceptance of a refund, unless the refund is
repaid in full with interest at the effective rate from
the date of refund to the date of repayment.
(b) In lieu of the retirement annuity otherwise payable
under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has
elected to participate in the Fund and make additional
optional contributions in accordance with this Section, (2)
has held and made additional optional contributions with
respect to the same elected county office for at least 8
years, and (3) (2) has attained age 55 with at least 8 years
of service credit (or has attained age 50 with at least 20
years of service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee) may
elect to have his retirement annuity computed as follows: 3%
of the participant's salary at the time of termination of
service for each of the first 8 years of service credit, plus
4% of that salary for each of the next 4 years of service
credit, plus 5% of that salary for each year of service
credit in excess of 12 years, subject to a maximum of 80% of
that salary.
This formula applies only to service in an elected county
office that the officer held for at least 8 years, and only
to service for which additional optional contributions have
been paid under this Section. If an elected county officer
qualifies to have this formula applied to service in more
than one elected county office, the qualifying service shall
be accumulated for purposes of determining the applicable
accrual percentages, but the salary used for each office
shall be the separate salary calculated for that office, as
defined in subsection (g).
To the extent that the elected county officer has service
credit that does not qualify for this formula, made
additional optional contributions with respect to only a
portion of his years of service credit, his retirement
annuity will first be determined in accordance with this
formula with respect to the service to which this formula
applies Section to the extent that additional optional
contributions were made, and then in accordance with the
remaining Sections of this Article to the extent of years of
service credit with respect to the service to which this
formula does not apply additional optional contributions were
not made.
(c) In lieu of the disability benefits otherwise payable
under this Article, an elected county officer who (1) has
elected to participate in the Fund, and (2) has become
permanently disabled and as a consequence is unable to
perform the duties of his office, and (3) was making optional
contributions in accordance with this Section at the time the
disability was incurred, may elect to receive a disability
annuity calculated in accordance with the formula in
subsection (b). For the purposes of this subsection, an
elected county officer shall be considered permanently
disabled only if: (i) disability occurs while in service as
an elected county officer and is of such a nature as to
prevent him from reasonably performing the duties of his
office at the time; and (ii) the board has received a written
certification by at least 2 licensed physicians appointed by
it stating that the officer is disabled and that the
disability is likely to be permanent.
(d) Refunds of additional optional contributions shall
be made on the same basis and under the same conditions as
provided under Section 7-166, 7-167 and 7-168. Interest
shall be credited at the effective rate on the same basis and
under the same conditions as for other contributions.
If an elected county officer fails to hold that same
elected county office for at least 8 years, he or she shall
be entitled after leaving office to receive a refund of the
additional optional contributions made with respect to that
office, plus interest at the effective rate.
(e) The plan of optional alternative benefits and
contributions shall be available to persons who are elected
county officers and active contributors to the Fund on or
after November 15, 1994. A person who was an elected county
officer and an active contributor to the Fund on November 15,
1994 but is no longer an active contributor may apply to make
additional optional contributions under this Section at any
time within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1997; if the person is an annuitant, the
resulting increase in annuity shall begin to accrue on the
first day of the month following the month in which the
required payment is received by the Fund.
(f) For the purposes of this Section and Section
7-145.2, the terms "elected county officer" and "elected
county office" include, but are not limited to: (1) the
county clerk, recorder, treasurer, coroner, assessor (if
elected), auditor, sheriff, and State's Attorney; members of
the county board; and the clerk of the circuit court; and (2)
a person who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an
office that is normally filled by election on a countywide
basis, for the duration of his or her service in that office.
The terms "elected county officer" and "elected county
office" do not include any officer or office of a county that
has not consented to the availability of benefits under this
Section and Section 7-145.2.
(g) For the purposes of this Section and Section
7-145.2, the term "salary" means the final rate of earnings
for the elected county office held, calculated in a manner
consistent with Section 7-116, but for that office only. If
an elected county officer qualifies to have the formula in
subsection (b) applied to service in more than one elected
county office, a separate salary shall be calculated and
applied with respect to each such office.
(h) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory
Act of the 91st General Assembly apply to persons who first
make an additional optional contribution under this Section
on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.
(Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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