HB5826 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 17785 RPM 52907 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB5826

Introduced , by Rep. Norine Hammond

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

40 ILCS 5/2-109	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 2-109
40 ILCS 5/3-110	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 3-110
40 ILCS 5/4-108	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-108
40 ILCS 5/5-214.3
40 ILCS 5/6-209	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-209
40 ILCS 5/6-210.4
40 ILCS 5/7-139	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-139
40 ILCS 5/8-230	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 8-230
40 ILCS 5/9-120.1
40 ILCS 5/9-179.1	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 9-179.1
40 ILCS 5/11-221	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 11-221
40 ILCS 5/12-127	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 12-127
40 ILCS 5/13-403	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-403
40 ILCS 5/14-103.16	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 14-103.16
40 ILCS 5/15-113.3	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-113.3
40 ILCS 5/16-127	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127
40 ILCS 5/17-115	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-115
40 ILCS 5/17-134	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-134
40 ILCS 5/18-122	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 18-122
30 ILCS 805/8.38 new

Amends the Illinois Pension Code. With respect to the provisions concerning military service, provides that those provisions apply to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State. Contains a nonacceleration provision. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

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 Sections 2-109, 3-110, 4-108, 5-214.3, 6-209, 6-210.4, 7-139, 8-230, 9-120.1, 9-179.1, 11-221, 12-127, 13-403, 14-103.16, 15-113.3, 16-127, 17-115, 17-134, and 18-122 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/2-109) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 2-109)

Sec. 2-109. Military service. "Military service": Service in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard or any women's auxiliary thereof. "Military service" includes service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 87-794.)

(40 ILCS 5/3-110) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 3-110)

Sec. 3-110. Creditable service.

(a) "Creditable service" is the time served by a police officer as a member of a regularly constituted police force of a municipality. In computing creditable service furloughs without pay exceeding 30 days shall not be counted, but all leaves of absence for illness or accident, regardless of length, and all periods of disability retirement for which a police officer has received no disability pension payments under this Article shall be counted.

(a-5) Up to 3 years of time during which the police officer receives a disability pension under Section 3-114.1, 3-114.2, 3-114.3, or 3-114.6 shall be counted as creditable service, provided that (i) the police officer returns to active service after the disability for a period at least equal to the period for which credit is to be established and (ii) the police officer makes contributions to the fund based on the rates specified in Section 3-125.1 and the salary upon which the disability pension is based. These contributions may be paid at any time prior to the commencement of a retirement pension. The police officer may, but need not, elect to have the contributions deducted from the disability pension or to pay them in installments on a schedule approved by the board. If not deducted from the disability pension, the contributions shall include interest at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually, from the date for which service credit is being established to the date of payment. If contributions are paid under this subsection (a-5) in excess of those needed to establish the credit, the excess shall be refunded. This subsection (a-5) applies to persons receiving a disability pension under Section 3-114.1, 3-114.2, 3-114.3, or 3-114.6 on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, as well as persons who begin to receive such a disability pension after that date.

(b) Creditable service includes all periods of service in the military, naval or air forces of the United States entered upon while an active police officer of a municipality, provided that upon applying for a permanent pension, and in accordance with the rules of the board, the police officer pays into the fund the amount the officer would have contributed if he or she had been a regular contributor during such period, to the extent that the municipality which the police officer served has not made such contributions in the officer's behalf. The total amount of such creditable service shall not exceed 5 years, except that any police officer who on July 1, 1973 had more than 5 years of such creditable service shall receive the total amount thereof. This subsection (b) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(b-5) Creditable service includes all periods of service in the military, naval, or air forces of the United States entered upon before beginning service as an active police officer of a municipality, provided that, in accordance with the rules of the board, the police officer pays into the fund the amount the police officer would have contributed if he or she had been a regular contributor during such period, plus an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the municipality's normal cost of the benefit, plus interest at the actuarially assumed rate calculated from the date the employee last became a police officer under this Article. The total amount of such creditable service shall not exceed 2 years. This subsection (b-5) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(c) Creditable service also includes service rendered by a police officer while on leave of absence from a police department to serve as an executive of an organization whose membership consists of members of a police department, subject to the following conditions: (i) the police officer is a participant of a fund established under this Article with at least 10 years of service as a police officer; (ii) the police officer received no credit for such service under any other retirement system, pension fund, or annuity and benefit fund included in this Code; (iii) pursuant to the rules of the board the police officer pays to the fund the amount he or she would have contributed had the officer been an active member of the police department; (iv) the organization pays a contribution equal to the municipality's normal cost for that period of service; and (v) for all leaves of absence under this subsection (c), including those beginning before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the police officer continues to remain in sworn status, subject to the professional standards of the public employer or those terms established in statute.

(d)(1) Creditable service also includes periods of service originally established in another police pension fund under this Article or in the Fund established under Article 7 of this Code for which (i) the contributions have been transferred under Section 3-110.7 or Section 7-139.9 and (ii) any additional contribution required under paragraph (2) of this subsection has been paid in full in accordance with the requirements of this subsection (d).

(2) If the board of the pension fund to which creditable service and related contributions are transferred under Section 7-139.9 determines that the amount transferred is less than the true cost to the pension fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, then in order to establish that creditable service the police officer must pay to the pension fund, within the payment period specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection, an additional contribution equal to the difference, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under paragraph (6) of this subsection. If the board of the pension fund to which creditable service and related contributions are transferred under Section 3-110.7 determines that the amount transferred is less than the true cost to the pension fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, then the police officer may elect (A) to establish that creditable service by paying to the pension fund, within the payment period specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection (d), an additional contribution equal to the difference, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under paragraph (6) of this subsection (d) or (B) to have his or her creditable service reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the amount transferred under Section 3-110.7 and the true cost to the pension fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under paragraph (6) of this subsection (d).

(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the additional contribution that is required or elected under paragraph (2) of this subsection (d) must be paid to the board (i) within 5 years from the date of the transfer of contributions under Section 3-110.7 or 7-139.9 and (ii) before the police officer terminates service with the fund. The additional contribution may be paid in a lump sum or in accordance with a schedule of installment payments authorized by the board.

(4) If the police officer dies in service before payment in full has been made and before the expiration of the 5-year payment period, the surviving spouse of the officer may elect to pay the unpaid amount on the officer's behalf within 6 months after the date of death, in which case the creditable service shall be granted as though the deceased police officer had paid the remaining balance on the day before the date of death.

(5) If the additional contribution that is required or elected under paragraph (2) of this subsection (d) is not paid in full within the required time, the creditable service shall not be granted and the police officer (or the officer's surviving spouse or estate) shall be entitled to receive a refund of (i) any partial payment of the additional contribution that has been made by the police officer and (ii) those portions of the amounts transferred under subdivision (a)(1) of Section 3-110.7 or subdivisions (a)(1) and (a)(3) of Section 7-139.9 that represent employee contributions paid by the police officer (but not the accumulated interest on those contributions) and interest paid by the police officer to the prior pension fund in order to reinstate service terminated by acceptance of a refund.

At the time of paying a refund under this item (5), the pension fund shall also repay to the pension fund from which the contributions were transferred under Section 3-110.7 or 7-139.9 the amount originally transferred under subdivision (a)(2) of that Section, plus interest at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually, from the date of the original transfer to the date of repayment. Amounts repaid to the Article 7 fund under this provision shall be credited to the appropriate municipality.

Transferred credit that is not granted due to failure to pay the additional contribution within the required time is lost; it may not be transferred to another pension fund and may not be reinstated in the pension fund from which it was transferred.

(6) The Public Employee Pension Fund Division of the Department of Insurance shall establish by rule the manner of making the calculation required under paragraph (2) of this subsection, taking into account the appropriate actuarial assumptions; the police officer's service, age, and salary history; the level of funding of the pension fund to which the credits are being transferred; and any other factors that the Division determines to be relevant. The rules may require that all calculations made under paragraph (2) be reported to the Division by the board performing the calculation, together with documentation of the creditable service to be transferred, the amounts of contributions and interest to be transferred, the manner in which the calculation was performed, the numbers relied upon in making the calculation, the results of the calculation, and any other information the Division may deem useful.

(e)(1) Creditable service also includes periods of service originally established in the Fund established under Article 7 of this Code for which the contributions have been transferred under Section 7-139.11.

(2) If the board of the pension fund to which creditable service and related contributions are transferred under Section 7-139.11 determines that the amount transferred is less than the true cost to the pension fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, then the amount of creditable service the police officer may establish under this subsection (e) shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(3) The Public Pension Division of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall establish by rule the manner of making the calculation required under paragraph (2) of this subsection, taking into account the appropriate actuarial assumptions; the police officer's service, age, and salary history; the level of funding of the pension fund to which the credits are being transferred; and any other factors that the Division determines to be relevant. The rules may require that all calculations made under paragraph (2) be reported to the Division by the board performing the calculation, together with documentation of the creditable service to be transferred, the amounts of contributions and interest to be transferred, the manner in which the calculation was performed, the numbers relied upon in making the calculation, the results of the calculation, and any other information the Division may deem useful.

(4) Until January 1, 2010, a police officer who transferred service from the Fund established under Article 7 of this Code under the provisions of Public Act 94-356 may establish additional credit, but only for the amount of the service credit reduction in that transfer, as calculated under paragraph (3) of this subsection (e). This credit may be established upon payment by the police officer of an amount to be determined by the board, equal to (1) the amount that would have been contributed as employee and employer contributions had all of the service been as an employee under this Article, plus interest thereon at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually from the date of service to the date of transfer, less (2) the total amount transferred from the Article 7 Fund, plus (3) interest on the difference at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually, from the date of the transfer to the date of payment. The additional service credit is allowed under this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7 terminating all transferred credits on the date of transfer.

(Source: P.A. 96-297, eff. 8-11-09; 96-1260, eff. 7-23-10; 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)

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

Sec. 4-108. Creditable service.

(a) Creditable service is the time served as a firefighter of a municipality. In computing creditable service, furloughs and leaves of absence without pay exceeding 30 days in any one year shall not be counted, but leaves of absence for illness or accident regardless of length, and periods of disability for which a firefighter received no disability pension payments under this Article, shall be counted.

(b) Furloughs and leaves of absence of 30 days or less in any one year may be counted as creditable service, if the firefighter makes the contribution to the fund that would have been required had he or she not been on furlough or leave of absence. To qualify for this creditable service, the firefighter must pay the required contributions to the fund not more than 90 days subsequent to the termination of the furlough or leave of absence, to the extent that the municipality has not made such contribution on his or her behalf.

(c) Creditable service includes:

(1) Service in the military, naval or air forces of the United States entered upon when the person was an active firefighter, provided that, upon applying for a permanent pension, and in accordance with the rules of the board the firefighter pays into the fund the amount that would have been contributed had he or she been a regular contributor during such period of service, if and to the extent that the municipality which the firefighter served made no such contributions in his or her behalf. The total amount of such creditable service shall not exceed 5 years, except that any firefighter who on July 1, 1973 had more than 5 years of such creditable service shall receive the total amount thereof as of that date. This subdivision (1) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(1.5) Up to 24 months of service in the military, naval, or air forces of the United States that was served prior to employment by a municipality or fire protection district as a firefighter. To receive the credit for the military service prior to the employment as a firefighter, the firefighter must apply in writing to the fund and must make contributions to the fund equal to (i) the employee contributions that would have been required had the service been rendered as a member, plus (ii) an amount determined by the fund to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for that military service, plus (iii) interest at the actuarially assumed rate provided by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, compounded annually from the first date of membership in the fund to the date of payment on items (i) and (ii). The changes to this paragraph (1.5) by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply only to participating employees in service on or after its effective date. This subdivision (1.5) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(2) Service prior to July 1, 1976 by a firefighter initially excluded from participation by reason of age who elected to participate and paid the required contributions for such service.

(3) Up to 8 years of service by a firefighter as an officer in a statewide firefighters' association when he is on a leave of absence from a municipality's payroll, provided that (i) the firefighter has at least 10 years of creditable service as an active firefighter, (ii) the firefighter contributes to the fund the amount that he would have contributed had he remained an active member of the fund, (iii) the employee or statewide firefighter association contributes to the fund an amount equal to the employer's required contribution as determined by the board, and (iv) for all leaves of absence under this subdivision (3), including those beginning before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the firefighter continues to remain in sworn status, subject to the professional standards of the public employer or those terms established in statute.

(4) Time spent as an on-call fireman for a municipality, calculated at the rate of one year of creditable service for each 5 years of time spent as an on-call fireman, provided that (i) the firefighter has at least 18 years of creditable service as an active firefighter, (ii) the firefighter spent at least 14 years as an on-call firefighter for the municipality, (iii) the firefighter applies for such creditable service within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, (iv) the firefighter contributes to the Fund an amount representing employee contributions for the number of years of creditable service granted under this subdivision (4), based on the salary and contribution rate in effect for the firefighter at the date of entry into the Fund, to be determined by the board, and (v) not more than 3 years of creditable service may be granted under this subdivision (4).

Except as provided in Section 4-108.5, creditable service shall not include time spent as a volunteer firefighter, whether or not any compensation was received therefor. The change made in this Section by Public Act 83-0463 is intended to be a restatement and clarification of existing law, and does not imply that creditable service was previously allowed under this Article for time spent as a volunteer firefighter.

(5) Time served between July 1, 1976 and July 1, 1988 in the position of protective inspection officer or administrative assistant for fire services, for a municipality with a population under 10,000 that is located in a county with a population over 3,000,000 and that maintains a firefighters' pension fund under this Article, if the position included firefighting duties, notwithstanding that the person may not have held an appointment as a firefighter, provided that application is made to the pension fund within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, and the corresponding contributions are paid for the number of years of service granted, based upon the salary and contribution rate in effect for the firefighter at the date of entry into the pension fund, as determined by the Board.

(6) Service before becoming a participant by a firefighter initially excluded from participation by reason of age who becomes a participant under the amendment to Section 4-107 made by this amendatory Act of 1993 and pays the required contributions for such service.

(7) Up to 3 years of time during which the firefighter receives a disability pension under Section 4-110, 4-110.1, or 4-111, provided that (i) the firefighter returns to active service after the disability for a period at least equal to the period for which credit is to be established and (ii) the firefighter makes contributions to the fund based on the rates specified in Section 4-118.1 and the salary upon which the disability pension is based. These contributions may be paid at any time prior to the commencement of a retirement pension. The firefighter may, but need not, elect to have the contributions deducted from the disability pension or to pay them in installments on a schedule approved by the board. If not deducted from the disability pension, the contributions shall include interest at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually, from the date for which service credit is being established to the date of payment. If contributions are paid under this subdivision (c)(7) in excess of those needed to establish the credit, the excess shall be refunded. This subdivision (c)(7) applies to persons receiving a disability pension under Section 4-110, 4-110.1, or 4-111 on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, as well as persons who begin to receive such a disability pension after that date.

(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)

(40 ILCS 5/5-214.3)

Sec. 5-214.3. Credit for military service. A policeman may establish creditable service under this Article for all periods of service in the military, naval, or air forces of the United States entered upon before beginning service as an active policeman of a municipality, provided that the policeman pays into the fund the amount the policeman would have contributed if he or she had been a regular contributor during such period, plus an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the municipality's normal cost of the benefit, plus interest at the actuarially assumed rate calculated from the date the employee last became a policeman under this Article. The total amount of such creditable service shall not exceed 2 years. This Section applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 96-1260, eff. 7-23-10.)

(40 ILCS 5/6-209) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-209)

Sec. 6-209. In computing the service rendered by a fireman prior to the effective date, the following periods shall be counted, in addition to all periods during which he performed the duties of his position, as periods of service for annuity purposes only: All periods of (a) vacation, (b) leave of absence with whole or part pay, (c) leave of absence without pay which were necessary on account of disability, and (d) leave of absence during which he was engaged in the military or naval service of the United States of America. Service credit shall not be allowed for any period during which a fireman was in receipt of pension on account of disability from any pension fund superseded by this fund.

In computing the service rendered by a fireman on and after the effective date, the following periods shall be counted in addition to all periods during which he performed the duties of his position, as periods of service for annuity purposes only: All periods of (a) vacation, (b) leave of absence with whole or part pay, (c) leave of absence during which he was engaged in the military or naval service of the United States of America or service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States, (d) disability for which he receives any disability benefit, (e) disability for which he receives whole or part pay, (f) leave of absence, or other authorized relief from active duty, during which he served as president of The Firemen's Association of Chicago, provided that for all leaves of absence or other authorized relief under this item (f), including those beginning before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the fireman continues to remain in sworn status, subject to the professional standards of the public employer or those terms established in statute, (g) periods of suspension from duty not to exceed a total of one year during the total period of service of the fireman, and (h) a period of time not to exceed 23 days in 1980 in accordance with an agreement with the City on a settlement of strike; provided that the fireman elects to make contributions to the Fund for the various annuity and benefit purposes according to the provisions of this Article as though he were an active fireman, based upon the salary attached to the civil service rank held by him during such absence from duty, and if the fireman so elects, the city shall make the prescribed concurrent contributions for such annuity and benefit purposes as provided in this Article, all to the end that such fireman shall be entitled to receive the same annuities and benefits for which he would otherwise be eligible if he had continued as an active fireman during the periods of absence from duty.

In computing service on and after the effective date for ordinary disability benefit, all periods described in the preceding paragraph, except any period for which a fireman receives ordinary disability benefit, shall be counted as periods of service.

In computing service for any of the purposes of this Article, credit shall be given for any periods prior to January 9, 1997, during which an active fireman (or fire paramedic) who is a member of the General Assembly is on leave of absence or is otherwise authorized to be absent from duty to enable him to perform his legislative duties, notwithstanding any reduction in salary for such periods and notwithstanding that the contributions paid by the fireman were based on such reduced salary rather than the full amount of salary attached to his civil service rank.

In computing service for any of the purposes of this Article, no credit shall be given for any period during which a fireman was not rendering active service because of his discharge from the service, unless proceedings to test the legality of the discharge are filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within one year from the date of discharge and a final judgment is entered therein declaring the discharge illegal.

No overtime or extra service shall be included in computing service of a fireman and not more than one year or a proper fractional part thereof of service shall be allowed for service rendered during any calendar year.

(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)

(40 ILCS 5/6-210.4)

Sec. 6-210.4. Creditable service for pre-employment military service. An active fireman may establish a maximum of 24 months of additional service credit attributed to service in the armed forces of the United States that was served prior to employment by the city as a firefighter by applying in writing to the fund and, after substantiation of any such requested service, making contributions to the fund equal to (i) the employee contributions that would have been required had the service been rendered as a member, plus (ii) an amount determined by the fund to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for that military service, plus (iii) interest at the actuarially assumed rate provided in the Fund's most recent annual actuarial valuation, compounded annually from the first date of membership in the fund to the date of payment on items (i) and (ii).

This Section applies only to firemen in service on or after its effective date. This Section applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 96-260, eff. 8-11-09.)

(40 ILCS 5/7-139) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-139)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 98-599)

Sec. 7-139. Credits and creditable service to employees.

(a) Each participating employee shall be granted credits and creditable service, for purposes of determining the amount of any annuity or benefit to which he or a beneficiary is entitled, as follows:

1. For prior service: Each participating employee who is an employee of a participating municipality or participating instrumentality on the effective date shall be granted creditable service, but no credits under paragraph 2 of this subsection (a), for periods of prior service for which credit has not been received under any other pension fund or retirement system established under this Code, as follows:

If the effective date of participation for the participating municipality or participating instrumentality is on or before January 1, 1998, creditable service shall be granted for the entire period of prior service with that employer without any employee contribution.

If the effective date of participation for the participating municipality or participating instrumentality is after January 1, 1998, creditable service shall be granted for the last 20% of the period of prior service with that employer, but no more than 5 years, without any employee contribution. A participating employee may establish creditable service for the remainder of the period of prior service with that employer by making an application in writing, accompanied by payment of an employee contribution in an amount determined by the Fund, based on the employee contribution rates in effect at the time of application for the creditable service and the employee's salary rate on the effective date of participation for that employer, plus interest at the effective rate from the date of the prior service to the date of payment. Application for this creditable service may be made at any time while the employee is still in service.

A municipality that (i) has at least 35 employees; (ii) is located in a county with at least 2,000,000 inhabitants; and (iii) maintains an independent defined benefit pension plan for the benefit of its eligible employees may restrict creditable service in whole or in part for periods of prior service with the employer if the governing body of the municipality adopts an irrevocable resolution to restrict that creditable service and files the resolution with the board before the municipality's effective date of participation.

Any person who has withdrawn from the service of a participating municipality or participating instrumentality prior to the effective date, who reenters the service of the same municipality or participating instrumentality after the effective date and becomes a participating employee is entitled to creditable service for prior service as otherwise provided in this subdivision (a)(1) only if he or she renders 2 years of service as a participating employee after the effective date. Application for such service must be made while in a participating status. The salary rate to be used in the calculation of the required employee contribution, if any, shall be the employee's salary rate at the time of first reentering service with the employer after the employer's effective date of participation.

2. For current service, each participating employee shall be credited with:

a. Additional credits of amounts equal to each payment of additional contributions received from him under Section 7-173, as of the date the corresponding payment of earnings is payable to him.

b. Normal credits of amounts equal to each payment of normal contributions received from him, as of the date the corresponding payment of earnings is payable to him, and normal contributions made for the purpose of establishing out-of-state service credits as permitted under the conditions set forth in paragraph 6 of this subsection (a).

c. Municipality credits in an amount equal to 1.4 times the normal credits, except those established by out-of-state service credits, as of the date of computation of any benefit if these credits would increase the benefit.

d. Survivor credits equal to each payment of survivor contributions received from the participating employee as of the date the corresponding payment of earnings is payable, and survivor contributions made for the purpose of establishing out-of-state service credits.

3. For periods of temporary and total and permanent disability benefits, each employee receiving disability benefits shall be granted creditable service for the period during which disability benefits are payable. Normal and survivor credits, based upon the rate of earnings applied for disability benefits, shall also be granted if such credits would result in a higher benefit to any such employee or his beneficiary.

4. For authorized leave of absence without pay: A participating employee shall be granted credits and creditable service for periods of authorized leave of absence without pay under the following conditions:

a. An application for credits and creditable service is submitted to the board while the employee is in a status of active employment.

b. Not more than 12 complete months of creditable service for authorized leave of absence without pay shall be counted for purposes of determining any benefits payable under this Article.

c. Credits and creditable service shall be granted for leave of absence only if such leave is approved by the governing body of the municipality, including approval of the estimated cost thereof to the municipality as determined by the fund, and employee contributions, plus interest at the effective rate applicable for each year from the end of the period of leave to date of payment, have been paid to the fund in accordance with Section 7-173. The contributions shall be computed upon the assumption earnings continued during the period of leave at the rate in effect when the leave began.

d. Benefits under the provisions of Sections 7-141, 7-146, 7-150 and 7-163 shall become payable to employees on authorized leave of absence, or their designated beneficiary, only if such leave of absence is creditable hereunder, and if the employee has at least one year of creditable service other than the service granted for leave of absence. Any employee contributions due may be deducted from any benefits payable.

e. No credits or creditable service shall be allowed for leave of absence without pay during any period of prior service.

5. For military service: The governing body of a municipality or participating instrumentality may elect to allow creditable service to participating employees who leave their employment to serve in the armed forces of the United States for all periods of such service, provided that the person returns to active employment within 90 days after completion of full time active duty, but no creditable service shall be allowed such person for any period that can be used in the computation of a pension or any other pay or benefit, other than pay for active duty, for service in any branch of the armed forces of the United States. If necessary to the computation of any benefit, the board shall establish municipality credits for participating employees under this paragraph on the assumption that the employee received earnings at the rate received at the time he left the employment to enter the armed forces. A participating employee in the armed forces shall not be considered an employee during such period of service and no additional death and no disability benefits are payable for death or disability during such period.

Any participating employee who left his employment with a municipality or participating instrumentality to serve in the armed forces of the United States and who again became a participating employee within 90 days after completion of full time active duty by entering the service of a different municipality or participating instrumentality, which has elected to allow creditable service for periods of military service under the preceding paragraph, shall also be allowed creditable service for his period of military service on the same terms that would apply if he had been employed, before entering military service, by the municipality or instrumentality which employed him after he left the military service and the employer costs arising in relation to such grant of creditable service shall be charged to and paid by that municipality or instrumentality.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any participating employee shall be entitled to creditable service as required by any federal law relating to re-employment rights of persons who served in the United States Armed Services. Such creditable service shall be granted upon payment by the member of an amount equal to the employee contributions which would have been required had the employee continued in service at the same rate of earnings during the military leave period, plus interest at the effective rate. This paragraph 5 applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

5.1. In addition to any creditable service established under paragraph 5 of this subsection (a), creditable service may be granted for up to 48 months of service in the armed forces of the United States.

In order to receive creditable service for military service under this paragraph 5.1, a participating employee must (1) apply to the Fund in writing and provide evidence of the military service that is satisfactory to the Board; (2) obtain the written approval of the current employer; and (3) make contributions to the Fund equal to (i) the employee contributions that would have been required had the service been rendered as a member, plus (ii) an amount determined by the board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for that military service, plus (iii) interest on items (i) and (ii) from the date of first membership in the Fund to the date of payment. The required interest shall be calculated at the regular interest rate.

The changes made to this paragraph 5.1 by Public Acts 95-483 and 95-486 apply only to participating employees in service on or after August 28, 2007 (the effective date of those Public Acts). This paragraph 5.1 applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

6. For out-of-state service: Creditable service shall be granted for service rendered to an out-of-state local governmental body under the following conditions: The employee had participated and has irrevocably forfeited all rights to benefits in the out-of-state public employees pension system; the governing body of his participating municipality or instrumentality authorizes the employee to establish such service; the employee has 2 years current service with this municipality or participating instrumentality; the employee makes a payment of contributions, which shall be computed at 8% (normal) plus 2% (survivor) times length of service purchased times the average rate of earnings for the first 2 years of service with the municipality or participating instrumentality whose governing body authorizes the service established plus interest at the effective rate on the date such credits are established, payable from the date the employee completes the required 2 years of current service to date of payment. In no case shall more than 120 months of creditable service be granted under this provision.

7. For retroactive service: Any employee who could have but did not elect to become a participating employee, or who should have been a participant in the Municipal Public Utilities Annuity and Benefit Fund before that fund was superseded, may receive creditable service for the period of service not to exceed 50 months; however, a current or former elected or appointed official of a participating municipality may establish credit under this paragraph 7 for more than 50 months of service as an official of that municipality, if the excess over 50 months is approved by resolution of the governing body of the affected municipality filed with the Fund before January 1, 2002.

Any employee who is a participating employee on or after September 24, 1981 and who was excluded from participation by the age restrictions removed by Public Act 82-596 may receive creditable service for the period, on or after January 1, 1979, excluded by the age restriction and, in addition, if the governing body of the participating municipality or participating instrumentality elects to allow creditable service for all employees excluded by the age restriction prior to January 1, 1979, for service during the period prior to that date excluded by the age restriction. Any employee who was excluded from participation by the age restriction removed by Public Act 82-596 and who is not a participating employee on or after September 24, 1981 may receive creditable service for service after January 1, 1979. Creditable service under this paragraph shall be granted upon payment of the employee contributions which would have been required had he participated, with interest at the effective rate for each year from the end of the period of service established to date of payment.

8. For accumulated unused sick leave: A participating employee who is applying for a retirement annuity shall be entitled to creditable service for that portion of the employee's accumulated unused sick leave for which payment is not received, as follows:

a. Sick leave days shall be limited to those accumulated under a sick leave plan established by a participating municipality or participating instrumentality which is available to all employees or a class of employees.

b. Except as provided in item b-1, only sick leave days accumulated with a participating municipality or participating instrumentality with which the employee was in service within 60 days of the effective date of his retirement annuity shall be credited; If the employee was in service with more than one employer during this period only the sick leave days with the employer with which the employee has the greatest number of unpaid sick leave days shall be considered.

b-1. If the employee was in the service of more than one employer as defined in item (2) of paragraph (a) of subsection (A) of Section 7-132, then the sick leave days from all such employers shall be credited, as long as the creditable service attributed to those sick leave days does not exceed the limitation in item f of this paragraph 8. In calculating the creditable service under this item b-1, the sick leave days from the last employer shall be considered first, then the remaining sick leave days shall be considered until there are no more days or the maximum creditable sick leave threshold under item f of this paragraph 8 has been reached.

c. The creditable service granted shall be considered solely for the purpose of computing the amount of the retirement annuity and shall not be used to establish any minimum service period required by any provision of the Illinois Pension Code, the effective date of the retirement annuity, or the final rate of earnings.

d. The creditable service shall be at the rate of 1/20 of a month for each full sick day, provided that no more than 12 months may be credited under this subdivision 8.

e. Employee contributions shall not be required for creditable service under this subdivision 8.

f. Each participating municipality and participating instrumentality with which an employee has service within 60 days of the effective date of his retirement annuity shall certify to the board the number of accumulated unpaid sick leave days credited to the employee at the time of termination of service.

9. For service transferred from another system: Credits and creditable service shall be granted for service under Article 4, 5, 8, 14, or 16 of this Act, to any active member of this Fund, and to any inactive member who has been a county sheriff, upon transfer of such credits pursuant to Section 4-108.3, 5-235, 8-226.7, 14-105.6, or 16-131.4, and payment by the member of the amount by which (1) the employer and employee contributions that would have been required if he had participated in this Fund as a sheriff's law enforcement employee during the period for which credit is being transferred, plus interest thereon at the effective rate for each year, compounded annually, from the date of termination of the service for which credit is being transferred to the date of payment, exceeds (2) the amount actually transferred to the Fund. Such transferred service shall be deemed to be service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee for the purposes of Section 7-142.1.

10. For service transferred from an Article 3 system under Section 3-110.8: Credits and creditable service shall be granted for service under Article 3 of this Act as provided in Section 3-110.8, to any active member of this Fund upon transfer of such credits pursuant to Section 3-110.8. If the amount by which (1) the employer and employee contributions that would have been required if he had participated in this Fund during the period for which credit is being transferred, plus interest thereon at the effective rate for each year, compounded annually, from the date of termination of the service for which credit is being transferred to the date of payment, exceeds (2) the amount actually transferred to the Fund, then the amount of creditable service established under this paragraph 10 shall be reduced by a corresponding amount in accordance with the rules and procedures established under this paragraph 10.

The board shall establish by rule the manner of making the calculation required under this paragraph 10, taking into account the appropriate actuarial assumptions; the member's service, age, and salary history; the level of funding of the employer; and any other factors that the board determines to be relevant.

Until January 1, 2010, members who transferred service from an Article 3 system under the provisions of Public Act 94-356 may establish additional credit in this Fund, but only up to the amount of the service credit reduction in that transfer, as calculated under the actuarial assumptions. This credit may be established upon payment by the member of an amount to be determined by the board, equal to (1) the amount that would have been contributed as employee and employer contributions had all the service been as an employee under this Article, plus interest thereon compounded annually from the date of service to the date of transfer, less (2) the total amount transferred from the Article 3 system, plus (3) interest on the difference at the effective rate for each year, compounded annually, from the date of the transfer to the date of payment. The additional service credit is allowed under this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3 terminating all transferred credits on the date of transfer.

11. For service transferred from an Article 3 system under Section 3-110.3: Credits and creditable service shall be granted for service under Article 3 of this Act as provided in Section 3-110.3, to any active member of this Fund, upon transfer of such credits pursuant to Section 3-110.3. If the board determines that the amount transferred is less than the true cost to the Fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, then in order to establish that creditable service, the member must pay to the Fund an additional contribution equal to the difference, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under this paragraph. If the member does not make the full additional payment as required by this paragraph prior to termination of his participation with that employer, then his or her creditable service shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the amount transferred under Section 3-110.3, including any payments made by the member under this paragraph prior to termination, and the true cost to the Fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under this paragraph.

The board shall establish by rule the manner of making the calculation required under this paragraph 11, taking into account the appropriate actuarial assumptions; the member's service, age, and salary history, and any other factors that the board determines to be relevant.

(b) Creditable service - amount:

1. One month of creditable service shall be allowed for each month for which a participating employee made contributions as required under Section 7-173, or for which creditable service is otherwise granted hereunder. Not more than 1 month of service shall be credited and counted for 1 calendar month, and not more than 1 year of service shall be credited and counted for any calendar year. A calendar month means a nominal month beginning on the first day thereof, and a calendar year means a year beginning January 1 and ending December 31.

2. A seasonal employee shall be given 12 months of creditable service if he renders the number of months of service normally required by the position in a 12-month period and he remains in service for the entire 12-month period. Otherwise a fractional year of service in the number of months of service rendered shall be credited.

3. An intermittent employee shall be given creditable service for only those months in which a contribution is made under Section 7-173.

(c) No application for correction of credits or creditable service shall be considered unless the board receives an application for correction while (1) the applicant is a participating employee and in active employment with a participating municipality or instrumentality, or (2) while the applicant is actively participating in a pension fund or retirement system which is a participating system under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act. A participating employee or other applicant shall not be entitled to credits or creditable service unless the required employee contributions are made in a lump sum or in installments made in accordance with board rule.

(d) Upon the granting of a retirement, surviving spouse or child annuity, a death benefit or a separation benefit, on account of any employee, all individual accumulated credits shall thereupon terminate. Upon the withdrawal of additional contributions, the credits applicable thereto shall thereupon terminate. Terminated credits shall not be applied to increase the benefits any remaining employee would otherwise receive under this Article.

(Source: P.A. 97-415, eff. 8-16-11; 98-439, eff. 8-16-13.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 98-599)

Sec. 7-139. Credits and creditable service to employees.

(a) Each participating employee shall be granted credits and creditable service, for purposes of determining the amount of any annuity or benefit to which he or a beneficiary is entitled, as follows:

1. For prior service: Each participating employee who is an employee of a participating municipality or participating instrumentality on the effective date shall be granted creditable service, but no credits under paragraph 2 of this subsection (a), for periods of prior service for which credit has not been received under any other pension fund or retirement system established under this Code, as follows:

If the effective date of participation for the participating municipality or participating instrumentality is on or before January 1, 1998, creditable service shall be granted for the entire period of prior service with that employer without any employee contribution.

If the effective date of participation for the participating municipality or participating instrumentality is after January 1, 1998, creditable service shall be granted for the last 20% of the period of prior service with that employer, but no more than 5 years, without any employee contribution. A participating employee may establish creditable service for the remainder of the period of prior service with that employer by making an application in writing, accompanied by payment of an employee contribution in an amount determined by the Fund, based on the employee contribution rates in effect at the time of application for the creditable service and the employee's salary rate on the effective date of participation for that employer, plus interest at the effective rate from the date of the prior service to the date of payment. Application for this creditable service may be made at any time while the employee is still in service.

A municipality that (i) has at least 35 employees; (ii) is located in a county with at least 2,000,000 inhabitants; and (iii) maintains an independent defined benefit pension plan for the benefit of its eligible employees may restrict creditable service in whole or in part for periods of prior service with the employer if the governing body of the municipality adopts an irrevocable resolution to restrict that creditable service and files the resolution with the board before the municipality's effective date of participation.

Any person who has withdrawn from the service of a participating municipality or participating instrumentality prior to the effective date, who reenters the service of the same municipality or participating instrumentality after the effective date and becomes a participating employee is entitled to creditable service for prior service as otherwise provided in this subdivision (a)(1) only if he or she renders 2 years of service as a participating employee after the effective date. Application for such service must be made while in a participating status. The salary rate to be used in the calculation of the required employee contribution, if any, shall be the employee's salary rate at the time of first reentering service with the employer after the employer's effective date of participation.

2. For current service, each participating employee shall be credited with:

a. Additional credits of amounts equal to each payment of additional contributions received from him under Section 7-173, as of the date the corresponding payment of earnings is payable to him.

b. Normal credits of amounts equal to each payment of normal contributions received from him, as of the date the corresponding payment of earnings is payable to him, and normal contributions made for the purpose of establishing out-of-state service credits as permitted under the conditions set forth in paragraph 6 of this subsection (a).

c. Municipality credits in an amount equal to 1.4 times the normal credits, except those established by out-of-state service credits, as of the date of computation of any benefit if these credits would increase the benefit.

d. Survivor credits equal to each payment of survivor contributions received from the participating employee as of the date the corresponding payment of earnings is payable, and survivor contributions made for the purpose of establishing out-of-state service credits.

3. For periods of temporary and total and permanent disability benefits, each employee receiving disability benefits shall be granted creditable service for the period during which disability benefits are payable. Normal and survivor credits, based upon the rate of earnings applied for disability benefits, shall also be granted if such credits would result in a higher benefit to any such employee or his beneficiary.

4. For authorized leave of absence without pay: A participating employee shall be granted credits and creditable service for periods of authorized leave of absence without pay under the following conditions:

a. An application for credits and creditable service is submitted to the board while the employee is in a status of active employment.

b. Not more than 12 complete months of creditable service for authorized leave of absence without pay shall be counted for purposes of determining any benefits payable under this Article.

c. Credits and creditable service shall be granted for leave of absence only if such leave is approved by the governing body of the municipality, including approval of the estimated cost thereof to the municipality as determined by the fund, and employee contributions, plus interest at the effective rate applicable for each year from the end of the period of leave to date of payment, have been paid to the fund in accordance with Section 7-173. The contributions shall be computed upon the assumption earnings continued during the period of leave at the rate in effect when the leave began.

d. Benefits under the provisions of Sections 7-141, 7-146, 7-150 and 7-163 shall become payable to employees on authorized leave of absence, or their designated beneficiary, only if such leave of absence is creditable hereunder, and if the employee has at least one year of creditable service other than the service granted for leave of absence. Any employee contributions due may be deducted from any benefits payable.

e. No credits or creditable service shall be allowed for leave of absence without pay during any period of prior service.

5. For military service: The governing body of a municipality or participating instrumentality may elect to allow creditable service to participating employees who leave their employment to serve in the armed forces of the United States for all periods of such service, provided that the person returns to active employment within 90 days after completion of full time active duty, but no creditable service shall be allowed such person for any period that can be used in the computation of a pension or any other pay or benefit, other than pay for active duty, for service in any branch of the armed forces of the United States. If necessary to the computation of any benefit, the board shall establish municipality credits for participating employees under this paragraph on the assumption that the employee received earnings at the rate received at the time he left the employment to enter the armed forces. A participating employee in the armed forces shall not be considered an employee during such period of service and no additional death and no disability benefits are payable for death or disability during such period.

Any participating employee who left his employment with a municipality or participating instrumentality to serve in the armed forces of the United States and who again became a participating employee within 90 days after completion of full time active duty by entering the service of a different municipality or participating instrumentality, which has elected to allow creditable service for periods of military service under the preceding paragraph, shall also be allowed creditable service for his period of military service on the same terms that would apply if he had been employed, before entering military service, by the municipality or instrumentality which employed him after he left the military service and the employer costs arising in relation to such grant of creditable service shall be charged to and paid by that municipality or instrumentality.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any participating employee shall be entitled to creditable service as required by any federal law relating to re-employment rights of persons who served in the United States Armed Services. Such creditable service shall be granted upon payment by the member of an amount equal to the employee contributions which would have been required had the employee continued in service at the same rate of earnings during the military leave period, plus interest at the effective rate. This paragraph 5 applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

5.1. In addition to any creditable service established under paragraph 5 of this subsection (a), creditable service may be granted for up to 48 months of service in the armed forces of the United States.

In order to receive creditable service for military service under this paragraph 5.1, a participating employee must (1) apply to the Fund in writing and provide evidence of the military service that is satisfactory to the Board; (2) obtain the written approval of the current employer; and (3) make contributions to the Fund equal to (i) the employee contributions that would have been required had the service been rendered as a member, plus (ii) an amount determined by the board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for that military service, plus (iii) interest on items (i) and (ii) from the date of first membership in the Fund to the date of payment. The required interest shall be calculated at the regular interest rate.

The changes made to this paragraph 5.1 by Public Acts 95-483 and 95-486 apply only to participating employees in service on or after August 28, 2007 (the effective date of those Public Acts). This paragraph 5.1 applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

6. For out-of-state service: Creditable service shall be granted for service rendered to an out-of-state local governmental body under the following conditions: The employee had participated and has irrevocably forfeited all rights to benefits in the out-of-state public employees pension system; the governing body of his participating municipality or instrumentality authorizes the employee to establish such service; the employee has 2 years current service with this municipality or participating instrumentality; the employee makes a payment of contributions, which shall be computed at 8% (normal) plus 2% (survivor) times length of service purchased times the average rate of earnings for the first 2 years of service with the municipality or participating instrumentality whose governing body authorizes the service established plus interest at the effective rate on the date such credits are established, payable from the date the employee completes the required 2 years of current service to date of payment. In no case shall more than 120 months of creditable service be granted under this provision.

7. For retroactive service: Any employee who could have but did not elect to become a participating employee, or who should have been a participant in the Municipal Public Utilities Annuity and Benefit Fund before that fund was superseded, may receive creditable service for the period of service not to exceed 50 months; however, a current or former elected or appointed official of a participating municipality may establish credit under this paragraph 7 for more than 50 months of service as an official of that municipality, if the excess over 50 months is approved by resolution of the governing body of the affected municipality filed with the Fund before January 1, 2002.

Any employee who is a participating employee on or after September 24, 1981 and who was excluded from participation by the age restrictions removed by Public Act 82-596 may receive creditable service for the period, on or after January 1, 1979, excluded by the age restriction and, in addition, if the governing body of the participating municipality or participating instrumentality elects to allow creditable service for all employees excluded by the age restriction prior to January 1, 1979, for service during the period prior to that date excluded by the age restriction. Any employee who was excluded from participation by the age restriction removed by Public Act 82-596 and who is not a participating employee on or after September 24, 1981 may receive creditable service for service after January 1, 1979. Creditable service under this paragraph shall be granted upon payment of the employee contributions which would have been required had he participated, with interest at the effective rate for each year from the end of the period of service established to date of payment.

8. For accumulated unused sick leave: A participating employee who first becomes a participating employee before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly and who is applying for a retirement annuity shall be entitled to creditable service for that portion of the employee's accumulated unused sick leave for which payment is not received, as follows:

a. Sick leave days shall be limited to those accumulated under a sick leave plan established by a participating municipality or participating instrumentality which is available to all employees or a class of employees.

b. Except as provided in item b-1, only sick leave days accumulated with a participating municipality or participating instrumentality with which the employee was in service within 60 days of the effective date of his retirement annuity shall be credited; If the employee was in service with more than one employer during this period only the sick leave days with the employer with which the employee has the greatest number of unpaid sick leave days shall be considered.

b-1. If the employee was in the service of more than one employer as defined in item (2) of paragraph (a) of subsection (A) of Section 7-132, then the sick leave days from all such employers shall be credited, as long as the creditable service attributed to those sick leave days does not exceed the limitation in item f of this paragraph 8. In calculating the creditable service under this item b-1, the sick leave days from the last employer shall be considered first, then the remaining sick leave days shall be considered until there are no more days or the maximum creditable sick leave threshold under item f of this paragraph 8 has been reached.

c. The creditable service granted shall be considered solely for the purpose of computing the amount of the retirement annuity and shall not be used to establish any minimum service period required by any provision of the Illinois Pension Code, the effective date of the retirement annuity, or the final rate of earnings.

d. The creditable service shall be at the rate of 1/20 of a month for each full sick day, provided that no more than 12 months may be credited under this subdivision 8.

e. Employee contributions shall not be required for creditable service under this subdivision 8.

f. Each participating municipality and participating instrumentality with which an employee has service within 60 days of the effective date of his retirement annuity shall certify to the board the number of accumulated unpaid sick leave days credited to the employee at the time of termination of service.

9. For service transferred from another system: Credits and creditable service shall be granted for service under Article 4, 5, 8, 14, or 16 of this Act, to any active member of this Fund, and to any inactive member who has been a county sheriff, upon transfer of such credits pursuant to Section 4-108.3, 5-235, 8-226.7, 14-105.6, or 16-131.4, and payment by the member of the amount by which (1) the employer and employee contributions that would have been required if he had participated in this Fund as a sheriff's law enforcement employee during the period for which credit is being transferred, plus interest thereon at the effective rate for each year, compounded annually, from the date of termination of the service for which credit is being transferred to the date of payment, exceeds (2) the amount actually transferred to the Fund. Such transferred service shall be deemed to be service as a sheriff's law enforcement employee for the purposes of Section 7-142.1.

10. For service transferred from an Article 3 system under Section 3-110.8: Credits and creditable service shall be granted for service under Article 3 of this Act as provided in Section 3-110.8, to any active member of this Fund upon transfer of such credits pursuant to Section 3-110.8. If the amount by which (1) the employer and employee contributions that would have been required if he had participated in this Fund during the period for which credit is being transferred, plus interest thereon at the effective rate for each year, compounded annually, from the date of termination of the service for which credit is being transferred to the date of payment, exceeds (2) the amount actually transferred to the Fund, then the amount of creditable service established under this paragraph 10 shall be reduced by a corresponding amount in accordance with the rules and procedures established under this paragraph 10.

The board shall establish by rule the manner of making the calculation required under this paragraph 10, taking into account the appropriate actuarial assumptions; the member's service, age, and salary history; the level of funding of the employer; and any other factors that the board determines to be relevant.

Until January 1, 2010, members who transferred service from an Article 3 system under the provisions of Public Act 94-356 may establish additional credit in this Fund, but only up to the amount of the service credit reduction in that transfer, as calculated under the actuarial assumptions. This credit may be established upon payment by the member of an amount to be determined by the board, equal to (1) the amount that would have been contributed as employee and employer contributions had all the service been as an employee under this Article, plus interest thereon compounded annually from the date of service to the date of transfer, less (2) the total amount transferred from the Article 3 system, plus (3) interest on the difference at the effective rate for each year, compounded annually, from the date of the transfer to the date of payment. The additional service credit is allowed under this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3 terminating all transferred credits on the date of transfer.

11. For service transferred from an Article 3 system under Section 3-110.3: Credits and creditable service shall be granted for service under Article 3 of this Act as provided in Section 3-110.3, to any active member of this Fund, upon transfer of such credits pursuant to Section 3-110.3. If the board determines that the amount transferred is less than the true cost to the Fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, then in order to establish that creditable service, the member must pay to the Fund an additional contribution equal to the difference, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under this paragraph. If the member does not make the full additional payment as required by this paragraph prior to termination of his participation with that employer, then his or her creditable service shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the amount transferred under Section 3-110.3, including any payments made by the member under this paragraph prior to termination, and the true cost to the Fund of allowing that creditable service to be established, as determined by the board in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted under this paragraph.

The board shall establish by rule the manner of making the calculation required under this paragraph 11, taking into account the appropriate actuarial assumptions; the member's service, age, and salary history, and any other factors that the board determines to be relevant.

(b) Creditable service - amount:

1. One month of creditable service shall be allowed for each month for which a participating employee made contributions as required under Section 7-173, or for which creditable service is otherwise granted hereunder. Not more than 1 month of service shall be credited and counted for 1 calendar month, and not more than 1 year of service shall be credited and counted for any calendar year. A calendar month means a nominal month beginning on the first day thereof, and a calendar year means a year beginning January 1 and ending December 31.

2. A seasonal employee shall be given 12 months of creditable service if he renders the number of months of service normally required by the position in a 12-month period and he remains in service for the entire 12-month period. Otherwise a fractional year of service in the number of months of service rendered shall be credited.

3. An intermittent employee shall be given creditable service for only those months in which a contribution is made under Section 7-173.

(c) No application for correction of credits or creditable service shall be considered unless the board receives an application for correction while (1) the applicant is a participating employee and in active employment with a participating municipality or instrumentality, or (2) while the applicant is actively participating in a pension fund or retirement system which is a participating system under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act. A participating employee or other applicant shall not be entitled to credits or creditable service unless the required employee contributions are made in a lump sum or in installments made in accordance with board rule.

(d) Upon the granting of a retirement, surviving spouse or child annuity, a death benefit or a separation benefit, on account of any employee, all individual accumulated credits shall thereupon terminate. Upon the withdrawal of additional contributions, the credits applicable thereto shall thereupon terminate. Terminated credits shall not be applied to increase the benefits any remaining employee would otherwise receive under this Article.

(Source: P.A. 97-415, eff. 8-16-11; 98-439, eff. 8-16-13; 98-599, eff. 6-1-14.)

(40 ILCS 5/8-230) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 8-230)

Sec. 8-230. Right of employee to contribute for all periods of service. An employee may contribute to the fund for all periods of service (including periods served in the armed forces of the United States if he left the service of the employer to enter the armed forces and returned to the service of the employer within 180 days after his discharge from the armed service, and if the employer has not made such payment on his behalf) except for those periods for which he received credit in another annuity and benefit fund or pension fund in operation in the city for the benefit of employees of the employer, rendered by him to the employer after the effective date by virtue of appointment or election to a position not covered by the provisions of this Article, such amounts as he would have contributed for annuity purposes had deductions from his salary been made for the purposes of the fund, at the rates in effect and in accordance with the provisions relating to future entrants and present employees during the period such service was rendered. Upon making such payments, he shall be credited with concurrent city contributions at the rates in effect during the time such service was rendered. Such payments and concurrent city contributions shall be made with interest at the effective rate and shall, together with all other amounts contributed by or for such employee, be considered in computing the annuities for him and his widow, and any such service for which payment is made shall be counted as service under this Article. This paragraph applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

Until the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, in order that the foregoing service may be counted for the purposes of Section 8-138, payment must be made in full while the employee is in service; if payment in full is not made, any payments made on account shall be refunded to him when he withdraws from service, or paid to his widow if he is dead. If there is no widow, a refund shall be paid as provided in this Article, with interest at the effective rate. An employee, however, may elect to have such partial payments, together with the concurrent city contributions and interest, credited and applied for age and service and widow's annuity, for himself and his wife, on the assumption that the payments made shall apply beginning with his earliest service, or his widow, if the employee dies in service, may elect to have such amounts credited for widow's annuity purposes, to the extent that they do not increase her annuity above that which she could have received if her proportionate part of the payments and related city contributions were included and considered, and an annuity were fixed for her on the assumption her deceased husband had continued in service at the rate of his final salary until he became age 65.

Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, an employee who is still in service may elect to establish credit under this Section for only a fraction of the service that he or she is eligible to establish under this Section. In such cases, the credit established shall be deemed to relate to the earliest service for which credit may be established, and shall be counted for the purposes of Section 8-138. However, in no event shall such credit be granted until the corresponding employee contributions have been paid.

Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, any employee who is in service, or within 90 days after withdrawing from service, or who is an active contributor to a participating system as defined in the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, may make payments and establish credit under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 90-31, eff. 6-27-97.)

(40 ILCS 5/9-120.1)

Sec. 9-120.1. CTA - continued participation; military service credit.

(a) A person who (i) has at least 20 years of creditable service in the Fund, (ii) has not begun receiving a retirement annuity under this Article, and (iii) is employed in a position under which he or she is eligible to actively participate in the retirement system established under Section 22-101 of this Code may elect, after he or she ceases to be a participant but in no event after June 1, 1998, to continue his or her participation in this Fund while employed by the Chicago Transit Authority, for up to 10 additional years, by making written application to the Board.

(b) A person who elects to continue participation under this Section shall make contributions directly to the Fund, not less frequently than monthly, based on the person's actual Chicago Transit Authority compensation and the rates applicable to employees under this Fund. Creditable service shall be granted to any person for the period, not exceeding 10 years, during which the person continues participation in this Fund under this Section and continues to make contributions as required. For periods of service established under this Section, the person's actual Chicago Transit Authority compensation shall be considered his or her salary for purposes of calculating benefits under this Article.

(c) A person who elects to continue participation under this Section may cancel that election at any time.

(d) A person who elects to continue participation under this Section may establish service credit in this Fund for periods of employment by the Chicago Transit Authority prior to that election, by applying in writing and paying to the Fund an amount representing employee contributions for the service being established, based on the person's actual Chicago Transit Authority compensation and the rates then applicable to employees under this Fund, without interest.

(e) A person who qualifies under this Section may elect to purchase credit for up to 4 years of military service, whether or not that service followed service as a county employee. The military service need not have been served in wartime, but the employee must not have been dishonorably discharged. To establish this creditable service the applicant must pay to the Fund, on or before July 1, 1998, an amount determined by the Fund to represent the employee contributions for the creditable service, based on the employee's rate of compensation on his or her last day of service as a contributor before the military service or his or her salary on the first day of service following the military service, whichever is greater, plus interest at the effective rate from the date of discharge to the date of payment. For the purposes of this subsection, "military service" includes service in the United States armed forces reserves and service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a person may not establish creditable service under this Section for any period for which the person receives credit under any other public employee retirement system, including the retirement system established under Section 22-101 of this Code, unless the credit under that retirement system has been irrevocably relinquished.

(Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97.)

(40 ILCS 5/9-179.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 9-179.1)

Sec. 9-179.1. Military service. A contributing employee as of January 1, 1993 with at least 25 years of service credit may apply for creditable service for up to 2 years of military service whether or not the military service followed service as a county employee. The military service need not have been served in wartime, but the employee must not have been dishonorably discharged. To establish this creditable service the applicant must pay to the Fund, while in the service of the county, an amount determined by the Fund to represent the employee contributions for the creditable service established, based on the employee's rate of compensation on his or her last day as a contributor before the military service, or on his or her first day as a contributor after the military service, whichever is greater, plus interest at the effective rate from the date of discharge to the date of payment. If a person who has established any credit under this Section applies for or receives any early retirement incentive under Section 9-134.2, the credit under this Section shall be forfeited and the amount paid to the Fund under this Section shall be refunded. "Military service" includes service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 87-1265.)

(40 ILCS 5/11-221) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 11-221)

Sec. 11-221. Employees under Act.

(a) Any contributor becoming employed on or after the effective date (except a participant in any other annuity, retirement or pension fund in operation in such city) shall be subject to the provisions of this Article. Any such contributor shall continue as a contributor to this fund, in the event that he shall be employed by an employer in any capacity, other than as a member of the police department, or as a member of the fire department or as a public school teacher.

(b) Beginning August 1, 1949, any contributor shall have the right to contribute for service rendered an employer or retirement board after July 1, 1935, by virtue of appointment to a position which did not include him under the provisions of "The 1935 Act". Such contributions shall be the amounts he would have contributed for annuity purposes had deductions from his salary been made for the purposes of the fund in accordance with the provisions of "The 1935 Act" relating to future entrants and present employees during the period such service was rendered.

Periods of service for the aforesaid employee shall include service in the armed forces of the United States if he left the employment of an employer to enter the armed forces and returned to the employ of the employer within 90 days after his discharge from such armed forces, and if such employer has not made such payment on his behalf. Those periods for which he has received and retains credit in some other annuity or pension fund in operation in such city for the benefit of employees of an employer shall not be included. Upon making such payments such employee shall be credited with concurrent city contributions at the rates in effect for contributors during the period of time such service was rendered. Such payments and concurrent city contributions shall be made with interest at the effective rate and shall together with all other amounts contributed by or for such employee for all annuity purposes, be considered in computing the annuity or annuities to which such employee or his widow shall have a right. Any such period of service for which payment is made by such employee shall be counted as a period of service for annuity purposes under this Article. This paragraph applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

Until the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, in order to be credited for a minimum annuity, all such payments by a contributor must be made in full while such contributor is still in the service; if payment is not made in full while such contributor is in service, any payments made shall be refunded to him when he withdraws from the service or to his widow in the event of his death or if no widow in accordance with the other refund provisions of this Article. Such employee may elect to have such partial payments together with the concurrent city contributions and interest, credited and applied for age and service and widow's annuity, for himself and his wife, on the assumption that the payments made shall apply to his earliest service. In the event of his death while in the service, his widow may elect to have such payments and related city contributions and interest, credited for widow's annuity, to the extent that they do not increase her annuity above that which she could have received if such amounts were included, and an annuity were fixed for her on the assumption that her deceased husband had continued in service at the rate of his final salary until he became 65 years of age.

Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, an employee who is still in service may elect to establish credit under this Section for only a fraction of the service that he or she is eligible to establish under this Section. In such cases, the credit established shall be deemed to relate to the earliest service for which credit may be established. In no event shall such credit be granted until the corresponding employee contributions have been paid.

Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, any employee who is in service, or within 90 days after withdrawing from service, or who is an active contributor to a participating system as defined in the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, may make payments and establish credit under this Section.

(c) Any employee, who shall become a participant in any other annuity, retirement or pension fund now or hereafter in operation in such city for the benefit of employees of an employer, shall have the right, notwithstanding other provisions of this Article relating to participation in other funds, to elect to receive a refund or an annuity from this fund in the same manner as he would if he had then resigned from his position in the service and had not become a participant in any such other fund. No credit shall be allowed for any period of service as a participant in this fund for which he shall receive credit in such other fund. No annuity payments shall be paid to such participant during the time he holds a position in the service which entitles him to participation in such other fund.

(Source: P.A. 90-31, eff. 6-27-97.)

(40 ILCS 5/12-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 12-127)

Sec. 12-127. Computation of service.

(a) If an employee during any leave of absence for 30 days or more without pay who is not receiving ordinary disability or duty disability benefits contributes the percentage of salary theretofore deducted from his salary for annuity purposes, the employer shall contribute corresponding amounts for such purposes. Payment for any approved leave of absence shall not be valid unless made during such absence or within 30 days from expiration thereof. The aggregate of leaves of absence for which contributions may be made during the entire employee's service shall be 1 year.

(b) In computing service, credit shall be given for all leaves of absence subject to the limitations specified in the following paragraph during the time an employee was engaged in the military or naval service of the United States of America during the years 1914 to 1919, inclusive, or between September 16, 1940, and July 25, 1947, or between June 25, 1950, and January 31, 1955, and any such service rendered after January 31, 1955, and who within 180 days subsequent to the completion of military or naval service re-enters the service of the employer.

The total credit any employee shall receive for military or naval service during the entire term of service as an employee shall be subject to the following conditions and limitations:

(1) if entry into military or naval service occurs after July 1, 1961, the total credit shall not exceed 3 years;

(2) if entry into military or naval service occurred on or prior to July 1, 1961, the total credit shall not exceed 5 years;

(3) an employee who on July 1, 1961, had accrued more than 5 years of such military or naval service shall be entitled to the total amount of such accrued credit.

The contributions an employee would have made during the period of such military or naval service, together with the prescribed employer contributions, shall be made by the employer and shall be based on the salary for the position occupied by the employee on the date of commencement of the leave of absence. This subsection (b) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(c) For all purposes of this Article except the provisions of Section 12-133, the following shall constitute a year of service in any fiscal year for salary payable according to the basis specified: Monthly Basis: 4 months; Weekly Basis: 17 weeks; Daily Basis: 100 days; Hourly Basis: 800 hours, except that in the case of an employee becoming a participant of the fund on and after July 1, 1973, the following schedule shall govern for all purposes of this Article: Service during 9 months or more in any fiscal year shall constitute a year of service; 6 to 8 months, inclusive, 3/4 of a year; 3 to 5 months, inclusive, 1/2 year; less than 3 months, 1/4 of a year; 15 days or more in any month, a month of service. However, for the 6-month fiscal year July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012, the amount of service earned shall not exceed 1/2 year.

(d) The periods an employee received ordinary or duty disability benefit shall be included in the computation of service.

(e) Upon receipt of the specified payment, credits transferred to a fund established under this Article pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 8-226.1, subsection (d) of Section 9-121.1, or Section 14-105.1 of this Code shall be included in the computation of service.

(f) A contributing employee may establish additional service credit for a period of up to 2 years spent in active military service for which he or she does not qualify for credit under subsection (b), provided that (1) the person was not dishonorably discharged from the military service, and (2) the amount of service credit established by the person under this subsection (f), when added to the amount of any military service credit granted to the person under subsection (b), shall not exceed 5 years. In order to establish military service credit under this subsection (f), the applicant must submit a written application to the Fund, including a copy of the applicant's discharge from military service, and pay to the Fund (1) employee contributions at the rates provided in this Article based upon the person's salary on the last date as a participating employee prior to the military service, or on the first date as a participating employee after the military service, whichever is greater, plus (2) an amount determined by the board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for such military service, plus (3) regular interest on items (1) and (2) from the date of conclusion of the military service to the date of payment. Contributions must be paid in a single lump sum before the credit will be granted. Credit established under this subsection may be used for pension purposes only. This subsection (f) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(g) A contributing employee may establish additional service credit for a period of up to 5 years of employment by the United States federal government for which he or she does not qualify for credit under any other provision of this Article, provided that (1) the amount of service credit established by the person under this subsection (g), when added to the amount of all military service credit granted to the person under subsections (b) and (f), shall not exceed 5 years, and (2) any credit received for the federal employment in any other public pension fund or retirement system has been terminated or relinquished.

In order to establish service credit under this subsection (g), the applicant must submit a written application to the Fund, including such documentation of the federal employment as the Board may require, and pay to the Fund (1) employee contributions at the rates provided in this Article based upon the person's salary on the last date as a participating employee prior to the federal service, or on the first date as a participating employee after the federal service, whichever is greater, plus (2) an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for such federal service, plus (3) regular interest on items (1) and (2) from the date of conclusion of the federal service to the date of payment. Contributions must be paid in a single lump sum before the credit is granted. Credit established under this subsection may be used for pension purposes only.

(Source: P.A. 97-973, eff. 8-16-12.)

(40 ILCS 5/13-403) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-403)

Sec. 13-403. Military service.

(a) Any employee who, after commencement of service with the Employer, enlisted, was inducted or was otherwise ordered to serve in the military forces of the United States pursuant to any law, shall receive full service credit for the various purposes of this Article as though the employee were in the active service of the Employer during the period of military service provided that:

(1) such service credit shall be granted for military service for which the employee volunteers or is inducted or called into military service pursuant to a call of a duly constituted authority or a law of the United States declaring a national emergency;

(2) the employee returns to the employ of the Employer within 90 days after the termination of the national emergency; and

(3) the total service credit for such military service shall not exceed 5 years except that any employee who on July 1, 1963 had accrued more than 5 years of such credit shall be entitled to the total amount thereof.

(b) For a ten-year period following July 24, 2003, a contributing employee or commissioner meeting the minimum service requirements provided under this subsection may establish additional service credit for a period of up to 2 years of active military service in the United States Armed Forces for which he or she does not qualify for credit under subsection (a), provided that (1) the person was not dishonorably discharged from the military service, and (2) the amount of service credit established by the person under this subsection (b), when added to the amount of any military service credit granted to the person under subsection (a), shall not exceed 5 years.

The minimum service requirement for a contributing employee is 10 years of service credit as provided in Sections 13-401 and 13-402 of this Article and exclusive of Article 20. The minimum service requirement for a contributing commissioner is 5 years of service credit as provided in Sections 13-401 and 13-402 of this Article and exclusive of Article 20.

In order to establish military service credit under this subsection (b), the applicant must submit a written application to the Fund, including the applicant's discharge papers from military service, and pay to the Fund (i) employee contributions at the rates provided in this Article, based upon the person's salary on the last date as a participating employee prior to the military service or on the first date as a participating employee after the military service, whichever is greater, plus (ii) the current amount determined by the board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for such military service, plus (iii) regular interest of 3% compounded annually on items (i) and (ii) from the date of entry or re-entry as a participating employee following the military service to the date of payment. Contributions must be paid in full before the credit is granted. Credit established under this subsection may be used for pension purposes only.

(c) This Section applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a person may not establish creditable service under this Section for any period for which the person receives credit under any other public employee retirement system, unless the credit under that other retirement system has been irrevocably relinquished.

(Source: P.A. 93-334, eff. 7-24-03; 94-621, eff. 8-18-05.)

(40 ILCS 5/14-103.16) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 14-103.16)

Sec. 14-103.16. Military service. "Military service": Service in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard or any women's auxiliary thereof for which credit is allowed under this Article. "Military service" includes service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 80-841.)

(40 ILCS 5/15-113.3) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-113.3)

Sec. 15-113.3. Service for periods of military service. "Service for periods of military service": Those periods, not exceeding 5 years, during which a person served in the armed forces of the United States or served in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States, of which all but 2 years must have immediately followed a period of employment with an employer under this System or the State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois; provided that the person received a discharge other than dishonorable and again became an employee under this System within one year after discharge. However, for the up to 2 years of military service not immediately following employment, the applicant must make contributions to the System equal to (1) 8% of the employee's basic compensation on the last date as a participating employee prior to such military service, or on the first date as a participating employee after such military service, whichever is greater, plus (2) an amount determined by the board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for such military service, plus (3) interest on items (1) and (2) at the effective rate from the later of the date of first membership in the System or the date of conclusion of military service to the date of payment. The change in the required contribution for purchased military credit made by this amendatory Act of 1993 does not entitle any person to a refund of contributions already paid. The contributions paid under this Section are not normal contributions as defined in Section 15-114 or additional contributions as defined in Section 15-115.

The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of 1991 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date are in service under the System, but also to persons whose employment terminated prior to that date, whether or not the person is an annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who applies for credit allowable under this Section for a period of military service that did not immediately follow employment, and who has made the required contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit, with the increase taking effect on the date the System received written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first annuity payment date following the date of payment of the required contributions. In calculating the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated under this Section, the increase attributable to the additional service allowable under this amendatory Act of 1991 shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

(Source: P.A. 93-347, eff. 7-24-03.)

(40 ILCS 5/16-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 98-599)

Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service.

(a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions have been paid.

(b) The following periods of service shall earn optional credit and each member shall receive credit for all such service for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions have been paid as of the date specified:

(1) Prior service as a teacher.

(2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or equivalent to that of a teacher, in the public common schools in school districts in this State not included within the provisions of this System, or of any other State, territory, dependency or possession of the United States, or in schools operated by or under the auspices of the United States, or under the auspices of any agency or department of any other State, and service during any period of professional speech correction or special education experience for a public agency within this State or any other State, territory, dependency or possession of the United States, and service prior to February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of Public Safety, for a period not exceeding the lesser of 2/5 of the total creditable service of the member or 10 years. The maximum service of 10 years which is allowable under this paragraph shall be reduced by the service credit which is validated by other retirement systems under paragraph (i) of Section 15-113 and paragraph 1 of Section 17-133. Credit granted under this paragraph may not be used in determination of a retirement annuity or disability benefits unless the member has at least 5 years of creditable service earned subsequent to this employment with one or more of the following systems: Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, State Universities Retirement System, and the Public School Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago. Whenever such service credit exceeds the maximum allowed for all purposes of this Article, the first service rendered in point of time shall be considered. The changes to this subdivision (b)(2) made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in service as a teacher under the System, but also to persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior to such effective date, whether or not such person is an annuitant on that date.

(3) Any periods immediately following teaching service, under this System or under Article 17, (or immediately following service prior to February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of Public Safety) spent in active service with the military forces of the United States; periods spent in educational programs that prepare for return to teaching sponsored by the federal government following such active military service; if a teacher returns to teaching service within one calendar year after discharge or after the completion of the educational program, a further period, not exceeding one calendar year, between time spent in military service or in such educational programs and the return to employment as a teacher under this System; and a period of up to 2 years of active military service not immediately following employment as a teacher.

The changes to this Section and Section 16-128 relating to military service made by P.A. 87-794 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date are in service as a teacher under the System, but also to persons whose status as a teacher terminated prior to that date, whether or not the person is an annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who applies for credit allowable under this Section for a period of military service that did not immediately follow employment, and who has made the required contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit, with the increase taking effect on the date the System received written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first annuity payment date following the date of payment of the required contributions. In calculating the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated under this Section, the increase attributable to the additional service allowable under P.A. 87-794 shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

Credit for military service shall be determined as follows: if entry occurs during the months of July, August, or September and the member was a teacher at the end of the immediately preceding school term, credit shall be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or she entered service; if entry occurs during the school term and the teacher was in teaching service at the beginning of the school term, credit shall be granted from July 1 of such year. In all other cases where credit for military service is allowed, credit shall be granted from the date of entry into the service.

The total period of military service for which credit is granted shall not exceed 5 years for any member unless the service: (A) is validated before July 1, 1964, and (B) does not extend beyond July 1, 1963. Credit for military service shall be granted under this Section only if not more than 5 years of the military service for which credit is granted under this Section is used by the member to qualify for a military retirement allotment from any branch of the armed forces of the United States. The changes to this subdivision (b)(3) made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in service as a teacher under the System, but also to persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior to such effective date, whether or not such person is an annuitant on that date. This subdivision (b)(3) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(4) Any periods served as a member of the General Assembly.

(5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined in Section 16-106, is granted a leave of absence, provided he or she returns to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System following the leave; (ii) periods during which a teacher is involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided he or she returns to teaching following the lay-off; (iii) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a teacher ceased covered employment due to pregnancy, provided that the teacher returned to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System following the pregnancy and submits evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the employment ceased due to pregnancy; and (iv) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a teacher ceased covered employment for the purpose of adopting an infant under 3 years of age or caring for a newly adopted infant under 3 years of age, provided that the teacher returned to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System following the adoption and submits evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the employment ceased for the purpose of adopting an infant under 3 years of age or caring for a newly adopted infant under 3 years of age. However, total credit under this paragraph (5) may not exceed 3 years.

Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for credit under item (iii) or (iv) of this paragraph (5) without regard to whether service was terminated before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. In the case of an annuitant who establishes credit under item (iii) or (iv), the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit. The increase in annuity shall take effect on the date the System receives written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if the required evidence is submitted and the required contribution paid within 60 days of that notification, otherwise on the first annuity payment date following the System's receipt of the required evidence and contribution. The increase in an annuity recalculated under this provision shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases in the annuity accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

Optional credit may be purchased under this subsection (b)(5) for periods during which a teacher has been granted a leave of absence pursuant to Section 24-13 of the School Code. A teacher whose service under this Article terminated prior to the effective date of P.A. 86-1488 shall be eligible to purchase such optional credit. If a teacher who purchases this optional credit is already receiving a retirement annuity under this Article, the annuity shall be recalculated as if the annuitant had applied for the leave of absence credit at the time of retirement. The difference between the entitled annuity and the actual annuity shall be credited to the purchase of the optional credit. The remainder of the purchase cost of the optional credit shall be paid on or before April 1, 1992.

The change in this paragraph made by Public Act 86-273 shall be applicable to teachers who retire after June 1, 1989, as well as to teachers who are in service on that date.

(6) Any days of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave earned by a teacher. The service credit granted under this paragraph shall be the ratio of the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave days to 170 days, subject to a maximum of 2 years of service credit. Prior to the member's retirement, each former employer shall certify to the System the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave days credited to the member at the time of termination of service. The period of unused sick leave shall not be considered in determining the effective date of retirement. A member is not required to make contributions in order to obtain service credit for unused sick leave.

Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be granted by the System for any retiring regional or assistant regional superintendent of schools at the rate of 6 days per year of creditable service or portion thereof established while serving as such superintendent or assistant superintendent.

(7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an employee of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy for which credit has not been terminated under Section 15-113.9 of this Code.

(8) Service as a substitute teacher for work performed prior to July 1, 1990.

(9) Service as a part-time teacher for work performed prior to July 1, 1990.

(10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern Illinois University - Carbondale from September 1, 1959 to August 31, 1961, or with Governors State University from September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the teacher has no credit under Article 15. To receive credit under this item (10), a teacher must apply in writing to the Board and pay the required contributions before May 1, 1993 and have at least 12 years of service credit under this Article.

(b-1) A member may establish optional credit for up to 2 years of service as a teacher or administrator employed by a private school recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified under the law governing the certification of teachers at the time the service was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or after August 1, 2009 and on or before August 1, 2012, (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of the employment, (iv) completes at least 10 years of contributing service as a teacher as defined in Section 16-106, and (v) pays the contribution required in subsection (d-5) of Section 16-128. The member may apply for credit under this subsection and pay the required contribution before completing the 10 years of contributing service required under item (iv), but the credit may not be used until the item (iv) contributing service requirement has been met.

(c) The service credits specified in this Section shall be granted only if: (1) such service credits are not used for credit in any other statutory tax-supported public employee retirement system other than the federal Social Security program; and (2) the member makes the required contributions as specified in Section 16-128. Except as provided in subsection (b-1) of this Section, the service credit shall be effective as of the date the required contributions are completed.

Any service credits granted under this Section shall terminate upon cessation of membership for any cause.

Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any period for which an age retirement or disability retirement allowance has been paid.

(Source: P.A. 96-546, eff. 8-17-09.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 98-599)

Sec. 16-127. Computation of creditable service.

(a) Each member shall receive regular credit for all service as a teacher from the date membership begins, for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions have been paid.

(b) The following periods of service shall earn optional credit and each member shall receive credit for all such service for which satisfactory evidence is supplied and all contributions have been paid as of the date specified:

(1) Prior service as a teacher.

(2) Service in a capacity essentially similar or equivalent to that of a teacher, in the public common schools in school districts in this State not included within the provisions of this System, or of any other State, territory, dependency or possession of the United States, or in schools operated by or under the auspices of the United States, or under the auspices of any agency or department of any other State, and service during any period of professional speech correction or special education experience for a public agency within this State or any other State, territory, dependency or possession of the United States, and service prior to February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of Public Safety, for a period not exceeding the lesser of 2/5 of the total creditable service of the member or 10 years. The maximum service of 10 years which is allowable under this paragraph shall be reduced by the service credit which is validated by other retirement systems under paragraph (i) of Section 15-113 and paragraph 1 of Section 17-133. Credit granted under this paragraph may not be used in determination of a retirement annuity or disability benefits unless the member has at least 5 years of creditable service earned subsequent to this employment with one or more of the following systems: Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, State Universities Retirement System, and the Public School Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago. Whenever such service credit exceeds the maximum allowed for all purposes of this Article, the first service rendered in point of time shall be considered. The changes to this subdivision (b)(2) made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in service as a teacher under the System, but also to persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior to such effective date, whether or not such person is an annuitant on that date.

(3) Any periods immediately following teaching service, under this System or under Article 17, (or immediately following service prior to February 1, 1951 as a recreation worker for the Illinois Department of Public Safety) spent in active service with the military forces of the United States; periods spent in educational programs that prepare for return to teaching sponsored by the federal government following such active military service; if a teacher returns to teaching service within one calendar year after discharge or after the completion of the educational program, a further period, not exceeding one calendar year, between time spent in military service or in such educational programs and the return to employment as a teacher under this System; and a period of up to 2 years of active military service not immediately following employment as a teacher.

The changes to this Section and Section 16-128 relating to military service made by P.A. 87-794 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date are in service as a teacher under the System, but also to persons whose status as a teacher terminated prior to that date, whether or not the person is an annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who applies for credit allowable under this Section for a period of military service that did not immediately follow employment, and who has made the required contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit, with the increase taking effect on the date the System received written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first annuity payment date following the date of payment of the required contributions. In calculating the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated under this Section, the increase attributable to the additional service allowable under P.A. 87-794 shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

Credit for military service shall be determined as follows: if entry occurs during the months of July, August, or September and the member was a teacher at the end of the immediately preceding school term, credit shall be granted from July 1 of the year in which he or she entered service; if entry occurs during the school term and the teacher was in teaching service at the beginning of the school term, credit shall be granted from July 1 of such year. In all other cases where credit for military service is allowed, credit shall be granted from the date of entry into the service.

The total period of military service for which credit is granted shall not exceed 5 years for any member unless the service: (A) is validated before July 1, 1964, and (B) does not extend beyond July 1, 1963. Credit for military service shall be granted under this Section only if not more than 5 years of the military service for which credit is granted under this Section is used by the member to qualify for a military retirement allotment from any branch of the armed forces of the United States. The changes to this subdivision (b)(3) made by Public Act 86-272 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date (August 23, 1989) are in service as a teacher under the System, but also to persons whose status as such a teacher terminated prior to such effective date, whether or not such person is an annuitant on that date. This subdivision (b)(3) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(4) Any periods served as a member of the General Assembly.

(5)(i) Any periods for which a teacher, as defined in Section 16-106, is granted a leave of absence, provided he or she returns to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System following the leave; (ii) periods during which a teacher is involuntarily laid off from teaching, provided he or she returns to teaching following the lay-off; (iii) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a teacher ceased covered employment due to pregnancy, provided that the teacher returned to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System following the pregnancy and submits evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the employment ceased due to pregnancy; and (iv) periods prior to July 1, 1983 during which a teacher ceased covered employment for the purpose of adopting an infant under 3 years of age or caring for a newly adopted infant under 3 years of age, provided that the teacher returned to teaching service creditable under this System or the State Universities Retirement System following the adoption and submits evidence satisfactory to the Board documenting that the employment ceased for the purpose of adopting an infant under 3 years of age or caring for a newly adopted infant under 3 years of age. However, total credit under this paragraph (5) may not exceed 3 years.

Any qualified member or annuitant may apply for credit under item (iii) or (iv) of this paragraph (5) without regard to whether service was terminated before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. In the case of an annuitant who establishes credit under item (iii) or (iv), the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit. The increase in annuity shall take effect on the date the System receives written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if the required evidence is submitted and the required contribution paid within 60 days of that notification, otherwise on the first annuity payment date following the System's receipt of the required evidence and contribution. The increase in an annuity recalculated under this provision shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases in the annuity accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

Optional credit may be purchased under this subsection (b)(5) for periods during which a teacher has been granted a leave of absence pursuant to Section 24-13 of the School Code. A teacher whose service under this Article terminated prior to the effective date of P.A. 86-1488 shall be eligible to purchase such optional credit. If a teacher who purchases this optional credit is already receiving a retirement annuity under this Article, the annuity shall be recalculated as if the annuitant had applied for the leave of absence credit at the time of retirement. The difference between the entitled annuity and the actual annuity shall be credited to the purchase of the optional credit. The remainder of the purchase cost of the optional credit shall be paid on or before April 1, 1992.

The change in this paragraph made by Public Act 86-273 shall be applicable to teachers who retire after June 1, 1989, as well as to teachers who are in service on that date.

(6) For a person who first becomes a member before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, any days of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave earned by a teacher. The service credit granted under this paragraph shall be the ratio of the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave days to 170 days, subject to a maximum of 2 years of service credit. Prior to the member's retirement, each former employer shall certify to the System the number of unused and uncompensated accumulated sick leave days credited to the member at the time of termination of service. The period of unused sick leave shall not be considered in determining the effective date of retirement. A member is not required to make contributions in order to obtain service credit for unused sick leave.

Credit for sick leave shall, at retirement, be granted by the System for any retiring regional or assistant regional superintendent of schools who first becomes a member before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly at the rate of 6 days per year of creditable service or portion thereof established while serving as such superintendent or assistant superintendent.

(7) Periods prior to February 1, 1987 served as an employee of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy for which credit has not been terminated under Section 15-113.9 of this Code.

(8) Service as a substitute teacher for work performed prior to July 1, 1990.

(9) Service as a part-time teacher for work performed prior to July 1, 1990.

(10) Up to 2 years of employment with Southern Illinois University - Carbondale from September 1, 1959 to August 31, 1961, or with Governors State University from September 1, 1972 to August 31, 1974, for which the teacher has no credit under Article 15. To receive credit under this item (10), a teacher must apply in writing to the Board and pay the required contributions before May 1, 1993 and have at least 12 years of service credit under this Article.

(b-1) A member may establish optional credit for up to 2 years of service as a teacher or administrator employed by a private school recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, provided that the teacher (i) was certified under the law governing the certification of teachers at the time the service was rendered, (ii) applies in writing on or after August 1, 2009 and on or before August 1, 2012, (iii) supplies satisfactory evidence of the employment, (iv) completes at least 10 years of contributing service as a teacher as defined in Section 16-106, and (v) pays the contribution required in subsection (d-5) of Section 16-128. The member may apply for credit under this subsection and pay the required contribution before completing the 10 years of contributing service required under item (iv), but the credit may not be used until the item (iv) contributing service requirement has been met.

(c) The service credits specified in this Section shall be granted only if: (1) such service credits are not used for credit in any other statutory tax-supported public employee retirement system other than the federal Social Security program; and (2) the member makes the required contributions as specified in Section 16-128. Except as provided in subsection (b-1) of this Section, the service credit shall be effective as of the date the required contributions are completed.

Any service credits granted under this Section shall terminate upon cessation of membership for any cause.

Credit may not be granted under this Section covering any period for which an age retirement or disability retirement allowance has been paid.

(Source: P.A. 98-599, eff. 6-1-14.)

(40 ILCS 5/17-115) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-115)

Sec. 17-115. Eligibility for service retirement pension.

(a) The Board shall find a contributor eligible for service retirement pension when he has:

(1) Left the employment of an Employer after completing 5 or more years of service.

(2) Contributed to the Fund the total sums provided in this Article.

(3) Contributed as a member of the teaching force in the public schools of the City or to the State Universities Retirement System or to the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois during the last 5 years of his term of service.

(4) Filed a written application for pension.

(b) In computing the years of service for which annuity is granted, the following conditions shall apply:

(1) No more than 10 years of teaching service in public schools of the several states or in schools operated by or under the auspices of the United States shall be allowed. This maximum shall be reduced by the service credit which is validated under paragraph (i) of Section 15-113 and paragraph (3) of Section 16-127 of this Code. Three-fifths of the term of service for which an annuity is granted shall have been rendered in the public schools of the city. No portion of any such service shall be included in the total period of service for which a pension is payable or paid by some other public retirement system; provided that this shall not apply to any benefit payable only after the teacher's death or to any compensation or annuity paid by an employer after retirement from active service.

(2) Up to 5 years of military active service, if preceded by service as a teacher under this Fund or under Article 16, shall be included in the total period of service even though it can otherwise be used in the computation of a pension or other benefit provided for service in any branch of the armed forces of the United States. This paragraph (2) applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97; 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)

(40 ILCS 5/17-134) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-134)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 98-599)

Sec. 17-134. Contributions for leaves of absence; military service; computing service. In computing service for pension purposes the following periods of service shall stand in lieu of a like number of years of teaching service upon payment therefor in the manner hereinafter provided: (a) time spent on a leave of absence granted by the employer; (b) service with teacher or labor organizations based upon special leaves of absence therefor granted by an Employer; (c) a maximum of 5 years spent in the military service of the United States, of which up to 2 years may have been served outside the pension period; (d) unused sick days at termination of service to a maximum of 244 days; (e) time lost due to layoff and curtailment of the school term from June 6 through June 21, 1976; and (f) time spent after June 30, 1982 as a member of the Board of Education, if required to resign from an administrative or teaching position in order to qualify as a member of the Board of Education.

(1) For time spent on or after September 6, 1948 on sabbatical leaves of absence or sick leaves, for which salaries are paid, an Employer shall make payroll deductions at the applicable rates in effect during such periods.

(2) For time spent on a leave of absence granted by the employer for which no salaries are paid, teachers desiring credit therefor shall pay the required contributions at the rates in effect during such periods as though they were in teaching service. If an Employer pays salary for vacations which occur during a teacher's sick leave or maternity or paternity leave without salary, vacation pay for which the teacher would have qualified while in active service shall be considered part of the teacher's total salary for pension purposes. No more than 36 months of leave credit may be allowed any person during the entire term of service. Sabbatical leave credit shall be limited to the time the person on leave without salary under an Employer's rules is allowed to engage in an activity for which he receives salary or compensation.

(3) For time spent prior to September 6, 1948, on sabbatical leaves of absence or sick leaves for which salaries were paid, teachers desiring service credit therefor shall pay the required contributions at the maximum applicable rates in effect during such periods.

(4) For service with teacher or labor organizations authorized by special leaves of absence, for which no payroll deductions are made by an Employer, teachers desiring service credit therefor shall contribute to the Fund upon the basis of the actual salary received from such organizations at the percentage rates in effect during such periods for certified positions with such Employer. To the extent the actual salary exceeds the regular salary, which shall be defined as the salary rate, as calculated by the Board, in effect for the teacher's regular position in teaching service on September 1, 1983 or on the effective date of the leave with the organization, whichever is later, the organization shall pay to the Fund the employer's normal cost as set by the Board on the increment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision (4), teachers are only eligible for credit for service under this subdivision (4) if the special leave of absence begins before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(5) For time spent in the military service, teachers entitled to and desiring credit therefor shall contribute the amount required for each year of service or fraction thereof at the rates in force (a) at the date of appointment, or (b) on return to teaching service as a regularly certified teacher, as the case may be; provided such rates shall not be less than $450 per year of service. These conditions shall apply unless an Employer elects to and does pay into the Fund the amount which would have been due from such person had he been employed as a teacher during such time. In the case of credit for military service not during the pension period, the teacher must also pay to the Fund an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued from such service, plus interest thereon at 5% per year, compounded annually, from the date of appointment to the date of payment.

The changes to this Section made by Public Act 87-795 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date are in service under the Fund, but also to persons whose status as a teacher terminated prior to that date, whether or not the person is an annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who applies for credit allowable under this Section for a period of military service that did not immediately follow employment, and who has made the required contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit, with the increase taking effect on the date the Fund received written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first annuity payment date following the date of payment of the required contributions. In calculating the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated under this Section, the increase attributable to the additional service allowable under this amendatory Act of 1991 shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

The total credit for military service shall not exceed 5 years, except that any teacher who on July 1, 1963, had validated credit for more than 5 years of military service shall be entitled to the total amount of such credit.

(6) A maximum of 244 unused sick days credited to his account by an Employer on the date of termination of employment. Members, upon verification of unused sick days, may add this service time to total creditable service.

(7) In all cases where time spent on leave is creditable and no payroll deductions therefor are made by an Employer, persons desiring service credit shall make the required contributions directly to the Fund.

(8) For time lost without pay due to layoff and curtailment of the school term from June 6 through June 21, 1976, as provided in item (e) of the first paragraph of this Section, persons who were contributors on the days immediately preceding such layoff shall receive credit upon paying to the Fund a contribution based on the rates of compensation and employee contributions in effect at the time of such layoff, together with an additional amount equal to 12.2% of the compensation computed for such period of layoff, plus interest on the entire amount at 5% per annum from January 1, 1978 to the date of payment. If such contribution is paid, salary for pension purposes for any year in which such a layoff occurred shall include the compensation recognized for purposes of computing that contribution.

(9) For time spent after June 30, 1982, as a nonsalaried member of the Board of Education, if required to resign from an administrative or teaching position in order to qualify as a member of the Board of Education, an administrator or teacher desiring credit therefor shall pay the required contributions at the rates and salaries in effect during such periods as though the member were in service.

Effective September 1, 1974, the interest charged for validation of service described in paragraphs (2) through (5) of this Section shall be compounded annually at a rate of 5% commencing one year after the termination of the leave or return to service. "Military service of the United States" or "military service" includes service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 98-599)

Sec. 17-134. Contributions for leaves of absence; military service; computing service. In computing service for pension purposes the following periods of service shall stand in lieu of a like number of years of teaching service upon payment therefor in the manner hereinafter provided: (a) time spent on a leave of absence granted by the employer; (b) service with teacher or labor organizations based upon special leaves of absence therefor granted by an Employer; (c) a maximum of 5 years spent in the military service of the United States, of which up to 2 years may have been served outside the pension period; (d) unused sick days at termination of service to a maximum of 244 days; (e) time lost due to layoff and curtailment of the school term from June 6 through June 21, 1976; and (f) time spent after June 30, 1982 as a member of the Board of Education, if required to resign from an administrative or teaching position in order to qualify as a member of the Board of Education.

(1) For time spent on or after September 6, 1948 on sabbatical leaves of absence or sick leaves, for which salaries are paid, an Employer shall make payroll deductions at the applicable rates in effect during such periods.

(2) For time spent on a leave of absence granted by the employer for which no salaries are paid, teachers desiring credit therefor shall pay the required contributions at the rates in effect during such periods as though they were in teaching service. If an Employer pays salary for vacations which occur during a teacher's sick leave or maternity or paternity leave without salary, vacation pay for which the teacher would have qualified while in active service shall be considered part of the teacher's total salary for pension purposes. No more than 36 months of leave credit may be allowed any person during the entire term of service. Sabbatical leave credit shall be limited to the time the person on leave without salary under an Employer's rules is allowed to engage in an activity for which he receives salary or compensation.

(3) For time spent prior to September 6, 1948, on sabbatical leaves of absence or sick leaves for which salaries were paid, teachers desiring service credit therefor shall pay the required contributions at the maximum applicable rates in effect during such periods.

(4) For service with teacher or labor organizations authorized by special leaves of absence, for which no payroll deductions are made by an Employer, teachers desiring service credit therefor shall contribute to the Fund upon the basis of the actual salary received from such organizations at the percentage rates in effect during such periods for certified positions with such Employer. To the extent the actual salary exceeds the regular salary, which shall be defined as the salary rate, as calculated by the Board, in effect for the teacher's regular position in teaching service on September 1, 1983 or on the effective date of the leave with the organization, whichever is later, the organization shall pay to the Fund the employer's normal cost as set by the Board on the increment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision (4), teachers are only eligible for credit for service under this subdivision (4) if the special leave of absence begins before January 5, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-651).

(5) For time spent in the military service, teachers entitled to and desiring credit therefor shall contribute the amount required for each year of service or fraction thereof at the rates in force (a) at the date of appointment, or (b) on return to teaching service as a regularly certified teacher, as the case may be; provided such rates shall not be less than $450 per year of service. These conditions shall apply unless an Employer elects to and does pay into the Fund the amount which would have been due from such person had he been employed as a teacher during such time. In the case of credit for military service not during the pension period, the teacher must also pay to the Fund an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued from such service, plus interest thereon at 5% per year, compounded annually, from the date of appointment to the date of payment.

The changes to this Section made by Public Act 87-795 shall apply not only to persons who on or after its effective date are in service under the Fund, but also to persons whose status as a teacher terminated prior to that date, whether or not the person is an annuitant on that date. In the case of an annuitant who applies for credit allowable under this Section for a period of military service that did not immediately follow employment, and who has made the required contributions for such credit, the annuity shall be recalculated to include the additional service credit, with the increase taking effect on the date the Fund received written notification of the annuitant's intent to purchase the credit, if payment of all the required contributions is made within 60 days of such notice, or else on the first annuity payment date following the date of payment of the required contributions. In calculating the automatic annual increase for an annuity that has been recalculated under this Section, the increase attributable to the additional service allowable under this amendatory Act of 1991 shall be included in the calculation of automatic annual increases accruing after the effective date of the recalculation.

The total credit for military service shall not exceed 5 years, except that any teacher who on July 1, 1963, had validated credit for more than 5 years of military service shall be entitled to the total amount of such credit.

(6) For persons who first become teachers before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, a maximum of 244 unused sick days credited to his account by an Employer on the date of termination of employment. Members, upon verification of unused sick days, may add this service time to total creditable service.

(7) In all cases where time spent on leave is creditable and no payroll deductions therefor are made by an Employer, persons desiring service credit shall make the required contributions directly to the Fund.

(8) For time lost without pay due to layoff and curtailment of the school term from June 6 through June 21, 1976, as provided in item (e) of the first paragraph of this Section, persons who were contributors on the days immediately preceding such layoff shall receive credit upon paying to the Fund a contribution based on the rates of compensation and employee contributions in effect at the time of such layoff, together with an additional amount equal to 12.2% of the compensation computed for such period of layoff, plus interest on the entire amount at 5% per annum from January 1, 1978 to the date of payment. If such contribution is paid, salary for pension purposes for any year in which such a layoff occurred shall include the compensation recognized for purposes of computing that contribution.

(9) For time spent after June 30, 1982, as a nonsalaried member of the Board of Education, if required to resign from an administrative or teaching position in order to qualify as a member of the Board of Education, an administrator or teacher desiring credit therefor shall pay the required contributions at the rates and salaries in effect during such periods as though the member were in service.

Effective September 1, 1974, the interest charged for validation of service described in paragraphs (2) through (5) of this Section shall be compounded annually at a rate of 5% commencing one year after the termination of the leave or return to service. "Military service of the United States" or "military service" includes service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12; 98-599, eff. 6-1-14.)

(40 ILCS 5/18-122) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 18-122)

Sec. 18-122. Participation; military service. Participation shall continue until the date a participant becomes an annuitant, dies, or accepts a refund.

Participation shall not cease during any period an eligible judge is serving with the military or naval forces of the United States while the United States is engaged in any war or for one year after such war, if the judge makes contributions, together with any interest payments which might be required, for delayed contribution payments.

A participant may also apply for creditable service for up to 2 years of military service that need not have followed service as a judge and need not have been served during wartime. However, for this military service not immediately following employment as a judge, the applicant must make contributions to the System (1) at the rates provided in Section 18-133 based upon the judge's rate of compensation on the last date as a participating judge prior to such military service, or on the first date as a participating judge after such military service, whichever is greater, plus (2) if payment is made on or after May 1, 1993, an amount determined by the Board to be equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefits accrued for such military service, plus (3) interest at the effective rate from the date of first membership in the System to the date of payment. This Section applies to service in the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States.

The amendment to this Section made by this amendatory Act of 1993 shall apply to persons who are active contributors to the System on or after November 30, 1992. A person who was an active contributor to the System on November 30, 1992 but is no longer an active contributor may apply to purchase military credit not immediately following employment as a judge within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993; 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 System. The change in the required contribution for purchased military credit made by this amendatory Act of 1993 shall not entitle any person to a refund of contributions already paid.

(Source: P.A. 87-794; 87-1265; 88-45.)

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.38 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.38 new)

Sec. 8.38. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.

Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other Public Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.