Sen. Daniel Biss

Filed: 3/15/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1687

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1687 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
5changing Sections 15-126.1, 15-139, 15-139.5, and 15-168.2 as
6follows:
 
7    (40 ILCS 5/15-126.1)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-126.1)
8    Sec. 15-126.1. Academic year. "Academic year": The
912-month period beginning on the first day of the fall term as
10determined by each employer, or if the employer does not have
11an academic program divided into terms, then beginning
12September 1. For the purposes of Section 15-139.5 and
13subsection (b) of Section 15-139, however, "academic year"
14means the 12-month period beginning September 1.
15(Source: P.A. 84-1472.)
 

 

 

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1    (40 ILCS 5/15-139)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-139)
2    Sec. 15-139. Retirement annuities; cancellation; suspended
3during employment.
4    (a) If an annuitant returns to employment for an employer
5within 60 days after the beginning of the retirement annuity
6payment period, the retirement annuity shall be cancelled, and
7the annuitant shall refund to the System the total amount of
8the retirement annuity payments which he or she received. If
9the retirement annuity is cancelled, the participant shall
10continue to participate in the System.
11    (b) If an annuitant retires prior to age 60 and receives or
12becomes entitled to receive during any month compensation in
13excess of the monthly retirement annuity (including any
14automatic annual increases) for services performed after the
15date of retirement for any employer under this System, that
16portion of the monthly retirement annuity provided by employer
17contributions shall not be payable.
18    If an annuitant retires at age 60 or over and receives or
19becomes entitled to receive during any academic year
20compensation in excess of the difference between his or her
21highest annual earnings prior to retirement and his or her
22annual retirement annuity computed under Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule
233, Rule 4, or Rule 5 of Section 15-136, or under Section
2415-136.4, for services performed after the date of retirement
25for any employer under this System, that portion of the monthly
26retirement annuity provided by employer contributions shall be

 

 

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1reduced by an amount equal to the compensation that exceeds
2such difference.
3    However, any remuneration received for serving as a member
4of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board shall be
5excluded from "compensation" for the purposes of this
6subsection (b), and serving as a member of the Illinois
7Educational Labor Relations Board shall not be deemed to be a
8return to employment for the purposes of this Section. This
9provision applies without regard to whether service was
10terminated prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
11of 1991.
12    "Academic year", as used in this subsection (b), means the
1312-month period beginning September 1.
14    (c) If an employer certifies that an annuitant has been
15reemployed on a permanent and continuous basis or in a position
16in which the annuitant is expected to serve for at least 9
17months, the annuitant shall resume his or her status as a
18participating employee and shall be entitled to all rights
19applicable to participating employees upon filing with the
20board an election to forgo all annuity payments during the
21period of reemployment. Upon subsequent retirement, the
22retirement annuity shall consist of the annuity which was
23terminated by the reemployment, plus the additional retirement
24annuity based upon service granted during the period of
25reemployment, but the combined retirement annuity shall not
26exceed the maximum annuity applicable on the date of the last

 

 

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1retirement.
2    The total service and earnings credited before and after
3the initial date of retirement shall be considered in
4determining eligibility of the employee or the employee's
5beneficiary to benefits under this Article, and in calculating
6final rate of earnings.
7    In determining the death benefit payable to a beneficiary
8of an annuitant who again becomes a participating employee
9under this Section, accumulated normal and additional
10contributions shall be considered as the sum of the accumulated
11normal and additional contributions at the date of initial
12retirement and the accumulated normal and additional
13contributions credited after that date, less the sum of the
14annuity payments received by the annuitant.
15    The survivors insurance benefits provided under Section
1615-145 shall not be applicable to an annuitant who resumes his
17or her status as a participating employee, unless the
18annuitant, at the time of initial retirement, has a survivors
19insurance beneficiary who could qualify for such benefits.
20    If the participant's employment is terminated because of
21circumstances other than death before 9 months from the date of
22reemployment, the provisions of this Section regarding
23resumption of status as a participating employee shall not
24apply. The normal and survivors insurance contributions which
25are deducted during this period shall be refunded to the
26annuitant without interest, and subsequent benefits under this

 

 

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1Article shall be the same as those which were applicable prior
2to the date the annuitant resumed employment.
3    The amendments made to this Section by this amendatory Act
4of the 91st General Assembly apply without regard to whether
5the annuitant was in service on or after the effective date of
6this amendatory Act.
7(Source: P.A. 97-933, eff. 8-10-12; 97-968, eff. 8-16-12.)
 
8    (40 ILCS 5/15-139.5)
9    Sec. 15-139.5. Return to work by affected annuitant; notice
10and contribution by employer.
11    (a) An employer who employs or re-employs a person
12receiving a retirement annuity from the System in an academic
13year beginning on or after August 1, 2014 2013 must notify the
14System of that employment within 60 days after employing the
15annuitant. The notice must include a summary copy of the
16contract of employment or ; if no written contract of employment
17exists, then the notice must specify the rate of compensation
18and the anticipated length of employment of that annuitant. The
19notice must specify whether the annuitant will be compensated
20from federal, corporate, foundation, or trust funds or grants
21of State funds that identify the principal investigator by
22name. The notice must include the employer's determination of
23whether or not the annuitant is an "affected annuitant" as
24defined in subsection (b).
25    The employer must also record, document, and certify to the

 

 

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1System (i) the number of paid days and paid weeks worked by the
2annuitant in the academic year, (ii) the amount of compensation
3paid to the annuitant for employment during the academic year,
4and (ii) (iii) the amount of that compensation, if any, that
5comes from either federal, corporate, foundation, or trust
6funds or grants of State funds that identify the principal
7investigator by name.
8    As used in this Section, "academic year" means the 12-month
9period beginning September 1. has the meaning ascribed to that
10term in Section 15-126.1; "paid day" means a day on which a
11person performs personal services for an employer and for which
12the person is compensated by the employer; and "paid week"
13means a calendar week in which a person has at least one paid
14day.
15    For the purposes of this Section, an annuitant whose
16employment by an employer extends over more than one academic
17year shall be deemed to be re-employed by that employer in each
18of those academic years.
19    The System may specify the time, form, and manner of
20providing the determinations, notifications, certifications,
21and documentation required under this Section.
22    (b) A person receiving a retirement annuity from the System
23becomes an "affected annuitant" on the first day of the
24academic year following the academic year in which the
25annuitant first meets both of the following condition
26conditions:

 

 

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1        (1) (Blank). While receiving a retirement annuity
2    under this Article, the annuitant has been employed on or
3    after August 1, 2013 by one or more employers under this
4    Article for a total of more than 18 paid weeks (which need
5    not have been with the same employer or in the same
6    academic year); except that any periods of employment for
7    which the annuitant was compensated solely from federal,
8    corporate, foundation, or trust funds or grants of State
9    funds that identify the principal investigator by name are
10    excluded.
11        (2) While receiving a retirement annuity under this
12    Article, the annuitant was employed on or after August 1,
13    2014 2013 by one or more employers under this Article and
14    received or became entitled to receive during an academic
15    year compensation for that employment in excess of 40% of
16    his or her highest annual earnings prior to retirement;
17    except that compensation paid from federal, corporate,
18    foundation, or trust funds or grants of State funds that
19    identify the principal investigator by name is excluded.
20    A person who becomes an affected annuitant remains an
21affected annuitant, except for any period during which the
22person returns to active service and does not receive a
23retirement annuity from the System.
24    (c) It is the obligation of the employer to determine
25whether an annuitant is an affected annuitant before employing
26the annuitant. For that purpose the employer may require the

 

 

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1annuitant to disclose and document his or her relevant prior
2employment and earnings history. Failure of the employer to
3make this determination correctly and in a timely manner or to
4include this determination with the notification required
5under subsection (a) does not excuse the employer from making
6the contribution required under subsection (e).
7    The System may assist the employer in determining whether a
8person is an affected annuitant. The System shall inform the
9employer if it discovers that the employer's determination is
10inconsistent with the employment and earnings information in
11the System's records.
12    (d) Upon the request of an annuitant, the System shall
13certify to the annuitant or the employer the following
14information as reported by the employers, as that information
15is indicated in the records of the System: (i) the annuitant's
16highest annual earnings prior to retirement, (ii) the number of
17paid weeks worked by the annuitant for an employer on or after
18August 1, 2013, (iii) the compensation paid for that employment
19in each academic year, and (iii) (iv) whether any of that
20employment or compensation has been certified to the System as
21being paid from federal, corporate, foundation, or trust funds
22or grants of State funds that identify the principal
23investigator by name. The System shall only be required to
24certify information that is received from the employers.
25    (e) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), an
26employer who employs an affected annuitant must pay to the

 

 

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1System an employer contribution in the amount and manner
2provided in this Section, unless the annuitant is compensated
3by that employer solely from federal, corporate, foundation, or
4trust funds or grants of State funds that identify the
5principal investigator by name.
6    The employer contribution required under this Section for
7employment of an affected annuitant in an academic year shall
8be equal to 12 times the amount of the gross monthly retirement
9annuity payable to the annuitant for the month in which the
10first paid day of that employment in that academic year occurs,
11after any reduction in that annuity that may be imposed under
12subsection (b) of Section 15-139.
13    If an affected annuitant is employed by more than one
14employer in an academic year, the employer contribution
15required under this Section shall be divided among those
16employers in proportion to their respective portions of the
17total compensation paid to the affected annuitant for that
18employment during that academic year.
19    If the System determines that an employer, without
20reasonable justification, has failed to make the determination
21of affected annuitant status correctly and in a timely manner,
22or has failed to notify the System or to correctly document or
23certify to the System any of the information required by this
24Section, and that failure results in a delayed determination by
25the System that a contribution is payable under this Section,
26then the amount of that employer's contribution otherwise

 

 

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1determined under this Section shall be doubled.
2    The System shall deem a failure to correctly determine the
3annuitant's status to be justified if the employer establishes
4to the System's satisfaction that the employer, after due
5diligence, made an erroneous determination that the annuitant
6was not an affected annuitant due to reasonable reliance on
7false or misleading information provided by the annuitant or
8another employer, or an error in the annuitant's official
9employment or earnings records.
10    (f) Whenever the System determines that an employer is
11liable for a contribution under this Section, it shall so
12notify the employer and certify the amount of the contribution.
13The employer may pay the required contribution without interest
14at any time within one year after receipt of the certification.
15If the employer fails to pay within that year, then interest
16shall be charged at a rate equal to the System's prescribed
17rate of interest, compounded annually from the 366th day after
18receipt of the certification from the System. Payment must be
19concluded within 2 years after receipt of the certification by
20the employer. If the employer fails to make complete payment,
21including applicable interest, within 2 years, then the System
22may, after giving notice to the employer, certify the
23delinquent amount to the State Comptroller, and the Comptroller
24shall thereupon deduct the certified delinquent amount from
25State funds payable to the employer and pay them instead to the
26System.

 

 

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1    (g) If an employer is required to make a contribution to
2the System as a result of employing an affected annuitant and
3the annuitant later elects to forgo his or her annuity in that
4same academic year pursuant to subsection (c) of Section
515-139, then the required contribution by the employer shall be
6waived, and if the contribution has already been paid, it shall
7be refunded to the employer without interest.
8    (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
9the employer contribution required under this Section shall not
10be included in the determination of any benefit under this
11Article or any other Article of this Code, regardless of
12whether the annuitant returns to active service, and is in
13addition to any other State or employer contribution required
14under this Article.
15    (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to
16the contrary, if an employer employs an affected annuitant in
17order to continue critical operations in the event of either an
18employee's unforeseen illness, accident, or death or a
19catastrophic incident or disaster, then, for one and only one
20academic year, the employer is not required to pay the
21contribution set forth in this Section for that annuitant. The
22employer shall, however, immediately notify the System upon
23employing a person subject to this subsection (i). For the
24purposes of this subsection (i), "critical operations" means
25teaching services, medical services, student welfare services,
26and any other services that are critical to the mission of the

 

 

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1employer.
2    (j) This Section shall be applied and coordinated with the
3regulatory obligations contained in the State Universities
4Civil Service Act. This Section shall not apply to an annuitant
5if the employer of that annuitant provides documentation to the
6System that (1) the annuitant is employed in a status
7appointment position, as that term is defined in 80 Ill. Adm.
8Code 250.80, and (2) due to obligations contained under the
9State Universities Civil Service Act, the employer does not
10have the ability to limit the earnings or duration of
11employment for the annuitant while employed in the status
12appointment position.
13(Source: P.A. 97-968, eff. 8-16-12.)
 
14    (40 ILCS 5/15-168.2)
15    Sec. 15-168.2. Audit of employers. Beginning August 1, 2014
162013, the System may audit the employment records and payroll
17records of all employers. When the System audits an employer,
18it shall specify the exact information it requires, which may
19include but need not be limited to the names, titles, and
20earnings history of every individual receiving compensation
21from the employer. If an employer is audited by the System,
22then the employer must provide to the System all necessary
23documents and records within 60 calendar days after receiving
24notification from the System. When the System audits an
25employer, it shall send related correspondence by certified

 

 

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1mail.
2(Source: P.A. 97-968, eff. 8-16-12.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.".