Bill Text: IL HB0299 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In a provision concerning return to work by an affected annuitant, provides that a person who becomes an affected annuitant remains an affected annuitant, except for any period on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act during which an annuitant received an annualized retirement annuity that is less than $10,000. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-12-08 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0556 [HB0299 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB0299-Enrolled.html

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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 15-113, 15-135, 15-139.5, 15-152, 15-153.2, and
15-168.1 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/15-113) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-113)
Sec. 15-113. Service. "Service": The periods defined in
Sections 15-113.1 through 15-113.9 and Sections Section
15-113.11 through 15-113.12.
(Source: P.A. 97-933, eff. 8-10-12; 97-968, eff. 8-16-12.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-135) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-135)
(Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599,
which has been held unconstitutional)
Sec. 15-135. Retirement annuities - Conditions.
(a) This subsection (a) applies only to a Tier 1 member. A
participant who retires in one of the following specified years
with the specified amount of service is entitled to a
retirement annuity at any age under the retirement program
applicable to the participant:
35 years if retirement is in 1997 or before;
34 years if retirement is in 1998;

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33 years if retirement is in 1999;
32 years if retirement is in 2000;
31 years if retirement is in 2001;
30 years if retirement is in 2002 or later.
A participant with 8 or more years of service after
September 1, 1941, is entitled to a retirement annuity on or
after attainment of age 55.
A participant with at least 5 but less than 8 years of
service after September 1, 1941, is entitled to a retirement
annuity on or after attainment of age 62.
A participant who has at least 25 years of service in this
system as a police officer or firefighter is entitled to a
retirement annuity on or after the attainment of age 50, if
Rule 4 of Section 15-136 is applicable to the participant.
(a-5) A Tier 2 member is entitled to a retirement annuity
upon written application if he or she has attained age 67 and
has at least 10 years of service credit and is otherwise
eligible under the requirements of this Article. A Tier 2
member who has attained age 62 and has at least 10 years of
service credit and is otherwise eligible under the requirements
of this Article may elect to receive the lower retirement
annuity provided in subsection (b-5) of Section 15-136 of this
Article.
(b) The annuity payment period shall begin on the date
specified by the participant or the recipient of a disability
retirement annuity submitting a written application. For a

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participant, the date on which the annuity payment period
begins , which date shall not be prior to termination of
employment or more than one year before the application is
received by the board; however, if the participant is not an
employee of an employer participating in this System or in a
participating system as defined in Article 20 of this Code on
April 1 of the calendar year next following the calendar year
in which the participant attains age 70 1/2, the annuity
payment period shall begin on that date regardless of whether
an application has been filed. For a recipient of a disability
retirement annuity, the date on which the annuity payment
period begins shall not be prior to the discontinuation of the
disability retirement annuity under Section 15-153.2.
(c) An annuity is not payable if the amount provided under
Section 15-136 is less than $10 per month.
(Source: P.A. 97-933, eff. 8-10-12; 97-968, eff. 8-16-12;
98-92, eff. 7-16-13.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-139.5)
Sec. 15-139.5. Return to work by affected annuitant; notice
and contribution by employer.
(a) An employer who employs or re-employs a person
receiving a retirement annuity from the System in an academic
year beginning on or after August 1, 2013 must notify the
System of that employment within 60 days after employing the
annuitant. The notice must include a summary of the contract of

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employment or specify the rate of compensation and the
anticipated length of employment of that annuitant. The notice
must specify whether the annuitant will be compensated from
federal, corporate, foundation, or trust funds or grants of
State funds that identify the principal investigator by name.
The notice must include the employer's determination of whether
or not the annuitant is an "affected annuitant" as defined in
subsection (b).
The employer must also record, document, and certify to the
System (i) the amount of compensation paid to the annuitant for
employment during the academic year, and (ii) the amount of
that compensation, if any, that comes from either federal,
corporate, foundation, or trust funds or grants of State funds
that identify the principal investigator by name.
As used in this Section, "academic year" means the 12-month
period beginning September 1.
For the purposes of this Section, an annuitant whose
employment by an employer extends over more than one academic
year shall be deemed to be re-employed by that employer in each
of those academic years.
The System may specify the time, form, and manner of
providing the determinations, notifications, certifications,
and documentation required under this Section.
(b) A person receiving a retirement annuity from the System
becomes an "affected annuitant" on the first day of the
academic year following the academic year in which the

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annuitant first meets the following conditions:
(1) (Blank).
(2) While receiving a retirement annuity under this
Article, the annuitant was employed on or after August 1,
2013 by one or more employers under this Article and
received or became entitled to receive during an academic
year compensation for that employment in excess of 40% of
his or her highest annual earnings prior to retirement;
except that compensation paid from federal, corporate,
foundation, or trust funds or grants of State funds that
identify the principal investigator by name is excluded.
(3) The annuitant received an annualized retirement
annuity under this Article of at least $10,000.
A person who becomes an affected annuitant remains an
affected annuitant, except for (i) any period during which the
person returns to active service and does not receive a
retirement annuity from the System or (ii) any period on or
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th
General Assembly during which an annuitant received an
annualized retirement annuity under this Article that is less
than $10,000.
(c) It is the obligation of the employer to determine
whether an annuitant is an affected annuitant before employing
the annuitant. For that purpose the employer may require the
annuitant to disclose and document his or her relevant prior
employment and earnings history. Failure of the employer to

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make this determination correctly and in a timely manner or to
include this determination with the notification required
under subsection (a) does not excuse the employer from making
the contribution required under subsection (e).
The System may assist the employer in determining whether a
person is an affected annuitant. The System shall inform the
employer if it discovers that the employer's determination is
inconsistent with the employment and earnings information in
the System's records.
(d) Upon the request of an annuitant, the System shall
certify to the annuitant or the employer the following
information as reported by the employers, as that information
is indicated in the records of the System: (i) the annuitant's
highest annual earnings prior to retirement, (ii) the
compensation paid for that employment in each academic year,
and (iii) whether any of that employment or compensation has
been certified to the System as being paid from federal,
corporate, foundation, or trust funds or grants of State funds
that identify the principal investigator by name. The System
shall only be required to certify information that is received
from the employers.
(e) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), an
employer who employs an affected annuitant must pay to the
System an employer contribution in the amount and manner
provided in this Section, unless the annuitant is compensated
by that employer solely from federal, corporate, foundation, or

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trust funds or grants of State funds that identify the
principal investigator by name.
The employer contribution required under this Section for
employment of an affected annuitant in an academic year shall
be equal to 12 times the amount of the gross monthly retirement
annuity payable to the annuitant for the month in which the
first paid day of that employment in that academic year occurs,
after any reduction in that annuity that may be imposed under
subsection (b) of Section 15-139.
If an affected annuitant is employed by more than one
employer in an academic year, the employer contribution
required under this Section shall be divided among those
employers in proportion to their respective portions of the
total compensation paid to the affected annuitant for that
employment during that academic year.
If the System determines that an employer, without
reasonable justification, has failed to make the determination
of affected annuitant status correctly and in a timely manner,
or has failed to notify the System or to correctly document or
certify to the System any of the information required by this
Section, and that failure results in a delayed determination by
the System that a contribution is payable under this Section,
then the amount of that employer's contribution otherwise
determined under this Section shall be doubled.
The System shall deem a failure to correctly determine the
annuitant's status to be justified if the employer establishes

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to the System's satisfaction that the employer, after due
diligence, made an erroneous determination that the annuitant
was not an affected annuitant due to reasonable reliance on
false or misleading information provided by the annuitant or
another employer, or an error in the annuitant's official
employment or earnings records.
(f) Whenever the System determines that an employer is
liable for a contribution under this Section, it shall so
notify the employer and certify the amount of the contribution.
The employer may pay the required contribution without interest
at any time within one year after receipt of the certification.
If the employer fails to pay within that year, then interest
shall be charged at a rate equal to the System's prescribed
rate of interest, compounded annually from the 366th day after
receipt of the certification from the System. Payment must be
concluded within 2 years after receipt of the certification by
the employer. If the employer fails to make complete payment,
including applicable interest, within 2 years, then the System
may, after giving notice to the employer, certify the
delinquent amount to the State Comptroller, and the Comptroller
shall thereupon deduct the certified delinquent amount from
State funds payable to the employer and pay them instead to the
System.
(g) If an employer is required to make a contribution to
the System as a result of employing an affected annuitant and
the annuitant later elects to forgo his or her annuity in that

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same academic year pursuant to subsection (c) of Section
15-139, then the required contribution by the employer shall be
waived, and if the contribution has already been paid, it shall
be refunded to the employer without interest.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
the employer contribution required under this Section shall not
be included in the determination of any benefit under this
Article or any other Article of this Code, regardless of
whether the annuitant returns to active service, and is in
addition to any other State or employer contribution required
under this Article.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to
the contrary, if an employer employs an affected annuitant in
order to continue critical operations in the event of either an
employee's unforeseen illness, accident, or death or a
catastrophic incident or disaster, then, for one and only one
academic year, the employer is not required to pay the
contribution set forth in this Section for that annuitant. The
employer shall, however, immediately notify the System upon
employing a person subject to this subsection (i). For the
purposes of this subsection (i), "critical operations" means
teaching services, medical services, student welfare services,
and any other services that are critical to the mission of the
employer.
(j) This Section shall be applied and coordinated with the
regulatory obligations contained in the State Universities

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Civil Service Act. This Section shall not apply to an annuitant
if the employer of that annuitant provides documentation to the
System that (1) the annuitant is employed in a status
appointment position, as that term is defined in 80 Ill. Adm.
Code 250.80, and (2) due to obligations contained under the
State Universities Civil Service Act, the employer does not
have the ability to limit the earnings or duration of
employment for the annuitant while employed in the status
appointment position.
(Source: P.A. 97-968, eff. 8-16-12; 98-596, eff. 11-19-13;
98-1144, eff. 6-1-15.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-152) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-152)
Sec. 15-152. Disability benefits - Duration. Disability
benefits shall be discontinued when the earliest of the
following occurs: (1) when disability ceases, (2) upon refusal
of the participant to submit to a reasonable physical
examination by a physician approved by the board, (3) upon
refusal of the participant to accept any position, assigned in
good faith by an employer, the duties of which could reasonably
be performed by the participant and the earnings of which would
be at least equal to the disability benefit payable under this
Article, (4) upon September 1, following the participant's 70th
birthday, if the disability benefit commenced prior to
attainment of age 65, (5) the end of the month following the
fifth anniversary of the date disability benefits commenced, if

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such benefits began after the attainment of age 65, or (6) when
the total disability benefits paid equal 50% of the
participant's total earnings for the entire period of
employment for which service has been granted prior to the date
disability benefits began to accrue, or (7) upon failure of the
participant to provide an earnings verification necessary to
determine continuance of benefits. If the disability was caused
by an on-the-job accident, and the participant is granted
workers' compensation or occupational disease payments from
the employer or the State of Illinois, the limitation in clause
(6) shall not be applicable.
Service and earnings credits under the State Employees'
Retirement System of Illinois and the Teachers' Retirement
System of the State of Illinois shall be considered in
determining the employee's eligibility for, and the duration of
disability benefits.
If, by law, a function of a governmental unit, as defined
by Section 20-107 is transferred in whole or in part to an
employer and an employee transfers employment from the
governmental unit to such employer within 6 months after the
transfer of this function, the pension credits in the
governmental unit's retirement system which have been
validated under Section 20-109, shall be treated the same as
pension credits in this Section in determining an employee's
eligibility for, and the duration of disability benefits.
(Source: P.A. 86-273.)

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(40 ILCS 5/15-153.2) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153.2)
Sec. 15-153.2. Disability retirement annuity. A
participant whose disability benefits are discontinued under
the provisions of clause (6) of Section 15-152 and who is not a
participant in the optional retirement plan established under
Section 15-158.2 is entitled to a disability retirement annuity
of 35% of the basic compensation which was payable to the
participant at the time that disability began, provided that
the board determines that the participant has a medically
determinable physical or mental impairment that prevents him or
her from engaging in any substantial gainful activity, and
which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or
can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less
than 12 months.
The board's determination of whether a participant is
disabled shall be based upon:
(i) a written certificate from one or more licensed and
practicing physicians appointed by or acceptable to the
board, stating that the participant is unable to engage in
any substantial gainful activity; and
(ii) any other medical examinations, hospital records,
laboratory results, or other information necessary for
determining the employment capacity and condition of the
participant.
The terms "medically determinable physical or mental

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impairment" and "substantial gainful activity" shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in the federal Social Security Act,
as now or hereafter amended, and the regulations issued
thereunder.
The disability retirement annuity payment period shall
begin immediately following the expiration of the disability
benefit payments under clause (6) of Section 15-152 and shall
be discontinued for a recipient of a disability retirement
annuity when (1) the physical or mental impairment no longer
prevents the recipient participant from engaging in any
substantial gainful activity, (2) the recipient participant
dies, or (3) the recipient participant elects to receive a
retirement annuity under Sections 15-135 and 15-136, (4) the
recipient refuses to submit to a reasonable physical
examination by a physician approved by the board, or (5) the
recipient fails to provide an earnings verification necessary
to determine continuance of benefits. If a person's disability
retirement annuity is discontinued under clause (1), all rights
and credits accrued in the system on the date that the
disability retirement annuity began shall be restored, and the
disability retirement annuity paid shall be considered as
disability payments under clause (6) of Section 15-152.
The board shall adopt rules governing the filing,
investigation, control, and supervision of disability
retirement annuity claims. Costs incurred by a claimant in
connection with completing a claim for a disability retirement

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annuity shall be paid: (A) by the claimant in the case of the
one required medical examination, medical certificate, and any
other requirements generally imposed by the board on all
disability retirement annuity claimants; and (B) by the System
in the case of any additional medical examination or other
additional requirement imposed on a particular claimant that is
not imposed generally on all disability retirement annuity
claimants.
(Source: P.A. 97-933, eff. 8-10-12; 97-968, eff. 8-16-12.)
(40 ILCS 5/15-168.1)
Sec. 15-168.1. Testimony and the production of records. The
secretary of the Board shall have the power to issue subpoenas
to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of
documents and records, including law enforcement records
maintained by law enforcement agencies, in conjunction with:
(1) the determination of employer payments required
under subsection (g) of Section 15-155; ,
(2) a disability claim; ,
(3) an administrative review proceeding; ,
(4) an attempt to obtain information to assist in the
collection of sums due to the System;
(5) obtaining any and all personal identifying
information necessary for the administration of benefits;
(6) the determination of the death of a benefit
recipient or a potential benefit recipient; or

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(7) a felony forfeiture investigation.
The fees of witnesses for attendance and travel shall be
the same as the fees of witnesses before the circuit courts of
this State and shall be paid by the party seeking the subpoena.
The Board may apply to any circuit court in the State for an
order requiring compliance with a subpoena issued under this
Section. Subpoenas issued under this Section shall be subject
to applicable provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(Source: P.A. 94-1057, eff. 7-31-06.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.