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| Public Act 103-0548
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| SB1235 Enrolled | LRB103 25499 RPS 51848 b |
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AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by |
changing Sections 15-112, 15-134.1, and 15-198 as follows:
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(40 ILCS 5/15-112) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-112)
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Sec. 15-112. Final rate of earnings. "Final rate of |
earnings": |
(a) This subsection (a) applies only to a Tier 1 member. |
For an employee who is paid on an hourly basis or who |
receives an annual salary
in installments during 12 months of |
each academic year, the average annual
earnings during the 48 |
consecutive calendar month period ending with the last
day of |
final termination of employment or the 4 consecutive academic |
years of
service in which the employee's earnings were the |
highest, whichever is
greater.
For any other employee, the |
average annual earnings during the 4 consecutive
academic |
years of service in which his or her earnings were the highest.
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For an employee with less than 48 months or 4 consecutive |
academic years of
service, the average earnings during his or |
her entire period of service.
The earnings of an employee with |
more than 36 months of service under item (a) of Section |
15-113.1 prior to the
date of becoming a participant are, for |
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such period, considered equal to the
average earnings during |
the last 36 months of such service. |
(b) This subsection (b) applies to a Tier 2 member. |
For an employee who is paid on an hourly basis or who |
receives an annual salary in installments during 12 months of |
each academic year, the average annual earnings obtained by |
dividing by 8 the total earnings of the employee during the 96 |
consecutive months in which the total earnings were the |
highest within the last 120 months prior to termination. |
For any other employee, the average annual earnings during |
the 8 consecutive academic years within the 10 years prior to |
termination in which the employee's earnings were the highest. |
For an employee with less than 96 consecutive months or 8 |
consecutive academic years of service, whichever is necessary, |
the average earnings during his or her entire period of |
service. |
(c) For an
employee on leave of absence with pay, or on |
leave of absence without pay
who makes contributions during |
such leave, earnings are assumed to be equal
to the basic |
compensation on the date the leave began. |
(d) For an employee on
disability leave, earnings are |
assumed to be equal to the basic compensation
on the date |
disability occurs or the average earnings during the 24 months
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immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs, |
whichever is
greater.
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(e) For a Tier 1 member who retires on or after the |
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effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1997 with at least 20 |
years of service as a firefighter or
police officer under this |
Article, the final rate of earnings shall be the
annual rate of |
earnings received by the participant on his or her last day as |
a
firefighter or police officer under this Article, if that is |
greater than the
final rate of earnings as calculated under |
the other provisions of this
Section.
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(f) If a Tier 1 member is an employee for at least
6 months |
during the academic year in which his or her employment
is |
terminated, the annual final rate of earnings shall be 25% of |
the sum
of (1) the annual basic compensation for that year, and |
(2) the amount
earned during the 36 months immediately |
preceding that year, if this is
greater than the final rate of |
earnings as calculated under the other
provisions of this |
Section.
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(g) In the determination of the final rate of earnings for |
an employee, that
part of an employee's earnings for any |
academic year beginning after June 30,
1997, which exceeds the |
employee's earnings with that employer for the
preceding year |
by more than 20 percent shall be excluded; in the event
that an |
employee has more than one employer
this limitation shall be |
calculated separately for the earnings with
each employer. In |
making such calculation, only the basic compensation of
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employees shall be considered, without regard to vacation or |
overtime or to
contracts for summer employment. Beginning |
September 1, 2024, this subsection (g) also applies to an |
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employee who has been employed at 1/2 time or less for 3 or |
more years.
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(h) The following are not considered as earnings in |
determining final rate of
earnings: (1) severance or |
separation pay, (2) retirement pay, (3)
payment for unused |
sick leave, and (4) payments from an employer for
the period |
used in determining final rate of earnings for any purpose |
other
than (i) services rendered, (ii) leave of absence or |
vacation granted
during that period, and (iii) vacation of up |
to 56 work days allowed upon
termination of employment; except |
that, if the benefit has been collectively
bargained between |
the employer and the recognized collective bargaining agent
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pursuant to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, |
payment received
during a period of up to 2 academic years for |
unused sick leave may be
considered as earnings in accordance |
with the applicable collective bargaining
agreement, subject |
to the 20% increase limitation of this Section. Any unused
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sick leave considered as earnings under this Section shall not |
be taken into
account in calculating service credit under |
Section 15-113.4.
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(i) Intermittent periods of service shall be considered as |
consecutive in
determining final rate of earnings.
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(Source: P.A. 98-92, eff. 7-16-13; 99-450, eff. 8-24-15.)
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(40 ILCS 5/15-134.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-134.1)
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Sec. 15-134.1. Service calculation and adjustment.
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(a) For the purposes of computing service for academic |
years for any participant, In computing
service, the following |
schedule shall govern: one month of service means
a calendar |
month during which a participant (i) qualifies as an employee
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under Section 15-107 for at least 15 or more days, and (ii) |
receives any
earnings as an employee; 8 or more
months of |
service during an academic year shall constitute a year of |
service;
6 or more but less than 8 months of service during an |
academic year
shall constitute 3/4 of a year of service; 3 or |
more but less than 6 months
of service during an academic year |
shall constitute 1/2 of a
year of service; and one or more but |
less than 3 months of service during
an academic year shall |
constitute 1/4 of a year of service. No more than
one year of |
service may be granted per academic year, regardless of the
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number of hours or percentage of time worked. This subsection |
(a) does not apply to service periods to which subsection |
(a-5) applies. |
(a-5) For the purposes of computing service for academic |
years for any participant, the following schedule shall |
govern: one month of service means a calendar month during |
which a participant (i) qualifies as an employee under Section |
15-107 and contributes to the System, and (ii) receives any |
earnings as an employee; 8 or more months of service during an |
academic year shall constitute a year of service; 6 or more but |
less than 8 months of service during an academic year shall |
constitute 3/4 of a year of service; 3 or more but less than 6 |
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months of service during an academic year shall constitute 1/2 |
of a year of service; and one or more but less than 3 months of |
service during an academic year shall constitute 1/4 of a year |
of service. No more than one year of service may be granted per |
academic year, regardless of the number of hours or percentage |
of time worked. |
This subsection (a-5) applies to all service periods of a |
member who is a participant on or after September 1, 2024; |
except that such changes shall not apply to service periods |
that were subject to: (1) a purchase under subsection (i) of |
Section 15-107, subsection (c) of Section 15-113.1, or Section |
15-113.2, 15-113.3, 15-113.5, 15-113.6, 15-113.7, or |
15-113.11; (2) a repayment of a refund under subsection (b) of |
Section 15-154 or a distribution under subsection (j) of |
Section 15-158.2; or (3) a transfer under Section 15-113.10, |
15-134.2, or 15-134.4 if payment for such purchase, repayment, |
or transfer commenced prior to September 1, 2024.
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(b) In calculating a retirement annuity, if a participant |
has been employed
at 1/2 time or less for 3 or more years after |
September 1, 1959, service
shall be granted for such |
employment in excess of 3 years, in the proportion
that the |
percentage of time employed for each such year of employment
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bears to the average annual percentage of time employed during
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the period on which the final rate of earnings is based. This |
adjustment
shall not be made, however, in determining the |
eligibility for a retirement
annuity, disability benefits, |
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additional death benefits, or survivors'
insurance. The |
percentage of time employed shall be as reported by the
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employer. This subsection (b) shall not apply to a member who |
is a participant on or after September 1, 2024.
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(Source: P.A. 87-8.)
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(40 ILCS 5/15-198)
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Sec. 15-198. Application and expiration of new benefit |
increases. |
(a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means |
an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this |
Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for |
any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment |
to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the |
effective date of Public Act 94-4). "New benefit increase", |
however, does not include any benefit increase resulting from |
the changes made to Article 1 or this Article by Public Act |
100-23, Public Act 100-587, Public Act 100-769, Public Act |
101-10, Public Act 101-610, Public Act 102-16, or this |
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly or this |
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. |
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or |
any subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit |
increase is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be |
granted only in conformance with and contingent upon |
compliance with the provisions of this Section.
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(c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must |
identify and provide for payment to the System of additional |
funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual |
increase in cost to the System as it accrues. |
Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General |
Assembly providing the additional funding required under this |
subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and |
Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional |
funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and |
shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of |
the Department of Insurance. A new benefit increase created by |
a Public Act that does not include the additional funding |
required under this subsection is null and void. If the Public |
Pension Division determines that the additional funding |
provided for a new benefit increase under this subsection is |
or has become inadequate, it may so certify to the Governor and |
the State Comptroller and, in the absence of corrective action |
by the General Assembly, the new benefit increase shall expire |
at the end of the fiscal year in which the certification is |
made.
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(d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after |
its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified |
in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided |
under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General |
Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase |
by law. |
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(e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating |
the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires |
under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied |
and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit |
increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and |
alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any |
other person, including, without limitation, a person who |
continues in service after the expiration date and did not |
apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new |
benefit increase was in effect.
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(Source: P.A. 101-10, eff. 6-5-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; |
101-610, eff. 1-1-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)
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Section 97. Inseverability. The changes made to existing |
statutory law by this Act are mutually dependent and |
inseverable. If any change made to existing statutory law by |
this Act is held invalid other than as applied to a particular |
person or circumstance, then all changes made to existing |
statutory law by this Act are invalid in their entirety.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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