| ||||
| Public Act 103-0017 | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
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 Section 16-127 as follows:
| ||||
(40 ILCS 5/16-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-127)
| ||||
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.
| ||
(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 before | ||
June 30, 2028 2023, (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.
| ||
Credit may not be granted under this Section for service | ||
as an employee of an entity that provides substitute teaching | ||
services under Section 2-3.173 of the School Code and is not a | ||
school district. | ||
(Source: P.A. 102-525, eff. 8-20-21.)
| ||
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
| ||