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Public Act 100-0794
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| SB2578 Enrolled | LRB100 18395 MJP 33606 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 |
Section 9-228 as follows:
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(40 ILCS 5/9-228) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 9-228)
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Sec. 9-228. Attachment; withholding.
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(a) The annuities, pensions, refunds, and disability |
benefits granted
under this Article shall be exempt from |
attachment or garnishment process
and shall not be seized, |
taken, subjected to, detained, or levied upon by
virtue of any |
judgment, or any process or proceeding whatsoever issued out
of |
or by any court in this State, for the payment and satisfaction |
in whole
or in part of any debt, damage, claim, demand, or |
judgment against any
annuitant, pensioner, person entitled to a |
refund, or other beneficiary
hereunder.
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(b) No annuitant, pensioner, person entitled to a refund, |
or other
beneficiary shall have any right to transfer or assign |
his annuity or
disability benefit or any part thereof by way of |
mortgage or otherwise
except that an annuitant or a widow |
annuitant who elects to participate in
any group |
hospitalization plan or group medical surgical plan shall have
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the right to authorize the Board to deduct the cost to him of |
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such plan
from the annuity check and to pay such deducted |
amount to the group
insurance carrier, provided, however, that |
the Board in its discretion may
terminate such right; provided, |
that the board in its discretion may pay to
the wife of any |
annuitant, pensioner, refund applicant, or disability
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beneficiary such an amount out of her husband's annuity, |
pension, refund,
or disability benefit as any court may order, |
or such an amount as the
board may consider necessary for the |
support of his wife or children or
both in the event of his |
disappearance or unexplained absence or his
failure to support |
such wife or children.
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(c) The board may retain out of any future annuity, |
pension, refund or
disability benefit payments, such amount, or |
amounts, as it may require for
the repayment of any moneys paid |
to any annuitant, pensioner, refund
applicant, or disability |
beneficiary through misrepresentation, fraud or
error. Any |
such action of the board shall relieve and release the board |
and
the fund from any liability for any moneys so withheld.
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(d) Whenever an annuity, pension, refund, or disability |
benefit is
payable to a minor or to a person adjudged to be |
under legal disability,
the board, in its discretion and when |
to the best interest of the person
concerned, may waive |
guardianship proceedings and pay the annuity, pension,
refund |
or benefit to the person providing or caring for the minor and |
to
the wife, parent or blood relative providing or caring for |
the person.
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In the event that a person certified by a medical doctor to |
be under legal disability (i) has no spouse, blood relative, or |
other person providing or caring for him or her, (ii) has no |
guardian of his or her estate, and (iii) is confined to a |
Medicare-certified, State-licensed nursing home or to a |
publicly owned and operated nursing home, hospital, or mental |
institution, the Board may pay any benefit due that person to |
the nursing home, hospital, or mental institution, to be used |
for the sole benefit of the person under legal disability. |
Payment in accordance with this subsection to a person, |
nursing home, hospital, or mental institution for the benefit |
of a minor or person under legal disability shall be an |
absolute discharge of the Fund's liability with respect to the |
amount so paid. Any person, nursing home, hospital, or mental |
institution accepting payment under this subsection shall |
notify the Fund of the death or any other relevant change in |
the status of the minor or person under legal disability. |
(e) An annuitant may authorize the withholding of a portion |
of his
annuity for payment of dues to any labor organization |
designated by the
annuitant; however, no portion of annuities |
may be withheld pursuant to
this subsection for payment to any |
one labor organization unless a minimum
of 100 annuitants |
authorize such withholding, except that the Board may
allow |
such withholding for less than 100 annuitants during a |
probationary
period of between 3 and 6 months, as determined by |
the Board. The Board
shall prescribe a form for the |
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authorization of such withholding, and shall
provide such forms |
to employees, annuitants and labor organizations upon
request. |
Amounts withheld by the Board under this subsection shall be
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promptly paid over to the designated organizations.
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Any such labor organization shall have access to the Fund's |
mailing list
of annuitants, upon such terms as the Board may |
approve. The expenses of
any mailing conducted by the labor |
organization shall be borne by the labor
organization.
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(Source: P.A. 87-793.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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