Bill Text: IL HB0164 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Chaptered


Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning definitions.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2017-08-22 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0244 [HB0164 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB0164-Chaptered.html



Public Act 100-0244
HB0164 EnrolledLRB100 02315 RPS 12320 b
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 13-305 and 13-601 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/13-305) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-305)
Sec. 13-305. Surviving spouse's annuity; eligibility. A
surviving spouse who was married to an employee on the date of
the employee's death while in service, or was married to an
employee on the date of withdrawal from service and remained
married to that employee until the employee's death, shall be
entitled to a surviving spouse's annuity payable for life.
However, the annuity shall not be payable to the surviving
spouse of (1) an employee who withdraws from service before
attaining the minimum retirement age unless the deceased
employee had at least 10 years of service, or at least 5 years
of service if the employee was eligible for an annuity upon
attainment of age 62 pursuant to Section 13-301(b) or had been
receiving a retirement annuity pursuant to Section 13-301(d),
or (2) an employee not described in item (1) who first enters
service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of 1997 and who has been employed as an employee for (i) less
than 36 months from the date of the employee's original entry
into service or (ii) less than 12 months from the employee's
date of latest re-entry into service; except as otherwise
provided in Section 13-306(a) for an employee whose death
arises out of or in the course of the employee's service to the
employer.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section and
notwithstanding the forfeiture of rights provisions under
subsection (e) of Section 13-601, surviving spouse annuity
eligibility or eligibility for alternative survivor's
benefits, if applicable, shall be extended to the spouse or
civil union partner of an annuitant who retired prior to June
1, 2011 and received a refund of surviving spouse annuity
contributions as provided in subsection (b) of Section 13-601
if the annuitant (i) repaid the surviving spouse annuity
contributions under subsection (b-5) of Section 13-601, (ii)
could not enter into either a civil union or marriage
recognized in the State of Illinois prior to that date, and
(iii) became:
(A) a party to a civil union or a party to a legal
relationship that is recognized as a civil union or
marriage under the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection
and Civil Union Act on or after June 1, 2011 and before
July 1, 2016 and remains such a party;
(B) a party to a marriage under the Illinois Marriage
and Dissolution of Marriage Act on or after February 26,
2014 and before July 1, 2016 and remains such a party; or
(C) a party to a marriage, civil union, or other legal
relationship that, at the time it was formed, was not
legally recognized in Illinois but was subsequently
recognized as a civil union or marriage under the Illinois
Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act on or
after June 1, 2011 and before July 1, 2016, a marriage
under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act
on or after February 26, 2014 and before July 1, 2016, or
both, and remains such a party.
A dissolution of marriage after retirement shall not divest
the employee's spouse of the entitlement to a surviving
spouse's annuity upon the subsequent death of the employee,
provided that the surviving spouse and the deceased employee
had been married to each other for a period of not less than 10
continuous years on the date of retirement.
For purposes of Section 1-103.1, the changes made by this
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply to persons
not in service on or after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 94-621, eff. 8-18-05.)
(40 ILCS 5/13-601) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-601)
Sec. 13-601. Refunds.
(a) Withdrawal from service. Upon withdrawal from service,
an employee who first became a member before January 1, 2011,
who is under age 55 (age 50 if the employee first entered
service before June 13, 1997), or an employee age 55 (age 50 if
the employee first entered service before June 13, 1997) or
over but less than age 60 having less than 20 years of service,
or an employee age 60 or over having less than 5 years of
service shall be entitled, upon application, to a refund of
total contributions from salary deductions or amounts
otherwise paid under this Article by the employee. An employee
who first becomes a member on or after January 1, 2011, who
withdraws before age 62 regardless of length of service, or who
withdraws with less than 10 years of service regardless of age
is entitled to a refund of total contributions from salary
deductions or amounts otherwise paid under this Article by the
employee. The refund shall not include interest credited to the
contributions. The Board may, in its discretion, withhold
payment of a refund for a period not to exceed one year from
the date of filing an application for refund.
(b) Surviving spouse's annuity contributions. A refund of
all amounts deducted from salary or otherwise contributed by an
employee for the surviving spouse's annuity shall be paid upon
retirement to any employee who on the date of retirement is
either not married or is married but whose spouse is not
eligible for a surviving spouse's annuity paid wholly or in
part under this Article. The refund shall include interest on
each contribution at the rate of 3% per annum compounded
annually from the date of the contribution to the date of the
refund.
(b-5) An annuitant who (i) retired prior to June 1, 2011,
(ii) received a refund of surviving spouse's annuity
contributions under subsection (b), and (iii) thereafter
became and remains a party to a civil union or marriage, as
described in Section 13-305, may, within a period of one year
beginning 5 months after the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 100th General Assembly, and in accordance with any
rules adopted by the Board and consents required by the Board,
make an irrevocable election to re-establish rights to a
surviving spouse annuity under Sections 13-305 and 13-306 or to
alternative survivor's benefits under subsection (d) of
Section 13-314, whichever is applicable, by paying to the Fund:
(1) the total amount of the refund received for surviving
spouse's annuity contributions; and (2) interest thereon at the
actuarially assumed rate of return at the time of the election
from the date of the refund to the date of repayment in full.
Such election may only be made by the annuitant.
The Fund shall allow the annuitant to repay the total
amount of the refund, plus interest, over a period not to
exceed 24 months. To the extent permitted by the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and for federal and State tax
purposes, if a member pays in monthly installments by reducing
the monthly annuity by the amount of the otherwise applicable
contribution, the monthly amount by which the annuitant's
benefit is reduced shall not be treated as a contribution by
the annuitant, but rather as a reduction of the annuitant's
monthly annuity. In the event of the death of the annuitant
prior to repayment of the total amount of the refund, plus
interest, the amount owed as of the date of death shall be
deducted from the spouse annuity by a reduction in the
surviving spouse's monthly annuity. The death of the spouse or
civil union partner prior to the annuitant's death shall not
void the election.
(c) Payment of Refunds After Death. Whenever any refund is
payable after the death of the employee or annuitant as
provided for in this Article, the refund shall be paid as
follows: to the employee's surviving spouse, but if there is no
surviving spouse then in accordance with the employee's written
designation of beneficiary filed with the Board on the
prescribed form before the employee's death. If there is no
such designation of beneficiary, then to the employee's
surviving children in equal parts to each. If there are no such
children, the refund shall be paid to the heirs of the employee
according to the law of descent and distribution of the State
of Illinois.
If a personal representative of the estate has not been
appointed within 90 days from the date on which a refund became
payable, the refund may be applied, in the discretion of the
Board, toward the payment of the employee's or the surviving
spouse's burial expenses. Any remaining balance shall be paid
to the heirs of the employee according to the law of descent
and distribution of the State of Illinois.
Whenever the total accumulations to the account of an
employee from employee contributions other than the
contribution for the cost of living increase, including
interest to the employee's date of withdrawal, have not been
paid to the employee and surviving spouse as a retirement or
spouse's annuity before the death of the employee and spouse, a
refund shall be paid as follows: an amount equal to the excess
of such amounts over the amounts paid on such annuities without
interest on either such amount.
If a reversionary annuity becomes payable under Section
13-303, the refund provided in this section shall not be paid
until the death of the reversionary annuitant and the refund
otherwise payable under this section shall be then further
reduced by the amount of the reversionary annuity paid.
(d) In lieu of annuity. Notwithstanding the provisions set
forth in subsection (a) of this section, whenever an employee's
or surviving spouse's annuity will be less than $200 per month,
the employee or surviving spouse, as the case may be, may elect
to receive a refund of accumulated employee contributions;
provided, however, that if the election is made by a surviving
spouse the refund shall be reduced by any amounts theretofore
paid to the employee in the form of an annuity.
(e) Forfeiture of rights. An employee or surviving spouse
who receives a refund forfeits the right to receive an annuity
or any other benefit payable under this Article except that if
the refund is to a surviving spouse, any child or children of
the employee shall not be deprived of the right to receive a
child's annuity as provided in Section 13-308 of this Article,
and the payment of a child's annuity shall not reduce the
amount refundable to the surviving spouse.
(Source: P.A. 95-586, eff. 8-31-07; 96-251, eff. 8-11-09;
96-1490, eff. 1-1-11.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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