Bill Text: IL HB0676 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Chicago Teachers Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that attainment of age 18 does not terminate the children's pension of a child who is disabled and was dependent upon a deceased teacher at the time of his or her death. Provides that, if there is no eligible surviving spouse or eligible child of a deceased teacher, his or her parent is entitled to a survivor's pension if he or she was dependent upon the deceased teacher at the time of his or her death. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-13 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0676 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB0676-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 HB0676 Introduced 02/06/09, by Rep. Joseph M. Lyons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/17-121 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-121
40 ILCS 5/17-122 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-122
40 ILCS 5/17-124 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-124
40 ILCS 5/17-125 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-125
30 ILCS 805/8.33 new
Amends the Chicago Teachers Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that attainment of age 18 does not terminate the children's pension of a child who is disabled and was dependent upon a deceased teacher at the time of his or her death. Provides that, if there is no eligible surviving spouse or eligible child of a deceased teacher, his or her parent is entitled to a survivor's pension if he or she was dependent upon the deceased teacher at the time of his or her death. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
LRB096 03526 AMC 13551 b
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
A BILL FOR
HB0676 LRB096 03526 AMC 13551 b
AN ACT in relation to 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 17-121, 17-122, 17-124, and 17-125 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/17-121) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-121)
Sec. 17-121. Survivor's pensions - Eligibility.
(a) A surviving spouse of a teacher shall be entitled to a
survivor's pension only if the surviving spouse was married to
the teacher for at least one year immediately prior to the
teacher's death.
The changes made to this subsection (a) by this amendatory
Act of the 92nd General Assembly apply (i) only to the
surviving spouse of a person who dies on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act, and only if the amount of any
refund of contributions for survivor's pension is repaid with
interest in accordance with subsection (f), and (ii)
notwithstanding Section 17-157 and without regard to whether
the deceased person was in service on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act.
(b) If the surviving spouse is under age 50 and there are
no eligible minor children born to or legally adopted by the
contributor and his or her surviving spouse, payment of the

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survivor's pension shall begin when the surviving spouse
attains age 50.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2003, the remarriage of a
surviving spouse at any age does not terminate his or her
survivor's pension.
A surviving spouse whose survivor's pension (or
expectation of a survivor's pension upon attainment of age 50)
was terminated before January 1, 2003 due to remarriage and who
applies for reinstatement of that pension and repays the amount
of any refund of contributions for survivor's pension with
interest in accordance with subsection (f) shall be entitled to
have the survivor's pension (or expectation of a survivor's
pension upon attainment of age 50) reinstated. The reinstated
pension shall begin to accrue on the first day of the month
following the month in which the application and repayment, if
any, are received by the Fund, but in no event sooner than
January 1, 2003 and, if subsection (b) applies, no sooner than
upon attainment of age 50. The reinstated pension shall include
any one-time or annual increases in the survivor's pension
received prior to the date of termination, but not any
increases that would otherwise have accrued from the date of
termination to the date of reinstatement.
This subsection (c) applies notwithstanding Section 17-157
and without regard to whether the deceased teacher was in
service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 92nd General Assembly.

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(d) Except as provided in subsection (c), remarriage of
the surviving spouse prior to September 1, 1983 while in
receipt of a survivor's pension shall permanently terminate
payment thereof, regardless of any subsequent change in marital
status; however, beginning September 1, 1983, remarriage of a
surviving spouse after attainment of age 55 shall not terminate
the survivor's pension.
A surviving spouse whose pension was terminated on or after
September 1, 1983 due to remarriage after attainment of age 55,
and who applies for reinstatement of that pension before
January 1, 1990, shall be entitled to have the pension
reinstated effective January 1, 1990.
(e) A surviving spouse of a member or annuitant under this
Fund who is also a dependent beneficiary under the provisions
of Section 16-140 is eligible for a reciprocal survivor's
pension, provided that any refund of survivor's pension
contributions is repaid to the Fund and application is made
within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 92nd General Assembly.
(f) If a refund of contributions for survivor's pension
has been paid, a person choosing to establish or reestablish
the right to receive a survivor's pension pursuant to the
changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 92nd
General Assembly must first repay to the Fund the amount of the
refund of contributions for survivor's pension, together with
interest thereon at the rate of 5% per year, compounded

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annually, from the date of the refund to the date of repayment.
(Source: P.A. 92-416, eff. 8-17-01; 92-599, eff. 6-28-02.)
(40 ILCS 5/17-122) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-122)
Sec. 17-122. Survivor's and children's pensions - Amount.
Upon the death of a teacher who has completed at least 1 1/2
years of contributing service with either this Fund or the
State Universities Retirement System or the Teachers'
Retirement System of the State of Illinois, provided his death
occurred while (a) in active service covered by the Fund or
during his first 18 months of continuous employment without a
break in service under any other participating system as
defined in the Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act
except the State Universities Retirement System and the
Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, (b) on a
creditable leave of absence, (c) on a noncreditable leave of
absence of no more than one year, or (d) a pension was deferred
or pending provided the teacher had at least 10 years of
validated service credit, or upon the death of a pensioner
otherwise qualified for such benefit, the surviving spouse,
eligible and unmarried minor children of the deceased teacher
under age 18, and dependent parents of the deceased teacher
shall be entitled to pensions, under the conditions stated
hereinafter. Such survivor's and children's pensions shall be
based on the average of the 4 highest consecutive years of
salary in the last 10 years of service or on the average salary

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for total service, if total service has been less than 4 years,
according to the following percentages:
30% of average salary or 50% of the retirement pension
earned by the teacher, whichever is larger, subject to the
prescribed maximum monthly payment, for a surviving spouse
alone on attainment of age 50;
60% of average salary for a surviving spouse and eligible
minor children of the deceased teacher.
If no eligible spouse survives, or the surviving spouse
remarries, or the parent of the children of the deceased member
is otherwise ineligible for a survivor's pension, a children's
pension for eligible minor children under age 18 shall be paid
to their parent or legal guardian for their benefit according
to the following percentages:
30% of average salary for one child;
60% of average salary for 2 or more children.
A disabled child who was dependent upon a deceased teacher
at the time of his or her death whose children's pension was
terminated due to attainment of age 18 may apply to the Fund
for reinstatement of that pension. An application for
reinstatement shall be accompanied by the payment of an amount
equal to (1) the amount of any refund received by the deceased
teacher under Section 17-125 and (2) interest thereon from the
date of the payment of the refund to the date of application
for reinstatement at the rate of 5% per year. The reinstated
pension shall begin to accrue on the first day of the month

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following the month the application is received by the Fund,
but in no event sooner than January 1, 2010. However, if the
pension is payable to anyone else, the pension shall not be
reinstated until the pension is no longer payable to any
eligible surviving spouse or other eligible children. A
reinstated annuity shall include any one-time or annual
increases received prior to the date of termination, as well as
any increases that would otherwise have accrued from the date
of termination to the date of reinstatement.
The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of
the 96th General Assembly pertaining to reinstatement of a
children's pension apply notwithstanding Section 17-157 and
without regard to whether the deceased teacher was in service
on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.
If there is no eligible spouse and no eligible child, then
a pension shall be paid to the eligible parents of the deceased
teacher, if any, according to the following percentages:
30% of average salary for one eligible parent;
60% of average salary for 2 eligible parents.
On January 1, 1981, any survivor or child who was receiving
a survivor's or children's pension on or before January 1,
1971, shall have his survivor's or children's pension then
being paid increased by 1% for each full year which has elapsed
from the date the pension began. On January 1, 1982, any
survivor or child whose pension began after January 1, 1971,
but before January 1, 1981, shall have his survivor's or

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children's pension then being paid increased 1% for each full
year which has elapsed from the date the pension began. On
January 1, 1987, any survivor or child whose pension began on
or before January 1, 1977, shall have the monthly survivor's or
children's pension increased by $1 for each full year which has
elapsed since the pension began.
Beginning January 1, 1990, every survivor's and children's
pension shall be increased (1) on each January 1 occurring on
or after the commencement of the pension if the deceased
teacher died while receiving a retirement pension, or (2) in
other cases, on each January 1 occurring on or after the first
anniversary of the commencement of the pension, by an amount
equal to 3% of the current amount of the pension, including all
increases previously granted under this Article,
notwithstanding Section 17-157. Such increases shall apply
without regard to whether the deceased teacher was in service
on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991,
but shall not accrue for any period prior to January 1, 1990.
Subject to the minimum established below, the maximum
amount of pension for a surviving spouse alone or one minor
child shall be $400 per month, and the maximum combined
pensions for a surviving spouse and children of the deceased
teacher shall be $600 per month, with individual pensions
adjusted for all beneficiaries pro rata to conform with this
limitation. If proration is unnecessary the minimum survivor's
and children's pensions shall be $40 per month. The minimum

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total survivor's and children's pension payable upon the death
of a contributor or annuitant which occurs after December 31,
1986, shall be 50% of the earned retirement pension of such
contributor or annuitant, calculated without early retirement
discount in the case of death in service.
On death after retirement, the total survivor's and
children's pensions shall not exceed the monthly retirement or
disability pension paid to the deceased retirant. Survivor's
and children's benefits described in this Section shall apply
to all service and disability pensioners eligible for a pension
as of July 1, 1981.
For the purposes of this Section, the term "eligible child"
means an unmarried minor child of a deceased teacher who is
under 18 years of age or a child of a deceased teacher who is
disabled and was dependent upon the deceased teacher at the
time of his or her death.
For the purposes of this Section, the term "eligible
parent" means a parent of a deceased teacher who was dependent
upon the teacher at the time of his or her death.
In this Article, the term "survivor's and children's
benefits" includes benefits paid to an eligible parent and the
term "survivor's and children's pension" includes a pension
paid to an eligible parent, unless the context requires
otherwise.
(Source: P.A. 90-32, eff. 6-27-97; 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)

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(40 ILCS 5/17-124) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-124)
Sec. 17-124. Death Benefits - Death on pension. On written
application to the Board, there shall be paid to the estate of
a deceased teacher-pensioner pension payments, accrued,
temporarily withheld or represented by checks uncashed at the
date of his death and the excess, if any, of an amount equal to
his refundable contributions for service or disability
retirement pension over pension to the date of death; provided,
that if there be filed with the Board prior to the death of the
pensioner his written direction, signed and acknowledged
before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments, that such
payments be paid to designated beneficiaries, they shall be so
paid on written application therefor to the Board. If none of
several named beneficiaries survives the pensioner and no
directive was furnished by the member to cover this
contingency, the deceased beneficiary's share shall be paid to
the estate of the pensioner.
If a reversionary pension is payable upon death of a
pensioner, the determination and payment of any refund of
contributions payable under this Section shall be made upon
death of the reversionary pensioner. At such time a refund of
contributions less (1) the amount contributed for annual
increases in pension and (2) total pension payments to the
teacher-pensioner and survivor shall be paid in the manner
provided in this Section to the designated beneficiaries, or
estate of the deceased survivor.

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If a pension is payable to a surviving spouse, eligible
child, or an eligible parent and/or minor children upon death
of a pensioner, the determination of any refund of
contributions payable under this Section shall be made when the
last of those pensions is no longer payable upon death of the
survivor and marriage or attainment of age 18 of minor
children. At that time a refund of contributions for retirement
and survivors' and children's pensions less total pension
payments to the teacher-pensioner, surviving spouse, eligible
survivor and minor children, and eligible parents shall be paid
in the manner provided in this Section to the designated
beneficiaries, or estate of the deceased survivor.
If eligible beneficiaries for survivors' or children's
benefits existed at the time of a pensioner's retirement but
not on the date of his death thereafter, the excess of total
contributions for retirement and survivors' and children's
pensions over pensions paid shall be determined upon death of
the pensioner and paid in the manner provided in this Section
to the designated beneficiaries, or estate of the deceased
teacher-pensioner.
Reversionary or survivor's pension payments accrued,
temporarily withheld, or represented by uncashed checks to the
date of death shall be paid to the reversionary pensioner's or
survivor's designated beneficiaries, or estate in the manner
provided in this Section.
On death of a retired teacher whose death occurs on or

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after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, there
shall be payable a lump sum death benefit equal to 6 times the
teacher's salary rate for his last month of service or $10,000,
whichever is less, upon death during the first year on pension
minus 1/5 of the death benefit, as defined herein, for each
year or fraction thereof on pension after the first full year,
to a minimum of $5,000.
Notwithstanding Section 17-157, the changes made in this
Section and Section 17-123 by this amendatory Act of 1991 shall
apply to teachers dying on or after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1991 without regard to whether service
terminated prior to that date.
(Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
(40 ILCS 5/17-125) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 17-125)
Sec. 17-125. Refund of contributions. Upon certification
by the Employer of his resignation or cancellation of his
teaching certificate prior to completion of the minimum term of
service required to establish eligibility for a pension and on
written application therefor, a teacher shall be paid a refund
of all the amounts he has contributed to the Fund, less any
former refund that has not been repaid.
Upon certification by the Employer of his resignation or
cancellation of his teaching certificate after completion of
the minimum term of service required to establish eligibility
for a pension and on written application therefor, a teacher

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shall be paid a refund of all the amounts he has contributed,
less (1) any former refund that has not been repaid, and (2)
pension payments received, provided he has executed and
delivered to the Board his written receipt and release in that
behalf. Thereupon, he shall have no further interest in or
claim against the Fund.
A request for refund under either of the preceding
paragraphs shall be considered valid if withdrawal from service
occurred at least 2 months prior to the filing of such request.
Upon retirement of a teacher either on immediate or
deferred pension, if the teacher is not then married, or if his
spouse, or children, or parents do not meet the qualifying
conditions for survivor's or children's pensions, the total
amount contributed by him or otherwise paid by deductions from
salary for survivor's pension, shall be refunded to him,
without interest. No survivor's or children's pension rights
shall be effective thereafter in such a case.
During a teacher's term of service, no refund is payable
except contributions made in error.
(Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.33 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.33 new)
Sec. 8.33. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8

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of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
the 96th General Assembly.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.