Bill Text: IL HB1375 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Downstate Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In certain cases where a deceased firefighter left a surviving minor child but no surviving spouse, increases the pension payable to the guardian of the child from 12% to 20% of the firefighter's monthly salary. For eligible persons receiving the 12% pension on the effective date, the increase takes effect on the pension payment date occurring on or next following the effective date of this amendatory Act. Applies without regard to whether the deceased firefighter was in service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-08-16 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0391 [HB1375 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB1375-Introduced.html

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98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2013 and 2014 HB1375 Introduced , by Rep. Daniel V. Beiser SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/4-114 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-114
30 ILCS 805/8.37 new
Amends the Downstate Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In certain cases where a deceased firefighter left a surviving minor child but no surviving spouse, increases the pension payable to the guardian of the child from 12% to 20% of the firefighter's monthly salary. For eligible persons receiving the 12% pension on the effective date, the increase takes effect on the pension payment date occurring on or next following the effective date of this amendatory Act. Applies without regard to whether the deceased firefighter was in service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning public employee retirement 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 4-114 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/4-114) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-114)
Sec. 4-114. Pension to survivors. If a firefighter who is
not receiving a disability pension under Section 4-110 or
4-110.1 dies (1) as a result of any illness or accident, or (2)
from any cause while in receipt of a disability pension under
this Article, or (3) during retirement after 20 years service,
or (4) while vested for or in receipt of a pension payable
under subsection (b) of Section 4-109, or (5) while a deferred
pensioner, having made all required contributions, a pension
shall be paid to his or her survivors, based on the monthly
salary attached to the firefighter's rank on the last day of
service in the fire department, as follows:
(a)(1) To the surviving spouse, a monthly pension of
40% of the monthly salary, and if there is a surviving
spouse, to the guardian of any minor child or children
including a child which has been conceived but not yet
born, 12% of such monthly salary for each such child until
attainment of age 18 or until the child's marriage,

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whichever occurs first. Beginning July 1, 1993, the monthly
pension to the surviving spouse shall be 54% of the monthly
salary for all persons receiving a surviving spouse pension
under this Article, regardless of whether the deceased
firefighter was in service on or after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of 1993.
(2) Beginning July 1, 2004, unless the amount provided
under paragraph (1) of this subsection (a) is greater, the
total monthly pension payable under this paragraph (a),
including any amount payable on account of children, to the
surviving spouse of a firefighter who died (i) while
receiving a retirement pension, (ii) while he or she was a
deferred pensioner with at least 20 years of creditable
service, or (iii) while he or she was in active service
having at least 20 years of creditable service, regardless
of age, shall be no less than 100% of the monthly
retirement pension earned by the deceased firefighter at
the time of death, regardless of whether death occurs
before or after attainment of age 50, including any
increases under Section 4-109.1. This minimum applies to
all such surviving spouses who are eligible to receive a
surviving spouse pension, regardless of whether the
deceased firefighter was in service on or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly, and notwithstanding any limitation on maximum
pension under paragraph (d) or any other provision of this

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Article.
(3) If the pension paid on and after July 1, 2004 to
the surviving spouse of a firefighter who died on or after
July 1, 2004 and before the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly was less than
the minimum pension payable under paragraph (1) or (2) of
this subsection (a), the fund shall pay a lump sum equal to
the difference within 90 days after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
The pension to the surviving spouse shall terminate in
the event of the surviving spouse's remarriage prior to
July 1, 1993; remarriage on or after that date does not
affect the surviving spouse's pension, regardless of
whether the deceased firefighter was in service on or after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993.
The surviving spouse's pension shall be subject to the
minimum established in Section 4-109.2.
(b) Upon the death of the surviving spouse leaving one
or more minor children, or upon the death of a firefighter
leaving one or more minor children but no surviving spouse,
to the duly appointed guardian of each such child, for
support and maintenance of each such child until the child
reaches age 18 or marries, whichever occurs first, a
monthly pension of 20% of the monthly salary.
In a case where the deceased firefighter left one or
more minor children but no surviving spouse and the

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guardian of a child is receiving a pension of 12% of the
monthly salary on the effective date of this amendatory
Act, the pension is increased by this amendatory Act to 20%
of the monthly salary for each such child, beginning on the
pension payment date occurring on or next following the
effective date of this amendatory Act. The changes to this
Section made by this amendatory Act of the 98th General
Assembly apply without regard to whether the deceased
firefighter was in service on or after the effective date
of this amendatory Act.
(c) If a deceased firefighter leaves no surviving
spouse or unmarried minor children under age 18, but leaves
a dependent father or mother, to each dependent parent a
monthly pension of 18% of the monthly salary. To qualify
for the pension, a dependent parent must furnish
satisfactory proof that the deceased firefighter was at the
time of his or her death the sole supporter of the parent
or that the parent was the deceased's dependent for federal
income tax purposes.
(d) The total pension provided under paragraphs (a),
(b) and (c) of this Section shall not exceed 75% of the
monthly salary of the deceased firefighter (1) when paid to
the survivor of a firefighter who has attained 20 or more
years of service credit and who receives or is eligible to
receive a retirement pension under this Article, or (2)
when paid to the survivor of a firefighter who dies as a

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result of illness or accident, or (3) when paid to the
survivor of a firefighter who dies from any cause while in
receipt of a disability pension under this Article, or (4)
when paid to the survivor of a deferred pensioner. For all
other survivors of deceased firefighters, the total
pension provided under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this
Section shall not exceed 50% of the retirement annuity the
firefighter would have received on the date of death.
The maximum pension limitations in this paragraph (d)
do not control over any contrary provision of this Article
explicitly establishing a minimum amount of pension or
granting a one-time or annual increase in pension.
(e) If a firefighter leaves no eligible survivors under
paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), the board shall refund to the
firefighter's estate the amount of his or her accumulated
contributions, less the amount of pension payments, if any,
made to the firefighter while living.
(f) (Blank).
(g) If a judgment of dissolution of marriage between a
firefighter and spouse is judicially set aside subsequent
to the firefighter's death, the surviving spouse is
eligible for the pension provided in paragraph (a) only if
the judicial proceedings are filed within 2 years after the
date of the dissolution of marriage and within one year
after the firefighter's death and the board is made a party
to the proceedings. In such case the pension shall be

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payable only from the date of the court's order setting
aside the judgment of dissolution of marriage.
(h) Benefits payable on account of a child under this
Section shall not be reduced or terminated by reason of the
child's attainment of age 18 if he or she is then dependent
by reason of a physical or mental disability but shall
continue to be paid as long as such dependency continues.
Individuals over the age of 18 and adjudged as a disabled
person pursuant to Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975,
except for persons receiving benefits under Article III of
the Illinois Public Aid Code, shall be eligible to receive
benefits under this Act.
(i) Beginning January 1, 2000, the pension of the
surviving spouse of a firefighter who dies on or after
January 1, 1994 as a result of sickness, accident, or
injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an
act of duty or from the cumulative effects of acts of duty
shall not be less than 100% of the salary attached to the
rank held by the deceased firefighter on the last day of
service, notwithstanding subsection (d) or any other
provision of this Article.
(j) Beginning July 1, 2004, the pension of the
surviving spouse of a firefighter who dies on or after
January 1, 1988 as a result of sickness, accident, or
injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an
act of duty or from the cumulative effects of acts of duty

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shall not be less than 100% of the salary attached to the
rank held by the deceased firefighter on the last day of
service, notwithstanding subsection (d) or any other
provision of this Article.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, if a
person who first becomes a firefighter under this Article on or
after January 1, 2011 and who is not receiving a disability
pension under Section 4-110 or 4-110.1 dies (1) as a result of
any illness or accident, (2) from any cause while in receipt of
a disability pension under this Article, (3) during retirement
after 20 years service, (4) while vested for or in receipt of a
pension payable under subsection (b) of Section 4-109, or (5)
while a deferred pensioner, having made all required
contributions, then a pension shall be paid to his or her
survivors in the amount of 66 2/3% of the firefighter's earned
pension at the date of death. Nothing in this Section shall act
to diminish the survivor's benefits described in subsection (j)
of this Section.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the
monthly pension of a survivor of a person who first becomes a
firefighter under this Article on or after January 1, 2011
shall be increased on the January 1 after attainment of age 60
by the recipient of the survivor's pension and each January 1
thereafter by 3% or one-half the annual unadjusted percentage
increase in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months ending
with the September preceding each November 1, whichever is

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less, of the originally granted survivor's pension. If the
annual unadjusted percentage change in the consumer price
index-u for a 12-month period ending in September is zero or,
when compared with the preceding period, decreases, then the
survivor's pension shall not be increased.
For the purposes of this Section, "consumer price index-u"
means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the United States Department of Labor that measures the average
change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban
consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84 =
100. The new amount resulting from each annual adjustment shall
be determined by the Public Pension Division of the Department
of Insurance and made available to the boards of the pension
funds.
(Source: P.A. 95-279, eff. 1-1-08; 96-1495, eff. 1-1-11.)
Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.37 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.37 new)
Sec. 8.37. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
the 98th General Assembly.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.