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| Public Act 103-0523
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| HB2035 Enrolled | LRB103 25367 RPS 51712 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 Sections 13-309, 13-310, 13-314, and 13-706 and by |
adding Section 13-209.5 as follows:
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(40 ILCS 5/13-209.5 new) |
Sec. 13-209.5. Licensed health care professional. |
"Licensed health care professional" means any individual who |
has obtained a license through the Department of Financial and |
Professional Regulation under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 |
or under the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987 or an |
advanced practice registered nurse licensed under the Nurse |
Practice Act.
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(40 ILCS 5/13-309) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-309)
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Sec. 13-309. Duty disability benefit.
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(a) Any employee who becomes disabled, which disability is |
the result of an
injury or illness compensable under the |
Illinois Workers' Compensation Act or
the Illinois Workers' |
Occupational Diseases Act, is entitled to a duty
disability |
benefit during the period of disability for which the employee |
does
not receive any part of salary, or any part of a |
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retirement annuity under this
Article; except that in the case |
of an employee who first enters service on or
after June 13, |
1997 and becomes disabled before August 18, 2005 (the |
effective date of Public Act 94-621), a duty disability
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benefit is not payable for the first 3 days of disability that |
would otherwise
be payable under this Section if the |
disability does not continue for at least
11 additional days. |
The changes made to this Section by Public Act 94-621 are |
prospective only and do not entitle an employee to a duty |
disability benefit for the first 3 days of any disability that |
occurred before that effective date and did not continue for |
at least 11 additional days. This benefit shall be 75% of |
salary at the date disability
begins. However, if the |
disability in any measure resulted from any physical
defect or |
disease which existed at the time such injury was sustained or |
such
illness commenced, the duty disability benefit shall be |
50% of salary.
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Unless the employer acknowledges that the disability is a |
result of
injury or illness compensable under the Workers' |
Compensation Act or the
Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, |
the duty disability benefit shall
not be payable until the |
issue of compensability under those Acts is finally
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adjudicated. The period of disability shall be as determined |
by the Illinois
Workers' Compensation Commission or |
acknowledged by the employer.
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An employee in service before June 13, 1997 shall also |
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receive a child's disability
benefit during the period of |
disability of $10 per month for each
unmarried natural or |
adopted child of the employee under
18 years of age.
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The first payment shall be made not later than one month |
after the
benefit is granted, and subsequent payments shall be |
made at least monthly.
The Board shall by rule prescribe for |
the payment of such benefits on the
basis of the amount of |
salary lost during the period of disability.
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(b) The benefit shall be allowed only if all of the |
following requirements are
met by the employee:
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(1) Application is made to the Board.
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(2) A medical report is submitted by at least one |
licensed health care professional and
practicing physician |
as part of the employee's application.
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(3) The employee is examined by at least one licensed |
health care professional and practicing
physician |
appointed by the Board and found to be in a disabled |
physical
condition, and shall be re-examined at least |
annually thereafter during the
continuance of disability. |
The employee need not be examined by a
licensed health |
care professional and practicing physician appointed by |
the Board if the attorney for the district
certifies in |
writing that the employee is entitled to receive |
compensation
under the Workers' Compensation Act or the |
Workers' Occupational Diseases Act. The Board may require |
other evidence of disability.
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(c) The benefit shall terminate when:
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(1) The employee returns to work or receives a |
retirement annuity paid
wholly or in part under this |
Article;
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(2) The disability ceases;
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(3) The employee attains age 65, but if the employee |
becomes disabled at
age 60 or later, benefits may be |
extended for a period of no
more than 5 years after
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disablement;
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(4) The employee (i) refuses to submit to reasonable |
examinations by licensed health care
physicians or other |
health professionals appointed by the Board, (ii) fails
or |
refuses to consent to and sign an authorization allowing |
the Board to
receive copies of or to examine the |
employee's medical and hospital records,
or (iii) fails or |
refuses to provide complete information regarding any |
other
employment for compensation he or she has received |
since becoming disabled;
or
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(5) The employee willfully and continuously refuses to |
follow medical advice and treatment to enable the employee |
to return to
work. However this provision does not apply |
to an employee who relies in good
faith on treatment by |
prayer through spiritual means alone in accordance with
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the tenets and practice of a recognized church or |
religious denomination, by a
duly accredited practitioner |
thereof.
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In the case of a duty disability recipient who returns to |
work, the employee
must make application to the Retirement |
Board within 2 years from the date the
employee last received |
duty disability benefits in order to become again
entitled to |
duty disability benefits based on the injury for which a duty
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disability benefit was theretofore paid.
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(Source: P.A. 95-586, eff. 8-31-07; 96-251, eff. 8-11-09.)
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(40 ILCS 5/13-310) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-310)
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Sec. 13-310. Ordinary disability benefit.
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(a) Any employee who becomes disabled as the result of
any |
cause other than injury or illness incurred in the performance |
of duty
for the employer or any other employer, or while |
engaged in self-employment
activities, shall be entitled to an |
ordinary disability benefit. The
eligible period for this |
benefit shall be 25% of the employee's total
actual service |
prior to the date of disability with a cumulative maximum
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period of 5 years.
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(b) The benefit shall be allowed only if the employee |
files an
application in writing with the Board, and a medical |
report is submitted by
at least one licensed health care |
professional and practicing physician as part of the |
employee's
application.
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The benefit is not payable for any disability which begins |
during any
period of unpaid leave of absence. No benefit shall |
be allowed for any
period of disability prior to 30 days before |
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application is made, unless
the Board finds good cause for the |
delay in filing the application. The
benefit shall not be paid |
during any period for which the employee receives
or is |
entitled to receive any part of salary.
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The benefit is not payable for any disability which begins |
during any
period of absence from duty other than allowable |
vacation time in any
calendar year. An employee whose |
disability begins during any such
ineligible period of absence |
from service may not receive benefits until
the employee |
recovers from the disability and is in service for at least 15
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consecutive working days after such recovery.
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In the case of an employee who first enters service on or |
after June 13,
1997, an ordinary disability benefit
is not |
payable for the first 3 days of disability that would |
otherwise be
payable under this Section if the disability does |
not continue for at least 11
additional days.
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Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of |
the 94th General Assembly, an employee who first entered |
service on or after June 13, 1997 is also eligible for ordinary |
disability benefits on the 31st day after the last day worked, |
provided all sick leave is exhausted.
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(c) The benefit shall be 50% of the employee's salary at |
the date of
disability, and shall terminate when the earliest |
of the following occurs:
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(1) The employee returns to work or receives a |
retirement annuity paid
wholly or in part under this |
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Article;
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(2) The disability ceases;
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(3) The employee willfully and continuously refuses to |
follow medical
advice and treatment to enable the employee |
to return to
work. However this provision does not apply |
to an employee who relies in good
faith on treatment by |
prayer through spiritual means alone in accordance with
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the tenets and practice of a recognized church or |
religious denomination, by a
duly accredited practitioner |
thereof;
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(4) The employee (i) refuses to submit to a reasonable |
physical
examination within 30 days of application by a |
licensed health care professional physician appointed by |
the
Board, (ii) in the case of chronic alcoholism, the |
employee refuses
to join a rehabilitation program licensed |
by the Department of Public Health of
the State of |
Illinois and certified by the Joint Commission on the
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Accreditation of Hospitals, (iii) fails or refuses to |
consent to and sign an
authorization allowing the Board to |
receive copies of or to examine the
employee's medical and |
hospital records, or (iv) fails or refuses to provide
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complete information regarding any other employment for |
compensation he or she
has received since becoming |
disabled; or
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(5) The eligible period for this benefit has been |
exhausted.
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The first payment of the benefit shall be made not later |
than one month
after the same has been granted, and subsequent |
payments shall be made at least monthly.
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(Source: P.A. 102-210, eff. 7-30-21.)
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(40 ILCS 5/13-314) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-314)
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Sec. 13-314. Alternative provisions for Water Reclamation |
District
commissioners.
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(a) Transfer of credits. Any Water Reclamation District |
commissioner
elected by vote of the people and who has elected |
to participate in this
Fund may transfer to this Fund credits |
and creditable service accumulated
under any other pension |
fund or retirement system established under
Articles 2 through |
18 of this Code, upon payment to the Fund of (1) the
amount by |
which the employer and employee contributions that would have
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been required if he had participated in this Fund during the |
period for
which credit is being transferred, plus interest, |
exceeds the amounts
actually transferred from such other fund |
or system to this Fund, plus (2)
interest thereon at 6% per |
year compounded annually from the date of
transfer to the date |
of payment.
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(b) Alternative annuity. Any participant commissioner may |
elect to
establish alternative credits for an alternative |
annuity by electing in
writing to make additional optional |
contributions in accordance with this
Section and procedures |
established by the Board. Unless and until such
time as the |
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U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the federal courts provide a
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favorable ruling as described in Section 13-502(f), a
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commissioner
may discontinue making the additional optional |
contributions by notifying the
Fund in writing in accordance |
with this Section and procedures established
by the Board.
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Additional optional contributions for the alternative |
annuity shall be
as follows:
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(1) For service after the option is elected, an |
additional contribution
of 3% of salary shall be |
contributed to the Fund on the same basis and
under the |
same conditions as contributions required under Section |
13-502.
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(2) For contributions on past service, the additional |
contribution shall
be 3% of the salary for the
applicable |
period of service, plus interest at the annual rate from |
time to
time as determined by the Board, compounded |
annually from the date of service
to the date of payment. |
Contributions for service before the option is
elected may |
be made in a lump sum payment to the Fund or by |
contributing to the
Fund on the same basis and under the |
same conditions as contributions required
under Section |
13-502.
All payments for past service must be paid in full |
before credit
is given. No additional optional |
contributions may be made for any period
of service for |
which credit has been previously forfeited by acceptance |
of
a refund, unless the refund is repaid in full with |
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interest at the rate
specified in Section 13-603, from the |
date of refund to the date of repayment.
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In lieu of the retirement annuity otherwise payable under |
this Article,
any commissioner who has elected to participate |
in the Fund and make
additional optional contributions in |
accordance with this Section,
has attained age 55, and has at |
least 6 years of service
credit, may elect to have the |
retirement annuity computed as follows: 3% of
the |
participant's average final salary as a commissioner for each |
of
the first 8 years of service credit, plus 4% of such salary |
for each of the
next 4 years of service credit, plus 5% of such |
salary for each year of
service credit in excess of 12 years, |
subject to a maximum of 80% of such
salary. To the extent such |
commissioner has made additional optional
contributions with |
respect to only a portion of years of service credit,
the |
retirement annuity will first be determined in accordance with |
this
Section to the extent such additional optional |
contributions were made, and
then in accordance with the |
remaining Sections of this Article to the
extent of years of |
service credit with respect to which additional optional
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contributions were not made. The change in minimum retirement |
age (from
60 to 55) made by Public Act 87-1265 applies to |
persons who begin
receiving a retirement annuity under this |
Section on or after January 25, 1993 (the effective
date of |
Public Act 87-1265), without regard to whether they are in |
service
on or after that date.
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(c) Disability benefits. In lieu of the disability |
benefits otherwise
payable under this Article, any |
commissioner who (1) has elected to
participate in the Fund, |
and (2) has become permanently disabled and as a
consequence |
is unable to perform the duties of office, and (3) was making
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optional contributions in accordance with this Section at the |
time the
disability was incurred, may elect to receive a |
disability annuity
calculated in accordance with the formula |
in subsection (b). For the
purposes of this subsection, such |
commissioner shall be
considered permanently disabled only if: |
(i) disability occurs while in
service as a commissioner and |
is of such a nature as to prevent the
reasonable performance of |
the duties of office at the time; and (ii) the
Board has |
received a written certification by at least 2 licensed health |
care professionals
physicians appointed by it stating that |
such commissioner is disabled and
that the disability is |
likely to be permanent.
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(d) Alternative survivor's benefits. In lieu of the
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survivor's benefits otherwise payable under this Article, the |
spouse or
eligible child of any deceased commissioner who (1) |
had elected to
participate in the Fund, and (2) was either |
making (or had already made) additional optional
contributions |
on the date of death, or was receiving an annuity calculated
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under this Section at the time of death, may elect to receive |
an annuity
beginning on the date of the commissioner's death, |
provided that the spouse
and commissioner must have been |
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married on the date of the last termination
of a service as |
commissioner and for a continuous period of at least one
year |
immediately preceding death.
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The annuity shall be payable beginning on the date of the |
commissioner's
death if the spouse is then age 50 or over, or |
beginning at age 50 if the
age of the spouse is less than 50 |
years. If a minor unmarried child or
children of the |
commissioner, under age 18 (age 23 in the case of a full-time |
student), also survive, and the child or
children are under |
the care of the eligible spouse, the annuity shall begin
as of |
the date of death of the commissioner without regard to the |
spouse's age.
Beginning on the first day of the month |
following the month in which this amendatory Act of the 96th |
General Assembly takes effect, benefits shall begin on the |
first of the month following the commissioner's date of death |
if the spouse is then age 50 or over or, if a minor unmarried |
child or children of the commissioner, under age 18 (age 23 in |
the case of a full time student), also survive, and the child |
or children are under the care of the eligible spouse. The |
benefit is payable for the full month if the annuitant was |
alive on the first day of the month.
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The annuity to a spouse shall be the greater of (i) 66 2/3% |
of the amount of retirement
annuity earned by the commissioner |
on the date of death, subject to a
minimum payment of 10% of |
salary, provided that if an eligible spouse,
regardless of |
age, has in his or her care at the date of death of the
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commissioner any unmarried child or children of the |
commissioner under age
18, the minimum annuity shall be 30% of |
the commissioner's salary, plus 10%
of salary on account of |
each minor child of the commissioner, subject to a
combined |
total payment on account of a spouse and minor children not to
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exceed 50% of the deceased commissioner's salary or (ii) for |
the spouse of a commissioner whose death occurs on or after |
August 18, 2005 (the effective date of Public Act 94-621), the |
surviving spouse annuity shall be computed in the same manner |
as described in Section 13-306(a). The number of total service |
years used to calculate the commissioner's annuity shall be |
the number of service years used to calculate the annuity for |
that commissioner's surviving spouse. In the event there shall
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be no spouse of the commissioner surviving, or should a spouse |
die while
eligible minor children still survive the |
commissioner, each such child
shall be entitled to an annuity |
equal to 20% of salary of the commissioner
subject to a |
combined total payment on account of all such children not to
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exceed 50% of salary of the commissioner. The salary to be used |
in the
calculation of these benefits shall be the same as that |
prescribed for
determining a retirement annuity as provided in |
subsection (b) of this Section.
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Upon the death of a commissioner occurring after |
termination of a service
or while in receipt of a retirement |
annuity, the combined total payment to
a spouse and minor |
children, or to minor children alone if no eligible
spouse |
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survives, shall be limited to 85% of the amount of retirement
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annuity earned by the commissioner.
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Marriage of a child or attainment of age 18 (age 23 in the |
case of a full-time student), whichever first occurs,
shall |
render the child ineligible for further consideration in the |
payment
of annuity to a spouse or in the increase in the amount |
thereof. Upon
attainment of ineligibility of the youngest |
minor child of the
commissioner, the annuity shall immediately |
revert to the amount payable
upon death of a commissioner |
leaving no minor children surviving. If the
spouse is under |
age 50 at such time, the annuity as revised shall be
deferred |
until such age is attained.
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(e) Refunds. Refunds of additional optional contributions |
shall be made
on the same basis and under the same conditions |
as provided under Section
13-601. Interest shall be credited |
on the same basis and under the same
conditions as for other |
contributions.
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Optional contributions shall be accounted for in a |
separate Commission's
Optional Contribution Reserve. Optional |
contributions under this Section
shall be included in the |
amount of employee contributions used to compute
the tax levy |
under Section 13-503.
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(f) Effective date. The effective date of this plan of |
optional
alternative benefits and contributions shall be the |
date upon which
approval was received from the U.S. Internal |
Revenue Service. The plan of
optional alternative benefits and |
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contributions shall not be available to
any former employee |
receiving an annuity from the Fund on the effective
date, |
unless said former employee re-enters service and renders at |
least 3
years of additional service after the date of re-entry |
as a commissioner.
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(Source: P.A. 95-279, eff. 1-1-08; 96-251, eff. 8-11-09.)
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(40 ILCS 5/13-706) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 13-706)
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Sec. 13-706. Board powers and duties. The Board shall have |
the powers and
duties set forth in this Section, in addition to |
such other powers and
duties as may be provided in this Article |
and in this Code:
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(a) To supervise collections. To see that all amounts |
specified in this
Article to be applied to the Fund, from |
any source, are collected and applied.
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(b) To notify of deductions. To notify the Clerk of |
the Water
Reclamation District of the deductions to be |
made from the salaries of
employees.
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(c) To accept gifts. To accept by gift, grant, bequest |
or otherwise any
money or property of any kind and use the |
same for the purposes of the Fund.
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(d) To invest the reserves. To invest the reserves of |
the Fund in
accordance with the provisions set forth in |
Section 1-109, 1-109.1, 1-109.2, 1-110, 1-111, 1-114, and |
1-115 of this Code. Investments made in accordance with |
Section 1-113 of Article 1 of
this Code shall be deemed |
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prudent. The Board is also authorized to transfer |
securities to the
Illinois State Board of Investment for |
the purpose of participation in any
commingled investment |
fund as provided in Article 22A of this Code.
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(e) To authorize payments. To consider and pass upon |
all applications
for annuities and benefits; to authorize |
or suspend the payment of any
annuity or benefit; to |
inquire into the validity and legality of any grant
of |
annuity or benefit paid from or payable out of the Fund; to |
increase,
reduce, or suspend any such annuity or benefit |
whenever the annuity or
benefit, or any part thereof, was |
secured or granted, or the amount thereof
fixed, as the |
result of misrepresentation, fraud, or error. No such
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annuity or benefit shall be permanently reduced or |
suspended until the
affected annuitant or beneficiary is |
first notified of the proposed action
and given an |
opportunity to be heard. No trustee of the Board shall |
vote
upon that trustee's own personal claim for annuity, |
benefit or refund, or
participate in the deliberations of |
the Board as to the validity of any
such claim. The Board |
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in all
matters |
of claims for annuities, benefits and refunds.
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(f) To submit an annual report. To submit a report in |
July of each year
to the Board of Commissioners of the |
Water Reclamation District as of the
close of business on |
December 31st of the preceding year. The report shall
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include the following:
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(1) A balance sheet, showing the financial and |
actuarial condition of
the Fund as of the end of the |
calendar year;
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(2) A statement of receipts and disbursements |
during such year;
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(3) A statement showing changes in the asset, |
liability, reserve and
surplus accounts during such |
year;
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(4) A detailed statement of investments as of the |
end of the year; and
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(5) Any additional information as is deemed |
necessary for proper
interpretation of the condition |
of the Fund.
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(g) To subpoena witnesses. To compel witnesses to |
attend and testify
before it upon any matter concerning |
the Fund and allow witness fees not in
excess of $6 for |
attendance upon any one day. The President and other
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members of the Board may administer oaths to witnesses.
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(h) To appoint employees and consultants. To appoint |
such actuarial,
medical, legal, investigational, clerical |
or financial employees and
consultants as are necessary, |
and fix their compensation.
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(i) To make rules. To make rules and regulations |
necessary for the
administration of the affairs of the |
Fund.
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(j) To waive guardianship. To waive the requirement of |
legal
guardianship of a person under legal disability or |
any minor unmarried beneficiary of the Fund for a |
representative living with a
parent or grandparent, and |
legal guardianship of any beneficiary under
legal |
disability whose husband, wife, or parent is managing such |
person or
beneficiary's affairs, whenever the Board deems |
such waiver to be in the
best interest of the person or |
beneficiary.
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(k) To collect amounts due. To collect any amounts due |
to the Fund from
any participant or beneficiary prior to |
payment of any annuity, benefit or
refund.
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(l) To invoke rule of offset. To offset against any |
amount payable to
an employee or to any other person such |
sums as may be due to the Fund
or may have been paid by the |
Fund due to misrepresentation, fraud or error.
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(m) To assess and collect interest on amounts due to |
the Fund using the annual rate as shall from time to time |
be determined by the Board, compounded annually from the |
date of notification to the date of payment.
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(Source: P.A. 94-621, eff. 8-18-05; 95-586, eff. 8-31-07.)
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