(40 ILCS 5/17-116.3)
Sec. 17-116.3. Early retirement incentives.
(a) A teacher who is covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall not be eligible for the early retirement incentives provided under this Section unless the collective bargaining agent and the Board of Education have entered into an agreement under which the agent agrees that any payment for accumulated unused sick days to which the employee is entitled upon withdrawal from service may be paid by the Board of Education in installments over a period of up to 5 years, and a copy of this agreement has been filed with the Board of the Fund.
To be eligible for the benefits provided in this Section, a person must:
(1) be a member of this Fund who, on or after May 1,
1993, is (i) in active payroll status as a teacher, or (ii) on layoff status from such a position with a right of re-employment or recall to service, or (iii) on leave of absence from such a position, but only if the member on leave has not been receiving a disability benefit under this Article for a continuous period of 2 years or more as of the date of application;
(2) have not previously received a retirement pension
under this Article;
(3) file with the Board and the Board of Education,
before August 15, 1993, a written application requesting the benefits provided in this Section and a notice of resignation from employment, which resignation must take effect before September 1, 1993 unless the applicant's retirement is delayed under subsection (e), (f), or (f-5) of this Section;
(4) be eligible to receive a retirement pension under
this Article (for which purpose any age enhancement or creditable service received under this Section may be used) and elect to receive the retirement pension beginning no earlier than June 1, 1993 and no later than September 1, 1993 or the date established under subsection (e), (f), or (f-5) of this Section, if applicable;
(5) have attained age 50 (without the use of any age
enhancement or creditable service received under this Section) by the effective date of the retirement pension;
(6) have at least 5 years of creditable service under
this Fund or any of the participating systems under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act (without the use of any creditable service received under this Section) by the effective date of the retirement pension.
(b) An eligible person may establish up to 5 years of creditable service under this Section. In addition, for each period of creditable service established under this Section, a person's age at retirement shall be deemed to be increased by an equal period.
The creditable service established under this Section may be used for all purposes under this Article and the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act, except for the purposes of Section 17-116.1, and the determination of average salary or compensation under this or any other Article of this Code.
The age enhancement established under this Section may be used for all purposes under this Article (including calculation of a proportionate pension payable by this Fund under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act), except for purposes of the reversionary pension under Section 17-120, and distributions required by federal law on account of age. However, age enhancement established under this Section shall not be used in determining benefits payable under other Articles of this Code under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act.
(c) For all creditable service established under this Section, the employer must pay to the Fund an employer contribution consisting of 12% of the member's highest annual full-time rate of compensation for each year of creditable service granted under this Section.
The employer contribution shall be paid to the Fund in one of the following ways: (i) in a single sum at the time of the member's retirement, (ii) in equal quarterly installments over a period of 5 years from the date of retirement, or (iii) subject to the approval of the Board of the Fund, in unequal installments over a period of no more than 5 years from the date of retirement, as provided in a payment plan designed by the Fund to accommodate the needs of the employer. The employer's failure to make the required contributions in a timely manner shall not affect the payment of the retirement pension.
For all creditable service established under this Section, the employee must pay to the Fund an employee contribution consisting of 4% of the member's highest annual salary rate used in the determination of the retirement pension for each year of creditable service granted under this Section. The employee contribution shall be deducted from the retirement annuity in 24 monthly installments.
(d) An annuitant who has received any age enhancement or creditable service under this Section and whose pension is suspended or cancelled under Section 17-149 or 17-150 shall thereby forfeit the age enhancement and creditable service. The forfeiture of creditable service under this subsection shall not entitle the employer to a refund of the employer contribution paid under this Section, nor to forgiveness of any part of that contribution that remains unpaid. The forfeiture of creditable service under this subsection shall not entitle the employee to a refund of the employee contribution paid under this Section.
(e) If the number of employees of an employer that apply for early retirement under this Section exceeds 30% of those eligible, the employer may require that, for any or all of the number of applicants in excess of that 30%, the starting date of the retirement pension enhanced under this Section be no earlier than June 1, 1994 and no later than September 1, 1994. The right to have the retirement pension begin before June 1, 1994 shall be allocated among the applicants on the basis of seniority in the service of that employer.
This delay applies only to persons who are applying for early retirement incentives under this Section, and does not prevent a person whose application for early retirement incentives has been withdrawn from beginning to receive a retirement pension on the earliest date upon which the person is otherwise eligible under this Article.
(f) For a member who is notified after July 30, 1993, but before November 29, 1993, that he or she will become a supernumerary or reserve teacher in the 1993-1994 school year: (1) the August 15, 1993 application deadline in subdivision (a)(3) of this Section is extended to December 14, 1993, (2) the September 1, 1993 deadline in subdivision (a)(4) of this Section is extended to December 14, 1993, and (3) the member shall not be included in the calculation of the 30% under subsection (e) and is not subject to delay in retirement under that subsection.
(f-5) For a member who is notified after January 1, 1994, but before March 1, 1994, that he or she will become a reserve teacher in the 1993-1994 school year: (1) the August 15, 1993 application deadline in subdivision (a)(3) of this Section is extended to April 1, 1994; (2) the September 1, 1993 deadline in subdivision (a)(4) of this Section is extended to April 1, 1994; and (3) the member shall not be included in the calculation of the 30% under subsection (e) and is not subject to delay in retirement under that subsection.
(g) A member who receives any early retirement incentive under Section 17-116.4, 17-116.5 or 17-116.6 may not receive any early retirement incentive under this Section.
(h) The version of this Section included in Public Act 88-85 is intended to and shall control over the version of this Section included in Public Act 88-89, notwithstanding Section 6 of the Statute on Statutes. All persons qualifying for early retirement incentives under this Section shall be subject to the limitations and restrictions provided in the version of this Section included in Public Act 88-85, as amended by Public Act 88-511.
(i) In addition to the benefits provided under the other provisions of this Section, every person who receives early retirement benefits under this Section is entitled to one additional year of creditable service and a corresponding year of additional age enhancement, for which no additional contribution is required. Every person who receives early retirement benefits under this Section whose retirement annuity has been calculated on the basis of a 4-year average salary is also entitled to have the annuity recalculated on the basis of the average salary for the 3 highest consecutive years within the last 10 years of service.
The additional benefits provided by this subsection (i) shall begin to accrue on the date the retirement annuity began, notwithstanding Section 17-157. The Fund shall recalculate all annuities originally calculated under this Section to reflect the additional benefits provided under this subsection and shall pay to the annuitant in a lump sum the difference between the annuity payments paid before the date of the recalculation and the recalculated amount of those payments.
(Source: P.A. 92-416, eff. 8-17-01.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015