Public Act 92-0424

House Bill 2367 became Public Act 92-0424 when signed into law by Governor Ryan on Friday, August 17, 2001.

The sections of the Act applying to IMRF can be broken down into several parts:

• Retroactive service credit for elected officials
• Pre-existing condition investigation for disability benefits
• Age 65 reference for disability benefit eligibility
• Separation refunds for vested members age 55 or older
• Change closed 40-year amortization of unfunded liability to “generally accepted accounting principles”

1. Retroactive service credit for elected officials

Old law
Individuals elected to a qualifying elected office had the option of purchasing up to 50 months of qualifying retroactive elected official service once they decided to join IMRF. They could purchase this service without governing body approval. Elected county officials could purchase no more than 50 months of retroactive service. County Board members could purchase more than 50 months if the County Board passed a resolution before January 1, 1999.

New law
Individuals elected to a qualifying elected office may purchase more than 50 months of qualifying retroactive elected official service if the governing body adopts a resolution allowing the elected official to do so. The resolution allowing more than 50 months of retroactive service must be passed by the governing body no later than December 31, 2001.

If your governing body previously adopted a resolution allowing your County Board members to purchase more than 50 months of service credit, that resolution applies only to County Board members. If you wish to extend the option of purchasing more than 50 months of retroactive service to all elected officials, your governing body would pass the resolution (IMRF Form 6.81, “Suggested Form of Resolution to Allow More than 50 Months of Retroactive Service Credit for Elected Officials”). This resolution would apply to all current, former, and future elected officials, including:

• former elected officials who now participate in IMRF with a different employer, and
• reciprocal members who previously held a qualifying elected office

Spreadsheet for estimating costs
If an IMRF employer's governing body is considering passing this resolution, we strongly suggest that you download the spreadsheet to estimate the member and employer costs.

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2. Pre-existing condition investigation for disability benefits

Old law
If a member applied for disability benefits and he or she had fewer than five years of service credit on the date the member became disabled, IMRF conducted a pre-existing condition investigation to determine if the member had been treated for the disabling condition any time during the three-year period prior to his or her IMRF participation date.

New law
The pre-existing condition investigation for members with fewer than five years of service credit is eliminated if the date the member becomes disabled is on or after January 1, 2002. The new law applies only to temporary disability benefits. Members with fewer than five years of service credit will remain subject to pre-existing investigations for total and permanent disability benefits.

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3. Age 65 reference for disability benefit eligibility

Old law
Under the old law, if a member became totally and permanently disabled:
Before age 60 – he or she received IMRF total and permanent disability benefits to age 65.
At age 60 or later – he or she received IMRF total and permanent disability benefits for five years from the date the member became disabled. After age 65, disability benefits are reduced by Social Security retirement benefits.

New law
Changed the reference from “age 65” to “age for a full Social Security old-age insurance benefit” as it applies to disability benefit eligibility. Previously the age for full Social Security benefits was fixed at age 65. That age is now based on date of birth:

Year of Birth	Full Retirement Age*
1937 or earlier	65
1938	65 and 2 months
1939	65 and 4 months
1940	65 and 6 months
1941	65 and 8 months
1942	65 and 10 months
1943-1954	66
1955	66 and 2 months
1956	66 and 4 months
1957	66 and 6 months
1958	66 and 8 months
1959	66 and 10 months
1960 and later	67

*Full retirement ages according to Social Security website, www.ssa.gov.

Under the new law, if a member becomes totally and permanently disabled:

Before age 60 – he or she may receive IMRF total and permanent disability benefits to the age the member becomes eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits.

At age 60 or later – he or she may receive IMRF disability benefits for five years or until the member becomes eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits, whichever is longer.

• If a becomes becomes disabled the same month he or she turns age 60, the member may receive IMRF disability benefits until he or she becomes eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits.
• If the member becomes disabled at age 63, he or she may receive IMRF disability benefits for five years.
  
  IMRF disability benefits will continue to be reduced by the amount of Social Security retirement benefits.

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4. Separation refunds for vested members age 55 or older

Old law
Under the old law, a member who was age 55 or older and who was entitled to a pension of $30 a month or more was not eligible for a separation refund.

New law
These members may receive a refund only if the member will roll over the refund into another defined benefit retirement plan for the purposes of purchasing credit.

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5. Change closed 40-year amortization of unfunded liability to “generally accepted accounting principles”

Technical change. Little or no impact on an employer’s prior service (unfunded liability) costs.

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If you have any questions regarding these changes to IMRF, please call 1-800-ASK IMRF
(1-800-275-4673). Units of government impacted by the change to elected official retroactive service credit will receive a Special Memorandum detailing the change.

To read the detailed Public Act, visit the Illinois General Assembly web site.