99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB3629

Introduced , by Rep. Michael J. Zalewski

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/6-229

Amends the Chicago Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In a Section relating to a person who first becomes a fireman on or after January 1, 2011, provides for payment of a minimum widow's annuity, child's annuity, parent's annuity, and duty death benefit. Applies without without regard to whether (i) the death of the deceased fireman may have occurred prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act or (ii) the fireman was in service on or after that effective date. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing
5Section 6-229 as follows:
6 (40 ILCS 5/6-229)
7 Sec. 6-229. Provisions applicable to new hires.
8 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
9the provisions of this Section apply to a person who first
10becomes a fireman under this Article on or after January 1,
112011.
12 (b) A fireman age 55 or more who has 10 or more years of
13service in that capacity shall be entitled at his or her option
14to receive a monthly retirement annuity for his or her service
15as a fireman computed by multiplying 2.5% for each year of such
16service by his or her final average salary.
17 The retirement annuity of a fireman who is retiring after
18attaining age 50 with 10 or more years of creditable service
19shall be reduced by one-half of 1% for each month that the
20fireman's age is under age 55.
21 The maximum retirement annuity under this subsection (b)
22shall be 75% of final average salary.
23 For the purposes of this subsection (b), "final average

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1salary" means the average monthly salary obtained by dividing
2the total salary of the fireman during the 96 consecutive
3months of service within the last 120 months of service in
4which the total salary was the highest by the number of months
5of service in that period.
6 Beginning on January 1, 2011, for all purposes under this
7Code (including without limitation the calculation of benefits
8and employee contributions), the annual salary based on the
9plan year of a member or participant to whom this Section
10applies shall not exceed $106,800; however, that amount shall
11annually thereafter be increased by the lesser of (i) 3% of
12that amount, including all previous adjustments, or (ii)
13one-half the annual unadjusted percentage increase (but not
14less than zero) in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months
15ending with the September preceding each November 1, including
16all previous adjustments.
17 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
18for a person who first becomes a fireman under this Article on
19or after January 1, 2011, the annuity to which the surviving
20spouse, children, or parents are entitled under this subsection
21(c) shall be in the amount of 66 2/3% of the fireman's earned
22pension at the date of death.
23 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the
24monthly annuity of a survivor of a person who first becomes a
25fireman under this Article on or after January 1, 2011 shall be
26increased on the January 1 after attainment of age 60 by the

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1recipient of the survivor's pension and each January 1
2thereafter by 3% or one-half the annual unadjusted percentage
3increase in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months ending
4with September preceding each November 1, whichever is less, of
5the originally granted survivor's annuity. If the annual
6unadjusted percentage change in the consumer price index-u for
7a 12-month period ending in September is zero or, when compared
8with the preceding period, decreases, then the annuity shall
9not be increased.
10 (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of
11this Section:
12 (1) Any surviving spouse of a deceased fireman shall be
13 paid an amount no less than the amount of the minimum
14 widow's annuity, as provided for in Section 6-128.4.
15 (2) If the deceased fireman was an active fireman at
16 the time of his or her death and had completed at least 10
17 years of creditable service, the widow's annuity shall be
18 the greater of (i) 30% of the salary attached to the rank
19 of first class firefighter in the classified career service
20 at the time of the fireman's death, or (ii) 66 2/3% of the
21 retirement annuity that the deceased fireman would have
22 been eligible to receive under subsection (b) of this
23 Section, based upon the actual service accrued through the
24 day before the fireman's death and as if the fireman had
25 attained age 55 on the day before his or her death and
26 retired on that day.

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1 The provisions of this subsection (d) shall apply without
2regard to whether the death of the deceased fireman may have
3occurred prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of
4the 99th General Assembly.
5 (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (c) and
6(d) of this Section, the annuity for a surviving spouse of a
7fireman whose death results from the performance of an act or
8acts of duty shall be an amount as provided for in Section
96-140 of this Article, without regard to the fact that the
10death of the deceased fireman may have occurred prior to the
11effective date of this amendatory Act.
12 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, any
13annuity provided for in this subsection (e) shall be subject to
14the provisions of Sections 6-142, 6-143, and 6-143.2.
15 (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
16(i) each child of a deceased fireman shall be paid a child's
17annuity subject to the conditions in Section 6-147 and as
18provided for in Section 6-148; and (ii) eligibility for a
19parent's annuity, as provided for in Section 6-149, shall not
20be denied to the parent of a deceased fireman because the
21parent's child first became a fireman on or after January 1,
222011. Benefits under this subsection (f) shall be paid without
23regard to the fact that the death of the deceased fireman may
24have occurred prior to the effective date of this amendatory
25Act.
26 (g) For the purposes of Section 1-103.1 of this Code, the

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1changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th
2General Assembly apply without regard to whether the fireman
3was in service on or after the effective date of this
4amendatory Act.
5(Source: P.A. 96-1495, eff. 1-1-11.)
6 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.