HB 4984 Summary

• Amends Illinois Pension Code for State Universities and Downstate Teacher pension systems to replace the 6% earnings increase threshold with the unadjusted consumer price index-u (CPI-U) for academic/school years beginning July 1, 2016 and thereafter.

• Employers must pay additional pension contributions to the System when a participant's earnings exceed the previous year's earnings by more than the annual CPI-U percentage increase, calculated based on the present value of resulting benefit increases.

• Defines "consumer price index-u" as the Bureau of Labor Statistics index measuring average price changes for goods and services purchased by all urban consumers (1982-84 = 100).

• Applies new CPI-based threshold to State Universities employees (Section 15-155) and Downstate Teachers (Section 16-158), with similar billing, recalculation, and payment procedures as the previous 6% threshold.

• Amends State Mandates Act to exempt this mandate from state reimbursement requirements and takes effect immediately upon becoming law.