PEN CD-IMRF-SURVIVING SPOUSES

Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that any surviving spouse of an annuitant who (1) retired prior to June 1, 2011, (2) was not married on the date the retirement annuity began, (3) received a specified refund of survivor credits, and (4) died prior to the implementation of Public Act 99-682, which allowed certain annuitants who received a refund of contributions for survivor benefits to elect to repay the refund and have their survivor benefit rights reinstated, may, within a period of one year beginning 5 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act, make an election to re-establish rights to a surviving spouse annuity by paying to the Fund: (1) the total amount of the refund received for survivor credits; and (2) interest thereon at the actuarially assumed rate of return from the date of the refund to the date of payment. Provides that the surviving spouse must also provide documentation proving he or she was married to the annuitant at the time of death and has not subsequently remarried. Provides that the Fund may allow the surviving spouse to repay this refund over a period of not more than 24 months. Provides that, for federal and State tax purposes and to the extent permitted by law, if a surviving spouse pays in monthly installments by reducing the monthly benefit by the amount of the otherwise applicable contribution, the monthly amount by which the surviving spouse's benefit is reduced shall not be treated as a contribution by the surviving spouse but rather as a reduction of the surviving spouse's monthly benefit. Effective immediately.