If an employee has unused, unpaid sick days, they may qualify for a maximum of one year (240 days - 1,920 hours) of additional service credit for unused, unpaid sick days. Sick days used toward IMRF service credit cannot also be applied to health insurance credit or compensation detailed in sections 5.7 and 5.8. You earn one month of service credit for every 20 days of unused, unpaid sick leave or fraction thereof. For example:
Unused, Unpaid Sick Days Additional Month of Service Credit
1-20 1 month
21-40 2 months
41-60 3 months
61-80 4 months
81-100 5 months
101-120 6 months
etc. up to 240 days
To convert the sick days to service credit, the sick days must meet certain criteria. You must not have received compensation of any kind–including payment of amounts less than your regular salary–for the sick leave. And the sick leave must have been accumulated under a written plan established by your employer and available to all employees or to a class of employees.
This additional service credit applies:
• If you are leaving employment for retirement. The sick leave must have been earned under an established sick leave plan available to all employees or a class of employees, and the effective date of your pension must be within 60 days of your last day of participation in IMRF.
• If a member dies while participating in IMRF and a surviving spouse pension is payable. Because a surviving spouse pension is based on the pension the deceased member had earned, IMRF includes unused, unpaid sick days when calculating a surviving spouse pension.
For employees in Tier I please note: converted sick leave credit cannot be used to meet the following service requirements:
• Eight years for an IMRF pension,
• 35 years for an unreduced pension under age 60, or
• 20 years for the IMRF Early Retirement Incentive
For Employees in Tier II please note converted sick leave credit cannot be used to meet the following service requirements:
• 10 years for an IMRF pension
• 35 years for an unreduced pension at age 62
(Ord. 23-1853, passed 5-3-23)