2019-21 CONTRACT – Article 9

9. Teacher Retirement Incentive Program

9.1: System of Payouts
9.2: Conditions for Payouts
9.3: Severance Pay
9.4: Insurance Points

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9.1 SYSTEM OF PAYOUTS

The Board agrees to provide a retirement incentive program for those teachers who have resigned and retired from the District and met the conditions of the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System.
For Teachers With Less Than 160 Accumulated Sick Days at the End of a Given School Year: At the end of each school year, each teacher shall be given a credit of 1/2 point for each day in attendance that year over 169.
For example, a teacher in a given year is in attendance 177 days for that year, then the teacher shall receive 8 x 1/2 = 4 points for that year toward retirement. If in the next year, the same teacher is in attendance 179 days for that year; the teacher shall receive 10 x 1/2 = 5 points for that year toward retirement. At the end of two years, the teacher would have accumulated 5 + 4 = 9 points toward the retirement plan.
DEFINITIONS: Bonus day – any day in excess of 169 days of attendance in a given year based on a 180 day work year and other extended contracts shall be calculated on a pro-rata basis; attendance day — those days for which you are considered to be in attendance, i.e., workshops, association days, professional growth, etc.
For Teachers With 160 or More Accumulated Sick Days at the End of a Given School Year:

At the end of each school year, each teacher shall be given credit of 1-1/2 points for each day in attendance that year over 169.
For example, if a teacher in a given year is in attendance 177 days for that year then the teacher shall receive 8 x 1-1/2 = 12 points for that year toward retirement. If in the next year, the same teacher is in attendance 179 days for that year the teacher shall receive 10 x 1-1/2 = 15 points for that year toward retirement. At the end of two years, the teacher would have accumulated 12 + 15 = 27 points toward the retirement plan.

C. Teachers Credited Service with District 186 Experience Prior to 1972 -1973

Teachers with credited experience with District -186 prior to the 1972-73 school year who had less than 155 accumulated sick days beginning with the 1972-73 school year shall receive 1/2 point for each accumulated day toward their retirement benefit

Credit for Sick Days:

At retirement. the teacher shall be ‘given a credit of two points per accumulated sick stay not to exceed 90 days for the difference between the number of total sick leave days accumulated at that time by the teacher (not to exceed 360), and 100 sick days.
For example, if at the time of retirement g teacher has accumulated 360 sick leave days then, (360 –,270.= 90 ; 90 x 2 180 points) 180 points will be credited toward retirement for the teacher.
NOTE: Sick leave days used for service credit with ITRS (340 maximum cannot be compensated under the Retirement Incentive Program.
Service Credit

At the time of retirement, the teacher shall receive 10 points per year for each year of credited service granted in the District or with Ball Charter.
For example, a teacher who has 20 years of service credit while in the district and 5 years of service at Ball Charter would have earned at retirement 25 x 10 250 points.
Service credit outside the District or Ball Charter does not apply to this benefit.

Substitution Option:
At his/her option, a teacher who is on the Teacher Retirement Incentive program may gain additional pay towards their post-retirement benefit by substitute teaching for the District. Under this option, the retired teacher shall be guaranteed each year for a maximum of three years, one day of substituting for each year of credited service in the District as defined by 9.1E. The teacher shall decide the number of guaranteed days he/she wishes to teach. The retired teacher shall receive the 50+ Day daily rate paid to certificated substitute teachers as established by the District.Such substitution shall take place in the first three years of retirement.

Application to ITRS for the Early Retirement Option:
If eligible, teachers shall be allowed to apply for the Illinois Downstate Teachers’ Retirement System’s Early-Out Program in addition to the District’s program described above. The District must be in receipt of written notification of intent to retire under the Early Retirement Option from the employee no later than the close of business on the first business day after January 1st of the year they plan to retire. Eligibility for approval of ERO will be determined by district teaching seniority in the year of the employee’s intended retirement. The ERO fund limit shall be set at $250,000.00 for all employees per retirement year. If, upon evaluation of eligibility, the District’s ERO cost for an employee will cause the $250,000.00 limit to be exceeded then the next most senior employee who has complied with the written notification requirement and does not cause the limit to be exceeded may be considered for approval. The District will have discretion to approve anything above the established limit. The District will notify the employee of acceptance or denial of their ERO application by January 30th of the year in which they plan to retire and allow the employee until February 15th to rescind their request.

Six Percent Option:

The maximum creditable earnings increase in the last four years allowed, by TRS without a penalty to the district is 6%.

At the discretion of the teacher, a portion of the retirement benefit earned may be added to each of the teacher’s last four years of earnings in order to reach 6%.

The following examples will illustrate how teachers who are eligible for the Retirement Incentive Program will be affected for creditable earnings.

1. Having given notice of an intent to retire, Teacher A receives a 4% increase in the salary schedule which increases his or her creditable earnings by 104% over the previous year; Teacher A will receive an amount from his or her earned point money which corresponds to an additional 2% raise which increases his or her creditable earnings by 106% over the previous year;
2. Having given notice of an intent to retire, Teacher B receives a 9% increase on the salary schedule by moving over one column and going down a step which increases his or her creditable earnings by 109% over the previous year; Teacher B will not receive any additional amount from his or her earned point money for that year;
3. Having given notice of intent to retire, Teacher C receives both a 5.5% increase on the salary schedule and additional money for attending required after school professional development meetings which together equal an increase of 106.5% over the previous year; Teacher C will not receive any additional amount from his or her earned point money for that year.

The remaining amount of early retirement benefits shall be paid post retirement and paid in two equal installments in the two years following the last year of service.

The amount added to the last years of earnings (maximum of four years) will be paid to the teacher prior to July 1.

Notification Procedures:

Teachers whose resignation is for the purpose of retirement must be approved by the Board of Education by August 1 of the year prior to the last four years of service or in any of the final four years of service. They will be eligible to apply an additional amount of their retirement benefit to their creditable earnings equal to the difference between their creditable earnings and 6%.
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9.2 CONDITIONS FOR PAYOUTS

If a teacher is presently receiving Retirement Incentive benefits, any monies due to a teacher retiring under this program will be guaranteed to the teacher’s beneficiary in the event of the death of the teacher receiving such payments. This, however, shall not include monies due for substitution services not already performed.

The only money due a teacher’s beneficiary prior to being on the Retirement Incentive Plan is that portion of forfeited insurance monies credited under 9.4.

All remaining Teacher Retirement Incentive benefit monies will be paid to the employee as a post-retirement benefit. Post-retirement benefits are paid out annually in two equal installments in the two years following retirement. The payment will be made after July 1.

The benefit amount for a teacher as described in 9.1 of this agreement
shall be determined by the following formula:

  • $30.00 per point for a teacher causing no ERO costs for the District,
  • $24.00 per point for a teacher with 25 or more years of TRS creditable service at the time of retirement and generating ERO costs less than $40,000.00.
  • $15.00 per point for a teacher with less than 25 years of TRS creditable service at the time of retirement or generating ERO costs of $40,000.00 or more.

Extra Duty Provision – Teachers who have submitted a retirement notice will be unable to increase their creditable earnings by adding additional paid duties if it will cause them to exceed the six percent cap. Teachers may drop duties but not add duties that will increase their creditable earnings. See the following list for duties that are not allowed to be added after a retirement notice has been given;

  • Athletic coaching assignment (Appendix E)
  • Extra-curricular assignment (Appendix E)
  • Intramurals
  • Department Chair stipend
  • Driver’s Education (BTW hourly)
  • Changes in assignment that increase contractual length
  • TIL Assignment/Health Services coordinator
  • Administrative Intern Assignment
  • Non-mandated hourly curriculum work
  • LEC late afternoon and night school classes
  • NBPTS teacher stipend (district only)
  • Noon hour supervision
  • Special Education noon-hour supervision
  • Tutoring (AVID approved and other pre-approved duty)
  • Psychologist NCSP Certification stipend
  • Speech Pathologist Clinical Competency stipend
  • Speech Pathologist Assistant supervision
  • Pre-approval required for any other extra-duty not currently authorized

Driver’s Education Teachers who have submitted a letter of intent to retire may not increase the number of hours behind the wheel from the previous year.
Teachers who were not previously eligible for points under the Teacher Early-Out Retirement System of Payouts (expiring August 15, 2008) will under the new Retirement Incentive Program be eligible for a $2,000.00 benefit upon retirement and payable in June of the year of retirement.
A teacher with a retirement contract who is unable to complete the terms of the contract because of the need to resign before the agreed to retirement date will be subject to a recalculated settlement.
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9.3 SEVERANCE PAY

A teacher who leaves the district prior to being of age to qualify for the retirement benefits shall have the point value earned from credited years of service in the district as outlined in 9.1E paid as an additional salary on the June paycheck following resignation according to the following schedule:

  • A teacher with 30 years or more credited years of experience in the district shall receive $10 per point for every point they have earned under 9.1E of this negotiated agreement.
  • A teacher with 25 through 29 credited years of experience in the district shall receive $8 per point for every point they have earned under 9.1E of this negotiated agreement.
  • A teacher with 20 through 24 credited years of experience in the district shall receive $6 per point for every point they have earned under 9.1E of this negotiated agreement.
  • A teacher with 15 through 19 credited years of experience in the district shall receive $4 per point for every point they have earned under 9.1E of this negotiated Agreement.9.4 INSURANCE POINTS

The benefit is restricted to only those teachers who have notified the District previously and are currently waiving or have waived the Board’s contractual insurance benefit(s).
All earned insurance points (dollars) shall be paid post retirement in equal installments in the two subsequent years after the year of retirement.
Insurance points will be paid $20.00 each. The total amount of dollars saved divided by 20 .= the point value x $20.00 for each point.

Upon the death of the employee, the value of the points will be paid to the teacher’s beneficiary.
Insurance point dollars shall not be used to increase the TRS creditable earnings of any eligible teacher.
Insurance point dollars are payable only upon retirement.

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