Maduff has been hard at work fighting to preserve Illinois Retiree’s Pension Rights. Last year, the Illinois General Assembly enacted a law – Senate Bill 1313 – requiring that deductions be made from the monthly pension payments of retired public employees. The State started last year by deducting 2% of the monthly payment (1% for those on Medicare.)
Lawsuits were filed and in early July, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that health care benefits are part of the pension rights of public employees (Kanerva v. Weems, 2014 IL 115811). Meanwhile, Illinois doubled the amount it was deducting from 2%-4%. (If the State were to continue in that pattern, in another five years, nearly two thirds of a retiree’s pension would be deducted and after that, the entire pension check would be taken.)
With the Supreme Court’s Kanerva opinion in hand, Maduff immediately began contacting appropriate people in the Governors’ Office, the State General Assembly, and the Department of Central Management Services. Included within those letters was an analysis of the Kanerva decision. Copies of the letters can be found here. In response, on August 11, 2014, the State withdrew the new rule doubling the deduction. Retirees should see any such deductions return to the pre July 1, 2014 levels.
Contact Maduff & Maduff for immediate help if you have questions about your Pension. Meanwhile, the fight to end the deductions altogether continues.