Page 19 - January 2016

Funding stuck, not getting to neutral
Ihopetha tyourholi day’s we reenjo yable,bu tn owit’s Unifor m ed Se rvices Em plo yme nt an d timeto getbac kto work.I wouldlo vetore portto yo uthat Reemp loym entRightsAct(USERRA)
months and the stale m ate i n Springf ield cont inues .

He re in C hica go, ou r e lected officials re cently vo ted to

Mili tary o fficers take no te: It has c ome to th e attenti on of the Fund
b u y b a c k t h e i r m i l i t a r y t i m e o v e r t h e s p a n o f

give you and me a hefty

several years pr ior to r etirement.
tax increase. The mayor

sold his plan to the alder-
Acco rdi ng to th e US ERRA ru les : “If
t he
dollars into the fund and claim he kept

p e r 5 C . F . R . P a r t 1 6 2 0 , a s a m e n d e d b y i n t e r i m
hisword. However,thefactofthematter

rule published 60 F.R. 1999 0 (21 Apr.95 ), a nd
is that this Fund requested $592,863,325

in 2016. If this amount was received, the

final rule pu blis hed 62 F. R. 18 234 (14 Apr.97).”
Fundshou ldbecas hneu tral, meani ng
the cash intot heFun disequa lto the
Effective immediately, the Fund must adhere totheUSERRApolicy.Whenreturningmilitary

officers are in the academy during your retread

ben efitspaidou t.Ifthisfundin gdidhap-

period, I would suggest that you contact the
pen,it would be thefirst timein more

than25yea rsthat theFundwou ldbe
Fund at 312-744-3891 and inquire about your

lost time accrued during your stint in the military service.
cash neutral. Since the early 1990s, the Fund has been liquidating more

Stay safe, officers. God bless you and God bless America. d
assets to pay retirement and disability benefits.

PENSION UPDATE
MICHAEL K. LAPPE

fixingourpe nsion hasbe gu n,but ithasn ot.It’sbeen six

that du ring past y ears, the F un d allow ed re turn ing m ilita ry officers t o

em ploye r has a pl an that i nvo lves em ployee

contributions after returning to work. The
men and publicly stated
cont ributio ns, t he employee must make up the

how the new revenue will

employee has a period of three times the period
b e g o i n g t o t h e p e n s i o n
systems in Chicago. My qu estion to th e
of absence for military service, not to exceed five
mayor would be: Ex actly h ow much
years, to make up the contributions. No interest
money will be deposi ted in the Chic ago

Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund?

employees are entitled to a period of four times
Sure, he could put a few million

t heperiodofa bsencetom akeup contri butions ,

may be charged by the employer. Federal
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2016 19