(a)Except as provided in subsection (b), the disability benefit shall be the greater of (1) 50% of the basic compensation which would have been paid had the participant continued in service for the entire period during which disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary increases subsequent to the date of disability or extra prospective earnings on a summer teaching contract or other extra service not yet entered upon or (2) 50% of the participant's average earnings during the 24 months immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs. In determining the disability benefit, the basic compensation of a participating employee on leave of absence or on lay-off status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic compensation on the date the leave of absence or lay-of
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(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the disability benefit shall be the greater of (1) 50% of the basic compensation which would have been paid had the participant continued in service for the entire period during which disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary increases subsequent to the date of disability or extra prospective earnings on a summer teaching contract or other extra service not yet entered upon or (2) 50% of the participant's average earnings during the 24 months immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs. In determining the disability benefit, the basic compensation of a participating employee on leave of absence or on lay-off status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic compensation on the date the leave of absence or lay-off begins. (b) In lieu of the amount of the disability benefit otherwise provided for in subsection (a) of this Section, for a participant who is employed as a police officer and who incurs a line of duty disability, the disability benefit under this Section shall be the greater of: (1) 65% of the basic compensation that would have been paid had the participant continued in employment for the entire period during which disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary increases subsequent to the date of disability; or (2) 65% of the participant's average earnings during the 24 months immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs. In determining the disability benefit, the basic compensation of a participating employee on leave of absence or on lay-off status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic compensation on the date the leave of absence or lay-off begins. Any police officer who suffers a heart attack or stroke as a result of the performance and discharge of police duty shall be considered to have been injured in the performance of an act of duty and shall be eligible for the calculation of benefits provided for under this subsection (b). A police officer shall be considered to be in the performance of an act of duty while on any assignment approved by the police officer's chief, whether the assignment is on or off the employer's property. The changes made to this Section shall apply to participants whose line of duty disability occurred on or after January 1, 2022. For the purposes of this Section, "line of duty disability" means that, as the result of sickness, accident, or injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an act of duty, the police officer is found to be physically or mentally disabled for employment as a police officer so as to render necessary his or her suspension or retirement from employment as a police officer or is found to be unable to perform his or her duties as a police officer by reason of heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract, resulting from employment as a police officer. If the disability benefit is 50% of basic compensation under subsection (a) or 65% of basic compensation under subsection (b), payments during the academic year shall accrue over the period that the basic compensation would have been paid had the participant continued in service. If the disability benefit is 50% under subsection (a) or 65% under subsection (b) of the average earnings of the participant during the 24 months immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs, payments during the year shall accrue over a period of 12 months. Disability benefits shall be paid as of the end of each calendar month during which payments accrue. Payments for fractional parts of a month shall be determined by prorating the total amount payable for the full month on the basis of days elapsing during the month. Any disability benefit accrued but unpaid on the death of a participant shall be paid to the participant's beneficiary.