§ 7-150 — Total and permanent disability benefits - Eligibility

Total and permanent disability benefits shall be payable to participating employees as hereinafter provided, including those employees receiving disability benefit on July 1, 1962. (a) A participating employee shall be considered totally and permanently disabled if: 1. He is unable to engage in any gainful activity because of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or be of a long continued and indefinite duration, other than as a result of self-inflicted injury or addiction to narcotic drugs; 2. The Board has received a written certification by at least 1 licensed and practicing physician stating that the employee meets the qualifications of subparagraph 1 of this paragraph (a). (b) A totally and permanently disabled employee is entitled to a permanent disability benefit provided: 1. He has exhausted his temporary disability benefits. 2. He: (i) has at least one year of service immediately preceding the date the disability was incurred and has made contributions to the fund for at least the number of months of service normally required in his position during a 12 month period, or has at least 5 years of service credit, the last year of which immediately preceded the date the disability was incurred; or (ii) had qualified under clause (i) above, but had an interruption in service of not more than 3 months in the 12 months preceding the date the temporary disability was incurred and was not paid a separation benefit; or (iii) had qualified under clause (i) above, but had an interruption after 20 or more years of creditable service, was not paid a separation benefit, and returned to service prior to the date the disability was incurred. Item (iii) of this subdivision shall apply to all employees whose disabilities were incurred on or after July 1, 1985, and any such employee who becomes eligible for a disability benefit under item (iii) shall be entitled to receive a lump sum payment of any accumulated disability benefits which may accrue from the date the disability was incurred until the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987. Periods of qualified leave granted in compliance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act shall be ignored for purposes of determining the number of consecutive months of employment under this subdivision (b)2. 3. He is receiving no earnings from a participating municipality or instrumentality thereof or participating instrumentality, except as allowed under subsection (f) of Section 7-152. 4. He has not refused to submit to a reasonable physical examination by a physician appointed by the Board. 5. His disability is not the result of a mental or physical condition which existed on the earliest date of service from which he has uninterrupted service, including prior service, at the date of his disability, provided that this limitation shall not be applicable to a participating employee who, without receiving a disability benefit, receives 5 years of creditable service. 6. He is not separated from the service of his employing participating municipality or instrumentality thereof or participating instrumentality on the date his temporary disability was incurred; for the purposes of payment of total and permanent disability benefits, a participating employee, whose employment relationship is terminated by his employing municipality, shall be deemed not to be separated from the service of his employing municipality or participating instrumentality if he continues disabled by the same condition and so long as he is otherwise entitled to such disability benefit. 7. He has not refused to apply for a disability benefit under the Federal Social Security Act at the request of the Board. 8. He has not failed or refused to consent to and sign an authorization allowing the Board to receive copies of or to examine his medical and hospital records. 9. He has not failed or refused to provide complete information regarding any other employment for compensation he has received since becoming disabled. (c) A participating employee shall remain eligible and may make application for a total and permanent disability benefit within 90 days after the termination of his temporary disability benefits or within such longer period terminating at the end of the period during which his employing municipality is prevented from employing him by reason of any statutory prohibition.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 101-151, eff. 7-26-19.)