10
Factors Involved in Pension Legislation
For Governmental Employees
(Last Installment)
Excerpts from a Eeport Prepared by
the Eesearch Department of the Illinois
Legislative Council, February, 1940.
Disability Benefits
Disability benefits are of two main
types: (a) benefits for disability in
line of duty, and (b) benefits for
ordinary or non-service disability. Re
sponsibility on the part of the govern
mental unit is different in the two
cases, but both are designed to serve
the general purpose of improving the
service by removing employees w h o
have become wholly or partly incapaci
tated, raising the morale of the service,
making more attractive the terms of
employment in order to encourage re
tention in the service of capable men
and to reduce turnover in personnel.
In addition to these aims the duty dis
ability provision involve recognizing the
responsibility on the part of the em
ployer for accidents or disease due to
the occupation.
The risks of duty disability are ob
viously much greater with certain types
of employment than with others and
for this reason it is considered important
to provide for benefits for duty dis
ability at least as regards somewhat
hazardous occupations, such as those
of firemen and police. As the coverage
under public employee pension systems
becomes more general, however, and
emphasis is shifted to the security as
pect of pensions this consideration be
comes of less importance. The more
comprehensive of the systems today
provide for permanent disability pay
ments whether or not disability was
in line of duty, but generally a distinc
tion is made in the amount of benefit
paid and in the division of the costs
as between the employer and employee.
Service - connected disabilities can
normally be compensated under the
separate a c t s relative to workmen’s
compensation and occupational diseases.
Under the Illinois plans no salary de
ductions are made to provide benefits
for duty disability, the entire contribu
tion on this account being made by
the governmental unit. Also, during
the period in which an employee is
disabled, the employer contributes, in
addition to regular employer contribu
tions, amounts equal to the employee’s
salary deductions for the retirement
system, so that the employee’s annuity
rights are not impaired by his disability
or absence from the service. The costs
of providing benefits for non-service
disability are commonly shared by the
employer and employee.
Payments on account of ordinary
disability are generally made, determin
ate upon a minimum length of service,
usually five years, before eligibility may
be attained. Responsibility of the gov
ernmental unit, however, for duty dis
ability is a direct responsibility and be
gins at the time an employee enters the
service.
The more important questions which
arise in the payment of disability bene
fits are: (1) determining the extent of
disability that will entitle the employee
to benefits, and (2) determining the
amount of payments for employees who
are forced to retire because of accident
or illness. Pension systems may provide
that disability benefits are to be paid
only for complete and permanent dis
ability or may provide that the bene
fits will also be paid for partial dis
ability in an amount somewhat pro
portional- to the extent of the disability
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