Bill Text: IL SB1264 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Chaptered


Bill Title: Amends the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. Provides, with exceptions, that the Act does not apply to any annuity, pension, or benefit fund held in a fiduciary capacity by a retirement system, pension fund, or investment board created under any Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that property presumed abandoned in an annuity, pension, or benefit fund shall be reported by the retirement system, pension fund, or investment board to the administrator. Provides that no retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall pay or deliver any annuity, pension, or benefit fund to the administrator. Provides, with exceptions, that the provisions are retroactive to January 1, 2018. Provides that a retirement system, pension fund, or investment board created under specified Articles of the Illinois Pension Code shall meet or exceed specified minimum standards for due diligence if an annuity, pension, or benefit fund would otherwise be presumed abandoned. Provides that a retirement system, pension fund, or investment board does not need to engage in due diligence if: the property is no longer presumptively abandoned because an apparent owner responds or otherwise indicates interest in the property in response to the due diligence efforts; or the property has a value of less than $50. Provides that the administrator and each retirement system, pension fund, and investment board shall enter into an interagency agreement concerning the implementation of the compliance provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-08-23 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0546 [SB1264 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB1264-Chaptered.html



Public Act 101-0546
SB1264 EnrolledLRB101 07891 LNS 52946 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act is
amended by adding Sections 15-1505 and 15-1506 as follows:
(765 ILCS 1026/15-1505 new)
Sec. 15-1505. Application.
(a) Except as provided in this Section and Section 15-1506,
this Act does not apply to any annuity, pension, or benefit
fund held in a fiduciary capacity by or on behalf of a
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board created
pursuant to any Article of the Illinois Pension Code.
(b) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 101st General Assembly, property presumed abandoned in
an annuity, pension, or benefit fund held in a fiduciary
capacity by or on behalf of a retirement system, pension fund,
or investment board created pursuant to any Article of the
Illinois Pension Code shall be reported by the retirement
system, pension fund, or investment board to the administrator
within the time in subsection (a) of Section 15-403 by
providing: (i) the name of the owner and the names of any
beneficiaries; (ii) the last known address, if known; (iii) the
Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, if
known or readily ascertainable; and (iv) the dollar amount.
(c) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 101st General Assembly, a retirement system, pension
fund, or investment board created pursuant to Article 3, 4, or
22 of the Illinois Pension Code shall also comply with the
provisions of Section 15-1506.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
no retirement system, pension fund, or investment board created
pursuant to any Article of the Illinois Pension Code shall pay
or deliver any annuity, pension, or benefit fund held in a
fiduciary capacity to the administrator.
(e) For the purposes of this Section and Section 15-1506,
property is presumed abandoned in accordance with Article 2 of
this Act.
(f) Except for subsections (b) and (c), this Section is
operative retroactively to January 1, 2018.
(765 ILCS 1026/15-1506 new)
Sec. 15-1506. Compliance provisions.
(a) This Section applies only to a retirement system,
pension fund, or investment board created pursuant to Article
3, 4, or 22 of the Illinois Pension Code.
(b) Each retirement system, pension fund, or investment
board shall meet or exceed the minimum standards for due
diligence specified in this Section. If an annuity, pension, or
benefit fund held in a fiduciary capacity by the retirement
system, pension fund, or investment board would otherwise be
presumed abandoned in accordance with Section 15-202, then the
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
engage in the following due diligence:
(1) Use mail, telephone, and electronic mail. The
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
attempt, not less than 90 days before filing the report
under subsection (b) of Section 15-1505, to contact the
apparent owner using, in any order, first-class United
States mail, telephone, and electronic mail. The
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
use the most current contact information available for the
apparent owner. The retirement system, pension fund, or
investment board shall use these routine methods in its
initial attempts to contact the apparent owner. If the
apparent owner does not respond or otherwise indicate
interest in the property in response to these routine
methods, then the retirement system, pension fund, or
investment board shall take the additional due diligence
steps outlined in this Section to locate the apparent owner
or a beneficiary.
(2) Use certified mail. The retirement system, pension
fund, or investment board shall send to the apparent owner
a notice using certified United States mail not less than
60 days before filing the report under subsection (b) of
Section 15-1505.
(3) Check related plan and employer records. The
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
ask any employer, and any former employer, of the apparent
owner and any other retirement system, pension fund, or
investment board to search its records for more current
contact information for the apparent owner as well as for
more current contact information for any beneficiaries.
Unless prohibited by law of this State other than this Act,
on request of a retirement system, pension fund, or
investment board pursuant to this Section, each officer,
agency, board, commission, division, and department of
this State, body politic and corporate created by this
State for a public purpose, and political subdivision of
this State shall make its books and records available to
the retirement system, pension fund, or investment board
and cooperate with such retirement system, pension fund, or
investment board to determine the current address of an
apparent owner of property covered by Section 15-1505.
(4) Attempt to contact designated beneficiaries. The
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
try to identify and contact any individual that the
apparent owner has designated as a beneficiary to find
updated contact information for the apparent owner. The
retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
attempt to contact beneficiaries, if any, using, in any
order, first-class United States mail, telephone calls,
and electronic mail if the retirement system, pension fund,
or investment board has the relevant contact information
for such beneficiaries.
(5) Use electronic search tools. The retirement
system, pension fund, or investment board shall make
reasonable use of Internet search tools that do not charge
a fee to search for an apparent owner, including Internet
search engines, public record databases, obituaries, and
social media.
(6) Use additional steps if the property is over
$1,000. The retirement system, pension fund, or investment
board shall take additional due diligence steps if the
apparent owner's property is valued at more than $1,000.
Such additional due diligence includes the use of Internet
search tools, commercial locator services, credit
reporting agencies, information brokers, investigation
databases, and analogous services that may involve
charges.
(c) If the property is no longer presumptively abandoned
because an apparent owner responds or otherwise indicates
interest in the property in response to the due diligence
efforts of the retirement system, pension fund, or investment
board, then the retirement system, pension fund, or investment
board does not need to engage in further due diligence.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the
contrary, a retirement system, pension fund, or investment
board does not need to engage in due diligence for property
with a value of less than $50, and a retirement system, pension
fund, or investment board does not need to send due diligence
mail or electronic mail to an address that it knows to be
invalid.
(e) The administrator and each retirement system, pension
fund, and investment board to which this Section applies shall
enter into an interagency agreement concerning the
implementation of this Section. The interagency agreement
shall specify that the retirement system, pension fund, or
investment board shall certify at least annually that it meets
or exceeds the minimum standards for due diligence required by
this Section.
(f) If the United States Department of Labor issues
guidance or regulations that conflict with this Section, then
the retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall
comply with that guidance or those regulations.
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