Section 40 ILCS 5/16-136.4 - Single-sum retirement benefit(a) A member who has less than 5 years of creditable service shall be entitled, upon written application to the board, to receive a retirement benefit payable in a single sum upon or after the member's attainment of age 65. However, the benefit shall not be paid while the member is employed as a teacher in the schools included under this Article or Article 17, unless the System is required by federal law to make payment due to the member's age.(b) The retirement benefit shall consist of a single sum that is the actuarial equivalent of a life annuity consisting of 1.67% of the member's final average salary for each year of creditable service. In determining the amount of the benefit, a fractional year shall be granted proportional credit. For the purposes of this Section, final average salary shall be the average salary of the member's highest 4 consecutive years of service as determined under rules of the board. For a member with less than 4 consecutive years of service, final average salary shall be the average salary during the member's entire period of service. In the determination of final average salary for members other than elected officials and their appointees when such appointees are allowed by statute, that part of a member's salary which exceeds the member's annual full-time salary rate with the same employer for the preceding year by more than 20% shall be excluded. The exclusion shall not apply in any year in which the member's creditable earnings are less than 50% of the preceding year's mean salary for downstate teachers as determined by the survey of school district salaries provided in Section 2-3.103 of the School Code.
(c) The retirement benefit determined under this Section shall be available to all members who render teaching service after July 1, 1947 for which member contributions are required.(d) Upon acceptance of the retirement benefit, all of the member's accrued rights and credits in the System are forfeited. Receipt of a single-sum retirement benefit under this Section does not make a person an "annuitant" for the purposes of this Article, nor a "benefit recipient" for the purposes of Sections 16-153.1 through 16-153.4.P.A. 87-11; 91-887, eff. 7/6/2000.