Tom Cullerton's initiative to end pension abuse signed into law

VILLA PARK - Between 2010 and 2014, 11 of Illinois' 15 major government pension funds made $2.2 million in payments to more than 1,000 dead people.

State Senator Tom Cullerton's initiative to eliminate government waste, House Bill 6030, was signed into law Friday, which will require state pension funds to develop and implement a process to identify deceased pension recipients each month.

"We can't afford to waste taxpayer dollars," said Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat. "This simple step will reduce waste, fraud and abuse."

Retirement systems do not know a definite amount of pension payments made to deceased annuitants because each pension fund tracks death-related overpayments differently.

This new law will give state pension funds until Jan. 1, 2017, to implement a process to identify deceased recipients at least once a month. The process can include using a third-party company, Social Security Administration data or other available data, as well as any other method that is commonly used by other state retirement systems.

The Better Government Association, a Chicago-based government watchdog organization, expressed support for the new law.

"With this new law, Illinois has taken a strong step toward eliminating abuse and reducing fraud," BGA policy coordinator Judy Stevens said. "By requiring state funds to regularly identify pension recipients who have passed, the law could ultimately result in saving millions of dollars for Illinois woefully underfunded retirement systems."

The law goes into effect immediately.