Greg Pyle’s Pension Rights

Greg Pyle.  Photo provided by McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

Greg Pyle. Photo provided by McHenry County Sheriff’s Department.

The Chicago Tribune story about ex-Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky seeking to have his $4,900 a month pension reinstated brought to mind the question of Greg Pyle’s pension status.

Sandusky wants it for his wife.

Sandusky’s sex crimes against young men were related to his state job.

So far, Pyle’s guilty adjudication does not.

His crimes affect only his family.

Pyle is a member of the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Personnel (SLEP) plan Tier 1.

Members must be at least age 50 and have at least 20 years of SLEP service credit to qualify for a SLEP pension.

Pyle is 38.

Greg Pyle's salary with the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

Greg Pyle’s salary with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department.

He worked for the Sheriff’s Department for ten years.

According to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, here’s how the pension would be calculated:

The amount of the benefit is based on the retiree’s Final Rate of Earnings (FRE) and his or her years of IMRF service credit. The SLEP pension formula is 2.5% of the FRE for each year of service credit. So a SLEP retiree with 20 years of service credit would receive a pension equal to 50% of his or her FRE.

Pyle availed himself of a Federal Public Defender.

However, Pyle withdrew his contributions in April of last year.

“At the time he took a refund, Mr. Pyle had 10 years and 6 months of IMRF service credit, which were forfeited with his refund,” IMRF writes.

“Mr. Pyle received a refund of $55,373.49, which was the amount he paid in member contributions only (IMRF refunds do not include interest or any employer contributions).

“Because the refund terminated all of Mr. Pyle’s service credit in the system, he is not currently a member of the system nor is he eligible to receive any benefit from IMRF.

“In order to reestablish his service, he would need to return to participation in IMRF or a reciprocal pension system for at least two years and then repay the refund, plus interest.”


Comments

Greg Pyle’s Pension Rights — 8 Comments

  1. Note the employee was earning over $100K after his 9th year on the job.

    The soaring salaries are one major reason for the high pension costs of IMRF.

    IMRF is well funded because the employers have been funding much more than the employees, and a good portion of the employer IMRF funding appears as a line item on your property tax bill.

    The employee contributed $55K to his pension.

    The employer would have contributed much more.

    What amount did the employer contribute to Pyle’s pension?

    Was Pyle able to withdraw the employer contribution as well?

    Once again, in IMRF and the State pensions (TRS, SERS, SURS, GARS JRS),
    employees contribute much less to their pensions than employers.

    Few if any private sector employers contribute as much employee retirement as IMRF, TRS, SERS, SURS, GARS, and JRS.

    Remember for instance in the case of TRS, the State contribution is actually on behalf of the employer, and is thus an employer contribution.

    Plus Retirees receiving a State or IMRF pension in Illinois typically recoup their lifetime contributions in 1 – 3 years in retirement.

    Not mentioned is how employees can also exchange unused sick days for years of service credit to retire early, which is very common for teachers and administrators and police.

    The pension reform passed last year is just a small fraction of the necessary reforms needed to put the pensions on a sustainable track without substantially increases taxes and fees or reducing services.

    The income tax increase that was passed a few years back together with the pension reform last year is not enough to fund
    the pensions and pay outstanding invoices to state vendors.

    That’s why there is talk of another tax.

    Rutherford the State Treasurer running for Governor said he cannot rule out additional taxes.

    The real problem is the pension benefit increases added to state law since 1971, plus the big salary and benefit increases at the local level, plus the healthcare increases added.

    Have COGFA go back to 1970 and calculate what those benefit increases have done to pensions.
    COGFA has not done that.

    COGFA does not want to make the legislators look bad.

    And it sure doesn’t help that in some past years union lobbyists recommended shorting funding pensions and shift the funding to General State Aid in which case the money could be used to hire additional employees or give them increases.

    How many private employers do you know that issued bonds to fund 401k’s or private pensions?

    That’s how messed up the State of Illinois is, they borrowed money to fund pensions.

    Those are called Pension Obligation Bonds.

    Not to mention the Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency of the Federal Government, charged the State of Illinois, and settled with the State of Illinois, for misleading bond investors in their bond disclosure documents.

    http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1365171513202#.Us-3Uvs2h_E

    http://www.state.il.us/budget/disclosures.asp

    If the State of Illinois misled bond investors, how forthcoming do you think the State of Illinois has been with its taxpayers?

    State pensions and state finances are in shambles, and the state legislature and Governors office has been run like a greedy self serving immature amateur outfit.

  2. I think the real story here is that he made 3.5x his salary in 10 years where most would absolutely love a 3.5% raise per year!

    Based on 3.5% increases per year he would have made $43,547 after the same time frame, not $104,795.

  3. I’m pretty sure that most of that big jump was probably a lot of overtime earned that year plus the normal union raises per contract.

    Look at the last year- considerably less because he was arrested then.

    Took out what he put into the pension with NO additional benefits- good.

    Now he can rot in prison

  4. Mark; I’m fairly sure that when you withdraw from IMRF you only get back the money you put into the fund.

  5. The laws should be changed to lock down any child predators retirement funds, 401k’s ect.

    Those funds should then be under the control of the court via a guardian accountable to the court just as personal injury awards are protected for a minor until that injured minor reaches majority.

    The victim in this case had this law been in place, would at least have some renumeration. ( not that any dollar amount could ever compensate these injured victims)

    As the law stands, these children get nothing to help them should they need psychological help in the future.

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