Section 2500.10  Scope

 

An employee or annuitant may authorize the withholding of a portion of his or her salary, wages or annuity for any one or more of the purposes identified in the State Salary and Annuity Withholding Act [5 ILCS 365].  In addition, an officer, employee, or annuitant may authorize withholding from his or her salary, wages, or annuity of amounts in accordance with the Voluntary Payroll Deductions Act of 1983 [5 ILCS 340].

 

(Source:  Amended at 26 Ill. Reg. 2656, effective February 22, 2002)

 

Section 2500.20  Authorization to Withhold

 

a)         State agencies processing payrolls or annuities through the Comptroller shall include payroll deduction data on vouchers only as authorized in writing by the employee or annuitant.  Deduction authorization forms shall designate the time period during which such forms are in effect (which may be continuous), and shall indicate the purpose and amount of the deductions authorized, and shall be signed by the employee or annuitant.  Such deduction authorization form may contain other information deemed necessary by the State agency with which the deduction authorization form is to be filed.

 

b)         An employee or annuitant may authorize increases in amounts withheld by voluntary deduction without the necessity of filing a new deduction authorization form (i.e., on account of general rate increases for insurance, increases in union dues, etc.).  However, prior to such increase in withholding taking effect, written notice shall be given to the State agency processing payrolls or annuities and to each affected employee or annuitant by the entity to receive the increase.

 

Section 2500.30  Deduction Code Numbers

 

a)         Prior to including voluntary deduction data on a voucher, the State agency shall obtain from the Comptroller the deduction code number for the entity to receive the deductions.  If an agency is requested to initiate deductions for an entity which does not have a deduction code number, the agency shall refer the requesting entity to the Comptroller for issuance of a deduction code number.

 

b)         The Comptroller will issue a deduction code number upon the written request of the chief executive officer of the requesting entity, if such request sets forth information demonstrating that the purpose of the proposed deductions is authorized by law.

 

Section 2500.40  Processing by State Agencies

 

a)         State agencies processing payrolls or annuities through the Comptroller shall develop procedures to be followed by employee and annuitants in authorizing deductions and terminating deductions and shall establish appropriate deadlines for filing authorizations and terminations, so that vouchers authorizing payments to employees or annuitants carry deduction information only as authorized by such employees or annuitants.

 

b)         A State of Illinois warrant shall be mailed by the Comptroller to the entity for which deductions occur once each week after the processing of the salary, wage or annuity payment.  The warrant will be accompanied by a listing of the names of employees or annuitants from whose salary, wage or annuity payment withholdings have been made and the amounts withheld from each of them.

 

Section 2500.50  Special Provisions for United States Savings Bonds

 

a)         For United States Savings Bond deductions only, the State agency receiving the authorization to withhold shall provide a duplicate copy of the deduction authorization form to the Comptroller in such format so that the Comptroller may properly issue the bonds as authorized under 31 USCA 3105.  In addition, written notice of termination of withholding for the purchase of United States Savings Bonds shall be filed with the Comptroller.

 

b)         The minimum amount an employee or annuitant may authorize to be withheld for United States Savings Bonds is $2.50 per pay period.  Whenever a sufficient sum has accumulated in an employee's or annuitant's account in the trust fund established for the purchase of United States Savings Bonds in the denomination selected by the employee in his deduction authorization form, the Comptroller shall purchase such bond on behalf of the employee.  The Comptroller shall not be liable for interest on funds withheld for the purchase of bonds.

 

            United States Savings Bonds must be issued in registered form. Registrations requested must conform with one of the forms as required under 31 USCA 3105.

 

d)         After issuance, the employee or annuitant shall be solely responsible for maintaining records pertaining to bonds issued to him or her (i.e., serial number, date of issuance, denomination of bond, etc.).

 

(Source:  Amended at 26 Ill. Reg. 2656, effective February 22, 2002)

 

Section 2500.51   Special Provisions for Withholding Pursuant to the Voluntary Payroll Deductions Act of 1983

 

a)         A petitioning organization desiring to be designated as a "qualified organization" under the Voluntary Payroll Deductions Act of 1983 (the "Act") must submit written designations from at least 4,000 State employees and/or annuitants indicating that each employee or annuitant intends to authorize withholding for payment to that organization.

 

b)         Petitioning organizations shall submit proposed forms for the written designations to the Comptroller for approval.  The Comptroller will approve the forms where the information set forth in this subsection (b) is included on such forms.  At a minimum, petitioning organizations shall include on the written designation forms the following:

 

1)         Information identifying the petitioning organization;

 

2)         The employee's or annuitant's name (dated signature);

 

3)         The State Agency in which the employee is currently employed, if applicable;

 

4)         The last four digits of the employee's or annuitant's Social Security Number;

 

5)         A statement in prominent type "This is not a payroll deduction authorization.";

 

6)         A statement of the percentage of the organization's total collected receipts from employees' payroll and/or annuitants' deductions that are distributed to the benefiting agencies and the percentage of the organization's total collected receipts from employees' payroll and/or annuitants' deductions that are expended for fund-raising and overhead costs.

 

c)         No fewer than 4,000 employee and/or annuitant designations shall be submitted to the Comptroller by the petitioning organization at one time, in either of the following formats:

 

1)         In a "petition" format with the information established in subsection (b) prominently typed at the top of the page with spaces for up to 100 signatures.

 

2)         In a "card" format, with the information established in subsection (b) typed on each card with a space for signature for only one employee or annuitant. The cards shall not exceed 8 ½ by 11 inches and must be batched in groups of 100.

 

d)         Entities desiring designation as a qualified organization must show entitlement by making the certifications identified in Section 3(b)(2)-(10) of the Act.  The certifications shall be transmitted along with the 4,000 written designations from employees and/or annuitants to the Comptroller at his offices at 325 West Adams Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706 Attention:  Payroll Department, in letter form signed by the chief executive officer (or his equivalent) of the requesting organization.

 

e)         By February 1 of each year, the Comptroller will notify by letter each qualified organization for which the Comptroller's records indicated that fewer than 500 employees and/or annuitants have authorized withholding on behalf of that organization.  The notification shall give the qualified organization until March 1 to provide the Comptroller with documentation that the 500 deduction requirement has been met.  If the qualified organization does not submit evidence that 500 employees and/or annuitants have authorized withholding on behalf of the organization within 30 calendar days after the date of the Comptroller's notification letter, the Comptroller will discontinue withholding for that organization. Evidence of withholding authorization by employees or annuitants may consist of signed payroll or annuity deduction authorization forms that include withholdings on behalf of such organizations or information submitted to the Comptroller by a university or retirement system that documents the number of State and university employees and annuitants who have authorized withholding on behalf of the organization during the prior calendar year.  The Comptroller shall, by March 15 of each year, submit to the Governor or his or her designee, or such other agency as may be determined by the Governor, a list of all organizations that have met the 500 payroll deduction requirement.

 

f)         An employee or annuitant may authorize the withholding of a portion of his salary, wages, or annuity for contribution to a maximum number of four organizations described in Section 3 (b) and (c) of the Act  [5 ILCS 340/4 and 4.5]. Once a State agency has received four currently effective deduction authorization forms from an employee or an annuitant for withholding on behalf of the organizations described in Section 3 (b) and (c) of the Act, the State agency shall accept no further deduction authorization forms for organizations described in Section 3 (b) and (c) of the Act from that employee or annuitant, unless a previously effective deduction authorization is terminated by the employee or annuitant (or by the expiration of the stated term of the prior authorization).

 

g)         As used in this Section, "employee" means any regular officer or employee who receives salary or wages for personal services rendered to the State of Illinois, including an individual hired as an employee by contract with that individual. [5 ILCS 340/3(a)]

 

h)         As used in this Section, "annuitant" means a person receiving an annuity or disability benefit under Article 2, 14, 15, 16 or 18 of the Illinois Pension Code [40 ILCS 5]. [5 ILCS 340/3(f)]

 

(Source:  Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 9151, effective June 2, 2003)

 

Section 2500.60  Insufficient Wages or Annuity

 

Where a person's wages, salary or annuity is insufficient to cover all voluntary deductions he or she has authorized, agencies must not include any voluntary deductions for that pay period or benefit period.

 

Section 2500.70  Precedence of Tax Levies

 

A federal tax levy shall take precedence over the deductions authorized in accordance with these rules.