Vella Bill Protecting Law Enforcement Retirement Signed into Law

ROCKFORD, Ill. – To ensure that law enforcement officers are taken care of in their retirement, state Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, passed legislation that was signed into law last week that will protect the retirement benefits of those in law enforcement.

“Everyone deserves the retirement benefits they have been promised, especially our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to serve our community,” said Vella. “This legislation ensures that officers who switch jobs in law enforcement will not have their retirement negatively impacted, allowing them the freedom to pick how they can best serve our community and keep us safe.”

Before Vella’s legislation was signed into law, officers who moved or switched jobs were punished by losing some of their earned retirement benefits. To give law enforcement officers the same ability to make career decisions as others, Vella introduced House Bill 126, which allows law enforcement employees to transfer their retirement credits to different retirement funds instead of losing them.

During his time as a state representative, Vella has worked to support law enforcement. He is a chief co-sponsor of legislation giving first responders access to behavioral health services and treatment. He is also hosting a “Gun Lock Giveaway” event with local law enforcement this summer to help support their efforts to keep guns out of the wrong hands.

“After years of serving their community, law enforcement officers deserve to be able to retire with the benefits they have earned,” said Vella. “I would like to thank the Governor for signing this legislation and look forward to continuing to work to provide resources to law enforcement and support the critical work that they do.”