H. B. 2033
(By Delegate Flanigan)
[Introduced
February 14, 2001
; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-one, article ten,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to considering
certain time served in the armed forces of the United States
as contributing service under the public employees retirement
system for full retirement at age fifty-five with thirty years
of contributing service.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-one, article ten, chapter five of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-21. Deferred retirement and early retirement.
(a) Any member who has five or more years of credited service
in force, of which at least three years are contributing service,
and who leaves the employ of a participating public employer prior
to his or her attaining age sixty years for any reason except his
or her disability retirement or death, shall be entitled to an
annuity computed according to section twenty-two of this article,
as that section was in force as of the date of his or her
separation from the employ of a participating public employer:
Provided, That
he or she the member does not withdraw his or her
accumulated contributions from the members' deposit fund.
His or
her The member's annuity shall begin the first day of the calendar
month next following the month in which
his or her application for
same the annuity is filed with the board of trustees on or after
his or her attaining age sixty-two years the member reaches sixty-
two years of age.
(b) Any member who qualifies for deferred retirement benefits
in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and has ten or
more years of credited service in force and who has attained age
fifty-five as of the date of
his or her the member's separation
may, prior to the effective date of
his or her the member's
retirement, but not thereafter, elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of
his or her the member's deferred retirement annuity
as a reduced annuity commencing on the first day of any calendar
month between
his or her the member's date of separation and his or
her attainment of age sixty-two years and payable throughout
his or
her the member's life.
(c) Any member who qualifies for deferred retirement benefits
in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and has twenty
or more years of credited service in force, may elect to receive
the actuarial equivalent of his or her deferred retirement annuity
as a reduced annuity commencing on the first day of any calendar
month between
his or her the member's fifty-fifth birthday and his
or her attainment of age sixty-two years and payable throughout
his
or her the member's life.
(d) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this
section or of this article, except sections twenty-seven-a and
twenty-seven-b, and pursuant to rules promulgated by the board, any
member who has thirty or more years of credited service in force,
at least three of which are contributing service, and who elects to
take early retirement, which for the purposes of this subsection
means retirement prior to age sixty, whether an active employee or
a separated employee at the time of application, shall be entitled to the full computation of annuity according to section twenty-two
of this article, as that section was in force as of the date of
retirement application, but with the reduced actuarial equivalent
of the annuity the member would have received if
his or her the
member's benefit had commenced at age sixty when
he or she the
member would have been entitled to full computation of benefit
without any reduction.
(e) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this
section or of this article, except sections twenty-seven-a and
twenty-seven-b of this article, any member of the retirement system
may retire with full pension rights, without reduction of benefits,
if he or she is at least fifty-five years of age and the sum of his
or her age plus years of contributing service and limited credited
service, as defined in section two of this article, equals or
exceeds eighty:
Provided, That for the purpose of calculating
retirement eligibility under this subsection, service credited for
time spent in the armed forces pursuant to section fifteen of this
article shall be considered as contributing service.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to allow credit for certain
time served in the armed forces of the United States to count as
contributing service for the purposes of meeting requirements of
the Public Employees Retirement System provision that allows full retirement at age fifty-five with thirty years of contributing
service.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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