WEST virginia Legislature
2018 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4289
By Delegates Walters, Pethtel, Anderson, Hamilton, Hollen and E. Evans
[By Request of the West Virginia Municipal Pension Oversight Board.]
[Introduced January 24, 2018;
Referred
to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-22-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to disability pensions of municipal employees; removing provision relating to limitation of nonduty disability retirement; increasing amount of income that may be earned before an offset of benefits is required; and increasing that limit automatically when the minimum wage increases.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 22. RETIREMENT BENEFITS GENERALLY; POLICEMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND; FIREMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND; PENSION PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES OF WATERWORKS SYSTEM, SEWERAGE SYSTEM OR COMBINED WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM.
§8-22-24. Disability pensions.
(a) The monthly sum to be
paid to each member eligible for disability received as a proximate result of
service rendered in the performance of his or her duties under the provisions
of §8-22-23(a) of this code shall be is equal to 60 percent of
the monthly salary being received by such the member, at the time
he or she is so disabled, or the sum of $500 per month, whichever shall
be is greater: Provided, That the limitation provided in subsection
(b) of this section is not exceeded.
(b) Effective for any
member who becomes eligible for disability benefits on or after July 1, 1981,
under the provisions of §8-22-23a of this code, as a proximate result of
service rendered in the performance of his the member's duties
within such departments, his the member’s monthly disability
payment as provided in subsection (a) of this section shall may
not, when aggregated with the monthly amount of state workers' compensation,
result in such the disabled member receiving a total monthly
income from such the sources in excess of one hundred percent of
the basic compensation which is paid to members holding the same position which
such the member held within such the department at
the time of his the member’s disability. Lump sum payments of
state workers’ compensation benefits shall are not be
considered for purposes of this subsection unless such the lump
sum payments represent commuted values of monthly state workers' compensation
benefits.
(c) Any member who has served on active duty with the armed forces of the United States as described in §8-22-27 of this code, whether prior or subsequent to becoming a member of a paid police or fire department covered by the provisions of this article, and who, on July 1, 1986, is receiving or thereafter receives a disability pension, shall receive in addition to the 60 percent or minimum $500 authorized in subsection (a) of this section, one additional percent for each year served in active military duty, up to a maximum of four additional percent.
(d) Beginning on and after
April 1, 1991, the monthly sum to be paid to a member who becomes eligible for
total disability incurred not in the line of duty shall be is the
monthly benefit provided in subsection (a) of this section: Provided, That
the limitation is subsection (b) of this section is not exceeded: Provided,
however That for any person receiving benefits under this subsection
who is self-employed or employed by another, there shall be offset against said
the benefits the amount of $1 for each $3 of income derived from
self-employment or employment by another: Provided further however,
That a person receiving disability benefits must file a certified copy of his
or her tax return on or before the April 15 of each year to demonstrate
either unemployment or income earned from self-employment or employment by
another: And provided Provided further, That there shall
be is no offset of benefit for any income derived from
self-employment or employment by another when the annual total amount of such
the income is $7,500 $18,200 or less.
(e) The $18,200 limit in subsection (d) of this section shall be automatically increased when the minimum wage increases, by the same percentage of the increase in the minimum wage.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the amount of income that may be earned by a person receiving a municipal disability pension before an offset of benefits is required. The bill also provides an automatic increase to that limit when the minimum wage increases. The bill also eliminates language that is unnecessary and without practical effect. This bill was recommended for introduction by the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.