WEST virginia legislature

2024 regular session

enrolled

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 5273

By Delegates Gearheart, C. Pritt, Anderson, Griffith, Kump, Marple, and Williams

(By Request of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board)

[Passed February 19, 2024; in effect ninety days from passage.]

AN ACT to amend and reenact §16-5V-18, §16-5V-23, §16-5V-24 and §16-5V-35 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System; providing payment upon death of member with less than 10 years of contributory service; providing surviving spouse benefits when member dies from duty or non-duty related cause; and providing age calculation for a member who elected early retirement who then returned to work.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 5V. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT.

§16-5V-18. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or resignation; deferred retirement; preretirement death; forfeitures.

(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not immediately eligible to receive disability or retirement income benefits under this article is, by written request filed with the board, entitled to receive from the fund the member's accumulated contributions. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal, the member shall forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be a member.

(b) Any member who ceases employment in covered employment and active participation in this plan and who thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment may not receive any credited service for any prior withdrawn accumulated contributions from either this plan or the Public Employees Retirement System unless following his or her return to covered employment and active participation in this plan, the member redeposits in the fund the amount of the accumulated contributions withdrawn from previous covered employment, together with interest on the accumulated contributions at the rate determined by the board from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon repayment he or she shall receive the same credit on account of his or her former covered employment as if no refund had been made.

The repayment authorized by this subsection shall be made in a lump sum within 60 months of the emergency medical services officer's reemployment in covered employment or, if later, within 60 months of the effective date of this article.

(c) A member of this plan who has elected to transfer from the Public Employees Retirement System into this plan pursuant to §16-5V-6(b) of this code, may not, after having transferred into and become an active member of this plan, reinstate to his or her credit in this plan any service credit relating to periods of nonemergency medical services officer service withdrawn from the Public Employees Retirement System prior to his or her elective transfer into this plan.

(d) Every member who completes 60 months of covered employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in accordance with this section or to choose not to withdraw his or her accumulated contribution and to receive retirement income payments upon attaining early or normal retirement age.

(e) In the event a member dies from any cause other than those specified in §16-5V-23 of this code and does not have 10 or more years of contributory service, the member's accumulated contributions may be paid to a named beneficiary or beneficiaries. If no beneficiary is named, then the accumulated contributions shall be paid to the estate of the deceased member.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, forfeitures under the plan may not be applied to increase the benefits any member would otherwise receive under the plan.

§16-5V-23. Awards and benefits to surviving spouse – When member dies in performance of duty, etc.

(a) The surviving spouse of any member who dies by reason of injury, illness or disease resulting from an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service required of members, while the member was or is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as an emergency medical services officer, or the survivor spouse of a member who dies from any cause while receiving benefits pursuant to §16-5V-19 of this code, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund benefits as follows: To the surviving spouse annually, in equal monthly installments during his or her lifetime an amount equal to the greater of: (1) Two thirds of the annual compensation received by the deceased member during the last 12 full months of contributory service; or (2) if the member dies after meeting early or normal retirement age requirements, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then died.

(b) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section, §16-5V-25 and §16-5V-26 of this code are in lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other state retirement system based upon the member's covered employment.

§16-5V-24. Awards and benefits to surviving spouse – When member dies from nonservice-connected causes.

(a) If a member who has been a contributing member for at least 10 years dies prior to retirement from any cause other than those specified in §16-5V-23 of this code and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly installments to the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime, a sum equal to the greater of: (1) One half of the annual compensation received by the deceased member during the last 12 full months of contributory service; or (2) if the member dies after meeting early or normal retirement age requirements, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then died.

(b) In any case where a retirant who had been a contributing member for at least 10 years, had not obtained the age of 60 and was receiving benefits pursuant to §16-5V-20 of this code and leaves a surviving spouse, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly installments to the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime a sum equal to the greater of: (1) One half of the annual compensation received by the deceased member during the last 12 full months of contributory service; or (2) If the retirant dies after meeting early or normal retirement age requirements, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a 100 percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then died.

(c) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section, or other sections of this article are in lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other state retirement system based upon the member's covered employment.

§16-5V-35. Return to covered employment by retirant.

(a) The annuity of any member who retires under the provisions of this article and who resumes service in covered employment shall be suspended while the member continues in covered employment. The monthly annuity payment for the month in which the service resumes shall be pro-rated to the date of commencement of service, and the member shall again become a contributing member during resumption of service. At the conclusion of resumed service in covered employment the member shall have his or her annuity recalculated to take into account the entirety of service in covered employment.

(b) Any retirant who retired under the early retirement provisions of §16-5V-16 of this code, and is subsequently reemployed in covered employment pursuant to this section, and who again retires shall have his or her retirement annuity recalculated as if he or she were retiring at an age calculated by adding his or her original early retirement age to the number of years and months during which he or she was reemployed and contributing to the plan. In the event the artificially determined age, as determined in accordance with the preceding sentence, exceeds 60, the board shall not make any reduction for early retirement.

The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.

...............................................................

Clerk of the House of Delegates

...............................................................

Clerk of the Senate

Originated in the House of Delegates.

In effect ninety days from passage.

...............................................................

Speaker of the House of Delegates

...............................................................

President of the Senate

__________

The within is ................................................ this the...........................................

Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2024.

.............................................................

Governor