Introduced Version Senate Bill 484 History

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Senate Bill No. 484
(By Senators Unger, White, Prezioso, Sharpe, Dempsey, Foster,
McKenzie, Sprouse, Bowman, Barnes, Caruth, Bailey,
Love, Kessler, Hunter, Yoder, Jenkins and Minard)
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[Introduced March 8, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §15-2A-2, §15-2A- 5, §15-2A-6, §15-2A- 7, §15-2A- 8, §15-2A-9, §15-2A-10, §15-2A- 11, §15-2A- 12, §15-2A- 13, §15-2A- 14 and §15-2A-19 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto three new sections, designated §15-2A-11a, §15-2A-11b and §15-2A- 21, all relating to the West Virginia State Police Retirement System; providing definitions for "month of service" and "years of service"; lowering the normal retirement age; specifying starting date of annuity; and eliminating any reduction in the benefit of a State Police officer who is disabled on the job.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2A-2, §15-2A- 5, §15-2A-6, §15-2A- 7, §15-2A- 8, §15-2A-9, §15-2A-10, §15-2A- 11, §15-2A- 12, §15-2A- 13, §15-2A- 14 and §15-2A-19 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto three new sections, designated §15-2A-11a, §15-2A-11b and §15-2A- 21, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§15-2A-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time active duty with the armed forces of the United States, namely, the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines or Navy; and service with the National Guard or reserve military forces of any of the armed forces when the member has been called to active full-time duty and has received no compensation during the period of that duty from any person other than the armed forces.
(2) "Base salary" means compensation paid to a member without regard to any overtime pay.
(3) "Board" means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board created pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(4) "Division" "Department" means the division of public safety West Virginia State Police.
(5) "Final average salary" means the average of the highest annual compensation received for employment with the division Department, including compensation paid for overtime service, received by the member during any five calendar years within the member's last ten years of service.
(6) "Fund" means the West Virginia State Police Retirement Fund created pursuant to section four of this article.
(7) "Member" or "employee" means a person regularly employed in the service of the division of public safety after the effective date of this article.
overtime payments.
(8) "Salary" means the compensation of a member, excluding any overtime payments.
(9) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it has been amended.
(10) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing on the first day of July of any designated year and ending the following thirtieth day of June.
(11) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April of the calendar year following the later of: (a) The calendar year in which the member attains age seventy and one-half; or (b) the calendar year in which he or she retires or otherwise separates from service with the department.
(12) "Retirement system" or "system" means the West Virginia state police retirement system created and established by this article.
(7) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it has been amended.
(8) "Law-enforcement officer" means individuals employed or otherwise engaged in either a public or private position which involves the rendition of services relating to enforcement of state or local laws for the protection of public safety, including, but not limited to, positions as deputy sheriffs, and police officers, but excluding positions held by elected sheriffs or appointed chiefs of police whose duties are purely administrative in nature.
(9) "Member" or "employee" means a person regularly employed in the service of the Department after the effective date of this article.
(10) "Month of service" means each month for which a member is paid or entitled to payment for at least one hour of service for which contributions were remitted to the Fund. These months shall be credited to the member for the calendar year in which the duties are performed.
(11) "Partially disabled" means a member's inability, on a probably permanent basis, to perform the essential duties of a law-enforcement officer by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months, but which impairment does not preclude the member from engaging in other types of nonlaw-enforcement employment.
(12) "Physical or mental impairment" means an impairment that results from an anatomical, physiological or psychological abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.
(13) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing on the first day of July of any designated year and ending the following thirtieth day of June.
(14) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April of the calendar year following the later of: (a) The calendar year in which the member attains age seventy and one-half; or (b) the calendar year in which he or she retires or otherwise separates from service with the Department.
(15) "Retirement system," "plan" or "system" means the West Virginia State Police Retirement System created and established by this article.
(16) "Salary" means the compensation of a member, excluding any overtime payments.
(17) "Totally disabled" means a member's probably permanent inability to engage in gainful activity by reason of any medically determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. For purposes of this subdivision, a member is totally disabled only if his or her physical or mental impairments are so severe that he or she is not only unable to perform his or her previous work as a member of the Department but also cannot, considering his or her age, education and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful employment which exists in the state regardless of whether: (A) The work exists in the immediate area in which the member lives; (B) a specific job vacancy exists; or (C) the member would be hired if he or she applied for work.
(18) "Years of service" means the months of service acquired by a member while in active employment with the Department divided by twelve. Years of service shall be calculated in years and fraction of a year from the date of active employment of the member with the Department through the date of termination of employment or retirement from the Department. If a member returns to active employment with the Department following a previous termination of employment with the Department, and such member has not received a refund of contributions plus interest for such previous employment under section eight, article two-a, chapter fifteen of this code, service shall be calculated separately for each period of continuous employment and years of service shall be the total service of all such periods of employment. Years of service shall exclude any periods of employment with the Department for which a refund of contributions plus interest has been paid to the member, unless the member repays such previous withdrawal as provided in section eight, article two-a, chapter fifteen of this code, to reinstate such years of service.

§15-2A-5. Members' contributions; employer contributions; forfeitures.

(a) There shall be deducted from the monthly payroll of each member and paid into the Fund created pursuant to section four of this article, twelve percent of the amount of his or her salary. An additional twelve percent of the monthly salary of each member of the Department shall be paid by the State of West Virginia monthly into such Fund out of the annual appropriation for the division Department.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, forfeitures under the system shall not be applied to increase the benefits any member would otherwise receive under the system.

§15-2A-6. Retirement; commencement of benefits.

A member may retire with full benefits upon either attaining the age of fifty-five fifty and completing twenty twenty-five or more years of service or attaining the age of fifty-two and completing twenty years or more of service, by lodging with the Consolidated Public Retirement Board his or her voluntary petition in writing for retirement. A member who is less than age fifty-five fifty may retire upon completing twenty twenty-five years or more of service: Provided, That he or she will receive a reduced benefit that is of equal actuarial value to the benefit the member would have received if the member deferred commencement of his or her accrued retirement benefit to the age of fifty-five fifty.
When the Retirement Board retires a member with full benefits under the provisions of this section, the Board, by order in writing, shall make a determination that the member is entitled to receive on annuity equal to two and three-fourths percent of his or her final average salary multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of his or her service in the division Department at the time of retirement. The member's annuity shall begin the first day of the calendar month following the month in which his or her application for the same is filed or lodged with the Board on or after his or her attaining age or service requirements, and termination of employment.
In no event may the provisions of section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five be applied in determining eligibility to retire with either a deferred or immediate commencement of benefit.
§15-2A-7. Annual annuity adjustment.
Every member of the division of public safety Department who is sixty-three years of age or older and who is retired by the Retirement Board under the provisions of section six of this article; every member who is retired under the provisions of section nine or ten of this article; and every surviving spouse receiving a benefit pursuant to section twelve, thirteen or fourteen of this article is eligible to receive an annual retirement annuity adjustment equal to one percent of his or her retirement award or surviving spouse award. Such adjustments may not be retroactive. Yearly adjustments shall begin upon the first day of July of each year. The annuity adjustments shall be awarded and paid to a member from the Fund in equal monthly installments while the member is in status of retirement. The annuity adjustments shall supplement the retirement awards and benefits provided in this article.
Any member or beneficiary who receives a benefit pursuant to the provisions of section nine, ten, twelve, thirteen or fourteen of this article shall begin to receive the annual annuity adjustment one year after the commencement of the benefit on the next July first: Provided, That if the member has been retired for less than one year when the first annuity adjustment is given on that July first, that first annuity adjustment will be a pro rata share of the full year's annuity adjustment.

§15-2A-8. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or resignation; deferred retirement.

(a) Any member who shall be discharged by order of the Superintendent or shall otherwise terminate employment with the division Department shall, at the written request of the member to the Retirement Board, be entitled to receive from the Retirement Fund a sum equal to the aggregate of the principal amount of moneys deducted from the salary of the member and paid into the Retirement Fund plus four percent interest compounded thereon calculated annually as provided and required by this article.
(b) Any member withdrawing contributions who may thereafter be reenlisted as a member of the division Department shall not receive any prior service credit on account of the former service, unless following his or her reenlistment the member shall redeposit in the Fund the amount of the refund, together with interest thereon at the rate of seven and one-half percent per annum from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit, in which case he or she shall receive the same credit on account of his or her former service as if no refund had been made.
(c) Every member who completes ten years of service with the division of public safety Department is eligible, upon separation of employment with the division Department, to either withdraw his or her contributions in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, or to choose not to withdraw his or her accumulated contributions with interest. Upon attainment of age sixty-two, a member who chooses not to withdraw his or her contributions will be eligible to receive a retirement annuity. The annuity shall be payable during the lifetime of the member, and shall be in the amount of his or her accrued retirement benefit as determined under section six of this article. The retiring member may choose, in lieu of such a life annuity, an annuity in reduced amount payable during the member's lifetime, with one half of the reduced monthly amount paid to his or her surviving spouse if any, for the spouse's remaining lifetime after the death of the member. Reduction of such monthly benefit amount shall be calculated to be of equal actuarial value to the life annuity the member could otherwise have chosen. Any member choosing to receive the deferred annuity under this subsection is not eligible to receive the annual annuity adjustment provided in section seven of this article.

§15-2A-9. Awards and benefits for disability - Incurred in performance of duty.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any member of the division Department who has not yet entered retirement status on the basis of age and service and who has been or shall become physically or mentally permanently becomes disabled by injury, illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services required of members of the division Department and incurred pursuant to or while the member was or shall be engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the division Department shall, if, in the opinion of the Retirement Board, he or she is by reason of such cause, unable to perform adequately the duties required of him or her as a member of the division Department, but is able to engage in other gainful employment in a field other than law-enforcement, be retired from active service by the Board. The member shall thereafter be entitled to receive annually and there shall be paid to the member from the Fund in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the member, or until the member attains the age of fifty-five or until such disability shall sooner terminate, one or the other of two amounts, whichever is greater:
(1) An amount equal to six tenths of the base salary received in the preceding twelve-month employment period: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with the division Department for twelve months prior to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
Upon attaining age fifty-five fifty, the member shall receive the benefit provided for in section six of this article, if it is a higher benefit than the benefit the member is receiving under the disability provisions set out above, as it would apply to his or her final average salary based on earnings from the division Department through the day immediately preceding his or her disability. The recalculation of benefit upon a member attaining age fifty-five fifty shall be deemed to be a retirement under the provisions of section six of this article, for purposes of determining the amount of annual annuity adjustment and for all other purposes of this article. A benefit received by a member based on a disability as set out above may not be reduced during the lifetime of the member: Provided, That a member who is partially disabled under this article may not, while in receipt of benefits for partial disability, be employed as a law-enforcement officer: Provided however, That a member retired on a partial disability under this article may serve as an elected sheriff or appointed chief of police in the state without a loss of disability retirement benefits so long as such elected or appointed position is shown to the satisfaction of the Board, to require the performance of administrative duties and functions only, as opposed to the full range of duties of a law-enforcement officer.
(b) If Any member who has not yet entered retirement status on the basis of age and service and who shall become becomes permanently physically or mentally disabled by injury, illness or disease on a probably permanent basis resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services required of members of the division Department and incurred pursuant to or while such member was or shall be engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the division Department to the extent that the member is or shall be incapacitated ever to engage in any gainful employment, the member shall be entitled to receive annually, and there shall be paid to such member from the Fund in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the member or until such disability shall sooner terminate, an amount equal to the amount of the base salary received by the member in the preceding twelve-month employment period.
The Superintendent of the division Department is authorized to expend moneys from funds appropriated for the division Department in payment of medical, surgical, laboratory, X ray, hospital, ambulance and dental expenses and fees, and reasonable costs and expenses incurred in the purchase of artificial limbs and other approved appliances which may be reasonably necessary for any member of the division Department who has or shall become temporarily, permanently or totally disabled by injury, illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service required of members of the division Department and incurred pursuant to or while the member was or shall be engaged in the performance of duties as a member of the division Department. Whenever the Superintendent shall determine that any disabled member is ineligible to receive any of the aforesaid benefits at public expense, the Superintendent shall, at the request of the disabled member, refer such matter to the Board for hearing and final decision.
§15-2A-10. Same - Due to other causes.
(a) If any member while in active service of the division Department has or shall, in the opinion of the board, become becomes permanently partially or totally disabled on a probably permanent basis to the extent that he or she the member cannot adequately perform the duties required of a member of the division Department for any cause other than those set forth in the preceding section and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part, the member shall be retired by the Board. There shall be paid to the member from the Fund in equal monthly installments, commencing on the date the member shall be retired and continuing during the lifetime of the member, or until the member attains the age of fifty-five fifty-two; while in status of retirement an amount equal to one-half the base salary received by the member in the preceding twelve-month period: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with the division Department for twelve months prior to the disability, the amount of the monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit.
(b) Upon attaining age fifty-five fifty, the member shall receive the benefit provided for in section six of this article as it would apply to his or her final average salary based on earnings from the division Department through the day immediately preceding his or her disability. The recalculation of benefit upon a member attaining age fifty-five fifty shall be deemed to be a retirement under the provisions of section six of this article, for purposes of determining the amount of annual annuity adjustment and for all other purposes of this article.
§15-2A-11. Same -- Physical examinations; termination.
The Board may require any member who has been or who shall be retired with compensation on account of disability to submit to a physical and/or mental examination by a physician or physicians selected or approved by the Retirement Board and cause all costs incident to such examination including hospital, laboratory, X-ray, medical and physicians' fees to be paid out of funds appropriated to defray the current expenses of the division Department, and a report of the findings of such physician or physicians shall be submitted in writing to the Board for its consideration. If, from the report or from the report and hearing thereon, the Board shall be of opinion and find that the disabled member shall have recovered from such disability to the extent that he or she is able to perform adequately the duties of a member of the division law-enforcement officer, the Board shall order the member to reassume active duty as a member of the division and thereupon that all payments from the Fund shall be terminated. If, from the report or the report and hearing thereon, the Board shall be of the opinion and find that the disabled member has recovered from the his or her previously determined probable permanent disability to the extent that he or she is able to engage in any gainful employment but unable to adequately perform the duties required as a member of the division of a law-enforcement officer, the Board shall order in the case of a member retired under the provisions of section nine of this article that the disabled member be paid from the Fund an amount equal to six tenths of the base salary paid to the member in the last twelve-month employment period. The Board shall order in the case of a member retired under the provisions of section ten of this article that the disabled member be paid from the Fund an amount equal to one fourth of the base salary paid to the member in the last twelve-month employment period: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with the division Department for twelve months prior to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit.

§15-2A-11a. Physical examinations of prospective members; application for disability benefit; determinations.

(a) Not later than thirty days after an employee becomes a member of the Fund, the employer shall forward to the Board a copy of the physician's report of a physical examination which incorporates the standards or procedures described in section seven, article two of this chapter. A copy of the physician's report shall be placed in the employee's retirement system file maintained by the Board.
(b) Application for a disability benefit may be made by a member or, if the member is under an incapacity, by a person acting with legal authority on the member's behalf. After receiving an application for a disability benefit from a member or a person acting with legal authority on behalf of the member, the Board shall notify the Superintendent of the Department that an application has been filed: Provided, That when, in the judgment of the Superintendent, a member is no longer physically or mentally fit for continued duty as a member of the West Virginia State Police and the member has failed or refused to make application for disability benefits under this article, the Superintendent may petition the Board to retire such member on the basis of disability pursuant to rules which may be established by the Board. Within thirty days of the Superintendent's receipt of the notice from the Board or the filing of the Superintendent's position on the work relatedness of the member's alleged disability, complete copies of the member's medical file and any other information requested by the Board in its processing of the application.
(c) The Board shall adopt rules relating to the processing of applications and petitions for disability retirement under this article.
(d) The Board shall notify a member and the Superintendent of its final action on the disability application or petition within ten days of the Board's final action. The notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested. If either the member or the Superintendent is aggrieved by the decision of the Board and intends to pursue judicial review of the Board's decision as provided in section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the party so aggrieved shall notify the Board within twenty days of the member's or Superintendent's receipt of the Board's notice that they intend to pursue judicial review of the decision. The Board retains the discretion to not commence payment of a disability retirement under the provisions of this article if either the member or the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police has notified the Board of an intent to pursue judicial review, until the statutory time limit has expired for the filing of actions seeking judicial review, or until final judgment on any action seeking judicial review has expired, or until final judgment on any action seeking judicial review under section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a, whichever is later.
(e) The Board may require a total disability benefit recipient to file an annual statement of earnings and any other information required in rules which may be adopted by the Board. The Board may waive the requirement that a disability benefit recipient file the annual statement of earnings if the Board's physician certifies that the recipient's disability is ongoing. The Board shall annually examine the information submitted by the recipient. If a disability recipient refuses to file the statement or information, the disability benefit shall be suspended until the statement and information are filed. If the refusal continues for one year, the recipient's right to the disability benefit shall be terminated retroactive to the original suspension.

§15-2A-11b. Annual report on each employer's disability retirement experience.

Not later than the first day of January, two thousand six, and each first day of January thereafter, the Board shall prepare a report for the preceding fiscal year of the disability retirement experience of the State Police. The report shall specify the total number of disability applications submitted, the status of each application as of the last day of the fiscal year, total applications granted or denied, and the percentage of disability benefit recipients to the total number of the State Police employees who are members of the Fund. The report shall be submitted to the Governor and the chairpersons of the standing committees of the Senate and House of Delegates with primary responsibility for retirement legislation.

§15-2A-12. Awards and benefits to dependents of member - When member dies in performance of duty, etc.; dependent child scholarship and amount.

The surviving spouse, the dependent child or children or dependent parent or parents of any member who has lost or loses his or her life 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 a member of the division Department, or the survivor of a member who dies from any cause after having been retired pursuant to the provisions of section nine of this article, 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, one or the other of two amounts, which shall become immediately available and which shall be the greater of:
(1) An amount equal to nine tenths of the base salary received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased member: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with the division Department for twelve months prior to his or her death, the amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of ten thousand dollars.
In addition thereto, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive and there shall be paid to that person, one hundred fifty dollars monthly for each dependent child or children. If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving spouse, there shall be paid monthly to each dependent child or children from the Fund a sum equal to one third of the surviving spouse's entitlement. If there is no surviving spouse and no dependent child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from the Fund to the dependent parents of the deceased member during their joint lifetimes, a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse, without children, would have received: Provided, That when there is but one dependent parent surviving, that parent is entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive.
Any person qualifying as a surviving dependent child under this section is, in addition to any other benefits due under this or other sections of this article, entitled to receive a scholarship to be applied to the career development education of that person. This sum, up to but not exceeding seven thousand five hundred forty-five thousand dollars, shall be paid from the Fund to any university or college in this state or to any trade or vocational school or other entity in this state approved by the Board, to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books, fees or other costs incurred in
a course of study at any of these institutions so long as the recipient makes application to the Board on an approved form and under any rules the Board provides and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the institution or the Board. The Board may by appropriate rules define age requirements, physical and mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods, institutional qualifications and other requirements as necessary and not inconsistent with this section.
Awards and benefits for a surviving spouse or dependents of a member received under any section or any of the provisions of this retirement system shall be in lieu of receipt of any benefits for these persons under the provisions of any other state retirement system. Receipt of benefits under any other state retirement system shall be in lieu of any right to receive any benefits under this retirement system, so that only a single receipt of state retirement benefits shall occur.

§15-2A-13. Same -- When member dies from nonservice-connected causes.

In any case where a member while in active service of the division Department, before having completed twenty years of service as a member of the division Department, has died or shall die from any cause other than those specified in this article and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from the Fund to the surviving spouse of the member during his or her lifetime, or until such time as the surviving spouse remarries, a sum equal to one half of the base salary received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased member: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with the division Department for twelve months prior to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit. If there is no surviving spouse or the surviving spouse dies or remarries, there shall be paid monthly to each dependent child or children from the Fund a sum equal to one fourth of the surviving spouse's entitlement. If there are is no surviving spouse and no dependent child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from the Fund to the dependent parents of the deceased member during their joint lifetimes, a sum equal to the amount that a surviving spouse would have been entitled to receive: Provided, however, That when there is but one dependent parent surviving, then, that parent shall be entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive.

§15-2A-14. Awards and benefits to dependents of member -- When member dies after retirement or after serving twenty years.

When any member of the division Department has completed twenty years of service or longer as a member of the division Department and has died or shall die from any cause or causes other than those specified in this article before having been retired by the Board, and when a member in retirement status has died or shall die after having been retired by the Board under the provisions of this article, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from the Fund to the surviving spouse of the member, commencing on the date of the death of the member and continuing during the lifetime or until remarriage of the surviving spouse, an amount equal to two thirds of the retirement benefit which the deceased member was receiving while in status of retirement, or would have been entitled to receive to the same effect as if the member had been retired under the provisions of this article immediately prior to the time of his or her death. In no event shall the annual benefit payable be less than five thousand dollars. In addition thereto, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive and there shall be paid to the surviving spouse from the Fund, the sum of one hundred dollars monthly for each dependent child or children. If the surviving spouse dies or remarries, or if there is no surviving spouse, there shall be paid monthly from the Fund to each dependent child or children of the deceased member a sum equal to one fourth of the surviving spouse's entitlement. If there is no surviving spouse or no surviving spouse eligible to receive benefits and no dependent child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from the Fund to the dependent parents of the deceased member during their joint lifetimes, a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse without children would have been entitled to receive: Provided, That, when there is but one dependent parent surviving, that parent shall be entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive.
The member may choose a higher percentage of surviving spouse benefits by taking an actuarially determined reduced initial benefit so that the chosen spouse benefit and initial benefit would be actuarially equivalent to the normal spouse benefit and initial benefit. The Retirement Board shall design these benefit options and provide them as choices for the member to select. For the purposes of this subsection, "initial benefit" means the benefit received by the member upon retirement.

§15-2A-19. Credit toward retirement for member's prior military service; credit toward retirement when member has joined armed forces in time of armed conflict; qualified military service.

(a) Any member who has previously served on active military duty is entitled to receive additional credited service for the purpose of determining the amount of retirement award under the provisions of this article for a period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five years, subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the armed forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate documentation or evidence his or her period of active military duty;
(3) That he or she is receiving no benefits from any other retirement system for his or her active military duty; and
(4) That, except with respect to disability retirement pay awarded under this article, he or she has actually served with the division Department for twenty years exclusive of his or her active military duty.
(b) In addition, any person who while a member of the division Department was commissioned, enlisted or inducted into the armed forces of the United States or, being a member of the reserve officers' corps, was called to active duty in the armed forces between the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred forty, and the close of hostilities in World War II, or between the twenty-seventh day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and the close of the armed conflict in Korea on the twenty-seventh day of July, one thousand nine hundred fifty-three, between the first day of August, one thousand nine hundred sixty-four, and the close of the armed conflict in Vietnam, or during any other period of armed conflict by the United States whether sanctioned by a declaration of war by Congress or by executive or other order of the President, is entitled to and shall receive credit on the minimum period of service required by law for retirement pay from the service of the division of public safety Department, or its predecessor agency, for a period equal to the full time that he or she has or, pursuant to that commission, enlistment, induction or call, shall have served with the armed forces subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the armed forces;
(2) That within ninety days after honorable discharge from the armed forces, he or she presented himself or herself to the Superintendent and offered to resume service as an active member of the division Department; and
(3) That he or she has made no voluntary act, whether by reenlistment, waiver of discharge, acceptance of commission or otherwise, to extend or participate in extension of the period of service with the armed forces beyond the period of service for which he or she was originally commissioned, enlisted, inducted or called.
(c) The total amount of military service credit allowable under this section may not exceed five years for any member of the division Department.
(d) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Retirement Board is authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this section and, pursuant to the authority granted to the Retirement Board in section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code, may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code.

§15-2A-21. Retirement credited service through member's use, as option, of accrued annual or sick leave days.

Any member accruing annual leave or sick leave days may, after the effective date of this section, elect to use the days at the time of retirement to acquire additional credited service in this retirement system: Provided, That the accrued annual or sick leave may not be used to purchase health insurance under the Public Employees Insurance Agency until the member reaches the age of fifty-five. The days shall be applied on the basis of two work days's credit granted for each one day of accrued annual or sick leave days, with each month of retirement service credit to equal twenty workdays and with any remainder of ten workdays or more to constitute a full month of additional credit and any remainder of less than ten workdays to be dropped and not used, notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary. The credited service shall be allowed and not considered to controvert the requirement of no more than twelve months' credited service in any year's period.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to lower the normal retirement age for State Police officers; specify starting date of annuity; and eliminate any reduction in the benefit of a State Police officer who is disabled on the job.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

§§15-2A-11a, 15-2A-11b and 15-2A-21 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.