H. B. 2054
(By Delegate Kiss)
[Introduced February 10, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-four, article ten,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the public
employees retirement system and allowing retirees, upon the
death of a spouse, to select a different annuity option and
providing that the new annuity option be of equal actuarial
value with the annuity option effect at the death of the
spouse.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-four, 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.
§5-10-24. Annuity options.
Prior to the effective date of his or her retirement, but
not thereafter except upon the death of a spouse, a member may
elect to receive his or her annuity as a straight life annuitypayable throughout his or her life, or he or she may elect to
receive the actuarial equivalent, at the time, of his or her
straight life annuity in a reduced annuity payable throughout his
or her life, and nominate a beneficiary, in accordance with
option A or B set forth below:
Option A -- Joint and survivor annuity. -- Upon the death of
a retirant, who elected option A, his or her reduced annuity
shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such the
person, having an insurable interest in his or her life, as he or
she shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and
filed with the board of trustees prior to the effective date of
his or her retirement; or
Option B -- Modified joint and survivor annuity. -- Upon the
death of a retirant who elected option B, one half of his or her
reduced annuity shall be continued throughout the life of and
paid to such person, having an insurable interest in his or her
life, as he or she shall have nominated by written designation
duly executed and filed with the board of trustees prior to the
effective date of his or her retirement.
Upon the death of a spouse, a member may elect any of the
retirement options offered by the provisions of this section in
an amount adjusted on a fair basis to be of equal actuarial value
as the option in effect at the time of the death of the spouse.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow, upon the death
of a spouse, a retiree under the Public Employees Retirement
System to change the annuity form of benefit of the retiree andto adjust the amount of the option selected so that it is of
equal actuarial value to the form of annuity in effect at the
time of the death of the spouse.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.