Senate Bill No. 31
(By Senator Wooton)
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[Introduced February 13, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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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 providing that
members of the retirement system shall receive credited
service for their military 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 attainment of age sixty years, for any
reason except his disability retirement or death, shall be
entitled to an annuity computed according to section twenty-two
of this article, as the said section was in force as of the date
of his said separation from the employ of a participating public
employer: Provided, That he does not withdraw his accumulated
contributions from the members' deposit fund. His said annuity
shall begin the first day of the calendar month next following
the month in which his application for same is filed with the
board of trustees on or after his attainment of age sixty-two
years.
(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 separation may,
prior to the effective date of his retirement, but not
thereafter, elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of his
deferred retirement annuity as a reduced annuity commencing on
the first day of any calendar month between his date of
separation and his attainment of age sixty-two years and payable
throughout his 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 deferred retirement
annuity as a reduced annuity commencing on the first day of any
calendar month between his fifty-fifth birthday and his
attainment of age sixty-two years and payable throughout his
life.
(d) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this
section or of this article and pursuant to regulations
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 shall mean 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 the said 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 benefit had
commenced at age sixty when he 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, any member of the retirement system
may retire with full pension rights, without reduction of benefits, if such member is at least fifty-five years of age and
the sum of his or her age plus years of contributing service and
military service equals or exceeds eighty.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that members
of the retirement system shall receive credited service for their
military service.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.