Senate Bill No. 448
(By Senators Plymale, Bowman, Prezioso, Oliverio, McKenzie,
Jackson, Walker, White, Craigo, Snyder, Anderson, Helmick,
Fanning, Kessler, Dittmar, Sharpe, Ross, Schoonover, Love, Ball,
Hunter, Sprouse, Minear, Macnaughtan, Kimble, Wooton, Tomblin,
Mr. President and Deem)
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[Introduced February 10, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-two, article ten,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-two-f, all relating to the West Virginia public
employees retirement act; retirement annuity; increasing the
multiplier; and providing supplemental benefits for certain
annuitants.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-two, article ten, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section twenty-two-f, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-22. Retirement annuity.
Upon a member's retirement, as provided in this article, he
shall receive a straight life annuity equal to one and five- tenths percent of his the final average salary multiplied by the
number of years, and fraction of a year, of his the credited
service in force at the time of his the members's retirement:
Provided, That after March one the first day of March, one
thousand nine hundred seventy, all members retired and all
members retiring shall receive a straight life annuity equal to
two percent of his the member's final average salary multiplied
by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of his credited
service in force at the time of his the member's retirement:
Provided, however, That after the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-eight, all members retiring shall receive a
straight life annuity equal to two and two-tenths percent of the
member's final average salary multiplied by the number of years,
and fraction of a year, of the member's credited service in force at the time of the member's retirement. In either any event,
upon his retirement he shall have the member has the right to
elect an option provided for in section twenty-four of this
article. All annuity payments shall commence effective the first
of the month following the month in which a member retires or a
member dies leaving a beneficiary entitled to benefits and shall
continue to the end of the month in which said the retirant or
beneficiary dies, and said the annuity payments shall may not be
prorated for any portion of a month in which a member retires or
retirant or beneficiary dies.
The annuity of any member of the Legislature who
participates in the retirement system as a member of the
Legislature and who retires under this article or of any former
member of the Legislature who has retired under this article
(including any former member of the Legislature who has retired
under this article and whose annuity was readjusted as of March
one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, under the former
provisions of this section) shall be increased from time to time
during the period of his retirement when and if the legislative
compensation paid under section two, article two-a, chapter four
of this code to a member of the Legislature shall be increased to
the point where a higher annuity would be payable to the retirant
if he were retiring as of the effective date of the latest increase in such legislative compensation, but on the basis of
his years of credited service to the date of his the member's
actual retirement.
§5-10-22f. Supplemental benefits for retirees effective July 1,
1998.
A supplement to retirement benefits provided shall be paid
prospectively to all eligible annuitants who have been retired
prior to the thirty-first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight, which supplement shall become effective on the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight. Each
annuitant shall receive as a supplemental benefit for the fiscal
year ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, an increased annual amount equal to ten percent of
the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of annual
retirement benefits provided on or before the thirtieth day of
June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight; and for the fiscal
year ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand, and
thereafter, an additional amount equal to ten percent of the
first seven thousand five hundred dollars of annual retirement
benefits provided on or before the thirtieth day of June, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the
multiplier for a retirement annuity in the public employees
retirement system from 2% to 2.2% for those retiring on or after
July 1, 1998; and to provide supplemental benefits for persons
retired as of June 30, 1998.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
Section 22-f is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.