Senate Bill No. 695
(By Senator Deem)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article ten, chapter
five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to awarding service credit
in the public employees retirement system for military
service in the national guard.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, 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.
§5-10-15. Military service credit.
Any member of the retirement system who entered or enters
the active service of the armed forces of the United States
during any period of compulsory military service shall receive credited service for said time spent in the armed forces of the
United States, not to exceed five years if such member pays to
the members' deposit fund the amount he or she may have withdrawn
therefrom, together with regular interest from the date of
withdrawal to the date of repayment. In any case of doubt as to
the period of service to be so credited a member, the board of
trustees shall have final power to determine such period. During
the period of such armed service and until his or her return to
the employ of a participating public employer, his or her
contributions to the retirement system shall be suspended and any
balance remaining to his or her credit in the members' deposit
fund shall be accumulated at regular interest. Any member of the
retirement system who serves in the national guard shall receive
service credit for time served in the national guard up to five
years.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant service credit
in the public employees retirement system for military service in
the national guard.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.