H. B. 2198
(By Delegates Tucker, Caputo, Laird and Williams)
[Introduced January 13, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections seven and twenty-five,
article twenty-two, chapter eight of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
all relating to retirement benefits for members of police
and fire departments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections seven and twenty-five, article twenty-two,
chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. RETIREMENT BENEFITS GENERALLY; POLICEMEN'S PENSION
AND RELIEF FUND; FIREMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF
FUND; PENSION PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES OF WATERWORKS SYSTEM, SEWERAGE SYSTEM OR COMBINED WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM.
§8-22-7. Retirement pensions.
(a) After the effective date of the fund, any member of the
fund who has at least ten years of continuous total service
credit shall receive a vested right to a retirement pension which
he may exercise upon or after attainment of age sixty twenty-five
years of service credit regardless of the member's age. When he
has attained the age of sixty twenty-five years of service
credit, he may, at his option, apply for a retirement pension,
the amount thereof to be determined in accordance with the
provisions of subsection (e) of this section.
(b) Retirement for all members of the fund shall be
compulsory at the age of seventy subject to the following
conditions: The employee may be permitted to continue in the
service if he so desires and if his services are still valuable
to the city. Whether an employee's services are valuable at the
age of seventy shall be determined by the appointing officer of
the city. If he determines that such services are valuable, his
determination must be certified to the board for approval. If
the board approves, the employee may continue in the service of
the city. The appointing officer shall annually certify to the
board relative to the ability and competency of all employees
over age seventy. The amount of any pension under the provisions of this subsection shall be determined in accordance with the
provisions of subsection (e) of this section.
(c) Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-seven, a city may provide that any member of the
fund who has at least ten years of continuous total service
credit shall receive a vested right to a retirement pension which
he may exercise upon or after attainment of age fifty-five
twenty-five years of service credit regardless of the member's
age. When he has attained the age of fifty-five twenty-five
years of service credit, he may, at his option, apply for a
retirement pension, the amount thereof to be determined in
accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of this section,
reduced by one quarter of one percent for each month (three
percent per year) by which his retirement date precedes age
sixty, except that if his age plus years of continuous service
credit is equal to or greater than eighty-five, the benefit shall
not be reduced.
(d) Although he has not attained the age of sixty, Any
member who has thirty-five years' total service and who becomes
so physically or mentally disabled as to render him unfit for the
performance of the duties of the position he occupies shall be
entitled to an annual retirement pension, the amount thereof to
be determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e)
of this section.
(e) A member of the fund, upon retirement, shall be entitled
to the following annual retirement pension, payable in twelve
monthly installments:
For thirty-five years of total service credit to and
including twenty-four years of total service credit, fifty
percent of average salary plus one and two-thirds percent of
average salary per year of service for each year above
twenty-three years;
For twenty-three years of total service credit, fifty
percent of average salary: Provided, That if a member has
twenty-three years of total service credit he shall be entitled
to a minimum retirement pension of one hundred dollars per month;
For twenty-two years of total service credit, forty-nine
percent of average salary;
For twenty-one years of total service credit, forty-eight
percent of average salary;
For twenty years of total service credit, forty-seven
percent of average salary;
For nineteen years of total service credit, forty-five
percent of average salary;
For eighteen years of total service credit, forty-three
percent of average salary;
For seventeen years of total service credit, forty-one
percent of average salary;
For sixteen years of total service credit, thirty-nine
percent of average salary;
For fifteen years of total service credit, thirty-six
percent of average salary;
For fourteen years of total service credit, thirty-three
percent of average salary;
For thirteen years of total service credit, thirty-one
percent of average salary;
For twelve years of total service credit, twenty-nine
percent of average salary;
For eleven years of total service credit, twenty-seven
percent of average salary; and
For ten years of continuous total service credit,
twenty-five percent of average salary.
The rate of a retirement pension shall be prorated for any
fractional part of the total service credit of an employee of
less than a full year.
(f) With the condition that no optional benefit shall be
effective if the member dies within thirty days after the
effective date of his retirement, such member may elect at least
one year prior to such effective date of his retirement to
receive a lesser retirement pension, on a joint and last survivor
basis, in order to provide, on an actuarial equivalent basis, an
annuity to a designated beneficiary under any of the following two options:
Option 1. Upon his death while on retirement, his lesser
retirement pension shall be continued throughout the life of and
paid to such individual having an insurable interest in his life,
as he shall have named in a written designation duly acknowledged
and filed with the board.
Option 2. Upon his death while on retirement, one half of
his lesser retirement pension shall be continued throughout the
life of and paid to such individual having an insurable interest
in his life as he shall have named in a written designation duly
acknowledged and filed with the board.
Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-seven, a city may provide that an election may be
made at any time prior to the date his benefits commence.
(g) A member who has attained the age of sixty years and who
has less than ten years' total service credit shall be entitled
to an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his
total accumulation account at the time of his retirement.
(h) Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-seven, a city may provide that if an actuarial
valuation of the plan determines that the required city
contribution is less than six percent of payroll, then the board
of trustees may provide ad hoc cost-of-living increases to
retired members and beneficiaries, provided such change does not increase the city cost to an amount greater than six percent of
payroll. Such cost-of-living increases are limited to the
increase in the national consumer price index.
§8-22-25. Retirement pensions.
(a) Any member of a paid police or fire department who is
entitled to a retirement pension hereunder, and who has been in
the honorable service of such department for twenty years, may,
upon written application to the board of trustees, be retired
from all service in such department without medical examination
or disability. On such retirement the board of trustees shall
authorize the payment of annual retirement pension benefits
commencing upon his retirement, or upon his attaining the age of
fifty years, whichever is later payable in twelve monthly
installments for each year of the remainder of his life, in an
amount equal to sixty percent of such member's average
annual salary or compensation received during the three
twelve-consecutive-month periods of employment with such
department in which such member received his highest salary or
compensation while a member of the department, or an amount of
five hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater.
(b) Any member of any such department who is entitled to a
retirement pension under the provisions of subsection (a) of
this section and who has been in the honorable service of such
department for more than twenty years at the time of his retirement shall receive, in addition to the sixty percent
authorized in said subsection (a):
(1) Two additional percent, to be added to the sixty percent
for each of the first five additional years of service completed
at the time of retirement in excess of twenty years of service up
to a maximum of seventy percent; and
(2) One additional percent, to be added to such maximum of
seventy percent, for each of the first five additional years of
service completed at the time of retirement in excess of
twenty-five years of service up to a maximum of seventy-five
percent.
The total additional credit provided for in this subsection
may not exceed fifteen additional percent.
(c) Any member of any such department whose service has been
interrupted by duty with the armed forces of the United States as
provided in section twenty-seven of this article prior to the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, shall be
eligible for retirement pension benefits immediately upon
retirement, regardless of his age, if he shall otherwise be
eligible for such retirement pension benefits.
Any member or previously retired member of any such
department who has served in active duty with the armed forces of
the United States as described in section twenty-seven of this
article, whether prior to or subsequent to becoming a member of a paid police or fire department covered by the provisions of
this article, shall receive, in addition to the sixty percent
authorized in subsection (a) of this section and the additional
percent credit authorized in subsection (b) of this section, one
additional percent for each year so served in active military
duty, up to a maximum of four additional percent. In no event,
however, may the total benefit granted to any member exceed
seventy-five percent of the member's annual average salary
calculated in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Any member of a paid police or fire department shall be
retired at the age of sixty-five years in the manner provided in
this subsection. When a member of the paid police or fire
department reaches the age of sixty-five years, the said board of
trustees shall notify the mayor of this fact, within thirty days
of such member's sixty-fifth birthday. The mayor shall cause
such sixty-five-year-old member of the paid police or fire
department to retire within a period of not more than thirty
additional days. Upon retirement under the provisions of this
subsection, such member shall receive retirement pension benefits
payable in twelve monthly installments for each year of the
remainder of his life in an amount equal to sixty percent of such
member's average annual salary or compensation received during
the three twelve-consecutive-month periods of employment with
such department in which such member received his highest salary or compensation while a member of the department, or an amount of
five hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater. If such
member has been employed in said department for more than twenty
years, the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall
apply.
(e) It shall be the duty of each member of a paid police or
fire department at the time a fund is hereafter established to
furnish the necessary proof of his date of birth to the said
board of trustees, as specified in section twenty-three of this
article, within a reasonable length of time, said length of time
to be determined by the said board of trustees. Then the board
of trustees and the mayor shall proceed to act in the manner
provided in subsection (d) of this section and shall cause all
members of the paid police or fire department who are over the
age of sixty-five years to retire in not less than sixty days
from the date the fund is established. Upon retirement under the
provisions of this subsection (e), such member, whether he has
been employed in said department for twenty years or not, shall
receive retirement pension benefits payable in twelve monthly
installments for each year of the remainder of his life in an
amount equal to sixty percent of such member's average
annual salary or compensation received during the three
twelve-consecutive-month periods of employment with such
department in which such member received his highest salary or compensation while a member of the department, or an amount of
five hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater. If such
member has been employed in said department for more than twenty
years, the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall
apply.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for retirement
benefits for members of police and fire departments upon
attaining twenty-five years of service regardless of age.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.