H. B. 2289
(By Delegates Marshall and Fleischauer)
[Introduced January 19, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections two, twenty-one and twenty-
two, article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating
to defining "limited credited service"; providing state
public employees may retire with full pension benefits if
the sum of an employee's age plus years of service and
limited credited service equals or exceeds eighty;
providing that the credited service used to calculate the
straight life annuity under section twenty-two, article ten,
chapter five does not include any period of limited credited
service; and providing that any member receiving an annuity
based in part on limited service shall not be eligible for
the supplements provided for in sections twenty-two-a
through twenty-two-d, article ten, chapter five.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two, twenty-one and twenty-two, 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.
§5-10-2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases as used in this article,
unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context,
have the following meanings:
(1) "State" means the state of West Virginia;
(2) "Retirement system" or "system" means the West Virginia
public employees retirement system created and established by
this article;
(3) "Board of trustees" or "board" means the board of
trustees of the West Virginia public employees retirement system;
(4) "Political subdivision" means the state of West
Virginia, a county, city or town in the state; a school
corporation or corporate unit; any separate corporation or
instrumentality established by one or more counties, cities or
towns, as permitted by law; any corporation or instrumentality
supported in most part by counties, cities or towns; any public
corporation charged by law with the performance of a governmental
function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more
counties, cities or towns: Provided, That any mental health
agency participating in the public employees retirement system
before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, is considered a political subdivision solely for
the purpose of permitting those employees who are members of the
public employees retirement system to remain members and continue
to participate in the retirement system at their option after the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven;
(5) "Participating public employer" means the state of West
Virginia, any board, commission, department, institution or
spending unit, and includes any agency created by rule of the
supreme court of appeals having full-time employees, which for
the purposes of this article is considered a department of state
government; and any political subdivision in the state which has
elected to cover its employees, as defined in this article, under
the West Virginia public employees retirement system;
(6) "Employee" means any person who serves regularly as an
officer or employee, full time, on a salary basis, whose tenure
is not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in
the service of, and whose compensation is payable, in whole or in
part, by any political subdivision, or an officer or employee
whose compensation is calculated on a daily basis and paid
monthly or on completion of assignment, including technicians and
other personnel employed by the West Virginia national guard
whose compensation, in whole or in part, is paid by the federal
government: Provided, That members of the state Legislature, the
clerk of the House of Delegates, the clerk of the state Senate,
employees of the state Legislature whose term of employment is otherwise classified as temporary and who are employed to perform
services required by the Legislature for its regular sessions or
during the interim between regular sessions and who have been or
are employed during regular sessions or during the interim
between regular sessions in seven consecutive calendar years, as
certified by the clerk of the house in which the employee served,
members of the legislative body of any political subdivision and
judges of the state court of claims are considered to be
employees, anything contained in this article to the contrary
notwithstanding. In any case of doubt as to who is an employee
within the meaning of this article the board of trustees shall
decide the question;
(7) "Member" means any person who is included in the
membership of the retirement system;
(8) "Retirant" means any member who retires with an annuity
payable by the retirement system;
(9) "Beneficiary" means any person, except a retirant, who
is entitled to, or will be entitled to, an annuity or other
benefit payable by the retirement system;
(10) "Service" means personal service rendered to a
participating public employer by an employee, as defined in this
article, of a participating public employer;
(11) "Prior service" means service rendered prior to the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, to the
extent credited a member as provided in this article;
(12) "Contributing service" means service rendered by a
member within this state and for which the member made
contributions to a public retirement system account of this
state, to the extent credited him or her as provided by this
article. This revised definition is retroactive and applicable
to the first day of April, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight, and thereafter;
(13) "Credited service" means the sum of a member's prior
service credit and contributing service credit standing to his or
her credit as provided in this article;
(14) "Limited credited service" means service by employees
of the West Virginia educational broadcasting authority, in the
employment of West Virginia university, during a period when the
employee made contributions to another retirement system, as
required by West Virginia university, and did not make
contributions to the public employees retirement system:
Provided, That, while limited credited service can be used for
the formula set forth in section twenty-one, subsection (e) of
this article, it may not be used to increase benefits calculated
under section twenty-two of this article;
(14) (15) "Compensation" means the remuneration paid a
member by a participating public employer for personal services
rendered by him or her to the participating public employer. In
the event a member's remuneration is not all paid in money, his
or her participating public employer shall fix the value of the portion of his or her remuneration which is not paid in money;
(15) (16) "Final average salary" means either: (a) The
average of the highest annual compensation received by a member
(including a member of the Legislature who participates in the
retirement system in the year one thousand nine hundred
seventy-one or thereafter) during any period of three consecutive
years of his or her credited service contained within his or her
ten years of credited service immediately preceding the date his
or her employment with a participating public employer last
terminated; or (b) if he or she has less than five years of
credited service, the average of the annual rate of compensation
received by him or her during his or her total years of credited
service; and in determining the annual compensation, under either
(a) or (b) of this subdivision, of a member of the Legislature
who participates in the retirement system as a member of the
Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one or
in any year thereafter, his or her actual legislative
compensation (the total of all compensation paid under sections
two, three, four and five, article two-a, chapter four of this
code) in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one or in any
year thereafter, plus any other compensation he or she receives
in any such year from any other participating public employer
including the state of West Virginia, without any multiple in
excess of one times his or her actual legislative compensation
and other compensation, shall be used: Provided, That "final average salary" for any former member of the Legislature or for
any member of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine
hundred seventy-one who, in either event, was a member of the
Legislature on the thirtieth day of November, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-eight, or the thirtieth day of November, one
thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, or the thirtieth day of
November, one thousand nine hundred seventy, or on the thirtieth
day of November in any one or more of those three years, and who
participated in the retirement system as a member of the
Legislature in any one or more of those years means: (i) Either
(notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision preceding
this proviso) one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by
eight, plus the highest other compensation the former member or
member received in any one of the three years from any other
participating public employer including the state of West
Virginia; or (ii) "final average salary" determined in accordance
with (a) or (b) of this subdivision, whichever computation shall
produce the higher final average salary (and in determining the
annual compensation under (ii) of this proviso, the legislative
compensation of the former member shall be computed on the basis
of one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by eight, and the
legislative compensation of the member shall be computed on the
basis set forth in the provisions of this subdivision immediately
preceding this proviso or on the basis of one thousand five
hundred dollars multiplied by eight, whichever computation as to the member produces the higher annual compensation);
(16) (17) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all
amounts deducted from the compensations of a member and credited
to his or her individual account in the members' deposit fund,
together with regular interest thereon;
(17) (18) "Regular interest" means the rate or rates of
interest per annum, compounded annually, as the board of trustees
adopts from time to time;
(18) (19) "Annuity" means an annual amount payable by the
retirement system throughout the life of a person. All annuities
shall be paid in equal monthly installments, using the upper cent
for any fraction of a cent;
(19) (20) "Annuity reserve" means the present value of all
payments to be made to a retirant or beneficiary of a retirant on
account of any annuity, computed upon the basis of such mortality
and other tables of experience, and regular interest, as the
board of trustees adopts from time to time;
(20) (21) "Retirement" means a member's withdrawal from the
employ of a participating public employer with an annuity payable
by the retirement system; and
(21) (22) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal
value computed upon the basis of such mortality table and regular
interest as the board of trustees adopts from time to time.
§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 or her attainment of age sixty years, for
any reason except his or her 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 or her said separation from the employ of a
participating public employer: Provided, That he or she does not
withdraw his or her accumulated contributions from the members'
deposit fund. His or her said annuity shall begin the first day
of the calendar month next following the month in which his or
her application for same is filed with the board of trustees on
or after his or her 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 or her separation
may, prior to the effective date of his or her retirement, but
not thereafter, elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of his
or her deferred retirement annuity as a reduced annuity
commencing on the first day of any calendar month between his or
her date of separation and his or her attainment of age sixty-two
years and payable throughout his or her 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 or her deferred
retirement annuity as a reduced annuity commencing on the first
day of any calendar month between his or her fifty-fifth
birthday and his or her attainment of age sixty-two years and
payable throughout his or her 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 or her
benefit had commenced at age sixty when he or she 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 limited credited service as defined in section two of this
article equals or exceeds eighty.
§5-10-22. Retirement annuity.
Upon a member's retirement, as provided in this article, he
or she shall receive a straight life annuity equal to one
and five-tenths percent of his or her final average salary
multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of his
or her credited service in force at the time of his or her
retirement. The credited service used for this calculation may
not include any period of limited credited service: Provided,
That after March one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, all
members retired and all members retiring shall receive a straight
life annuity equal to two percent of his or her final average
salary multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year,
of his or her credited service, exclusive of limited credited
service in force at the time of his or her retirement. In either
event, upon his or her retirement he or she shall have 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 retirant or
beneficiary dies, and said annuity payments shall not be prorated
for any portion of a month in which a member retires or retirant
or beneficiary dies. Any member receiving an annuity based in part upon limited credited service is not eligible for the
supplements provided for in sections twenty-two-a through twenty-
two-d of this article.
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 or her 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 or she were retiring as of the effective date
of the latest increase in such legislative compensation, but on
the basis of his or her years of credited service to the date of
his or her actual retirement.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.