H. B. 2949
(By Delegates Manuel and Doyle)
[Introduced February 26, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article seven-a,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section seven, article seven-b of said chapter, all
relating to allowing teachers retirement system members with
twenty-five or more years of service under the teachers
retirement system or who have combined service under the
retirement system with service as a county school board
member, to reinstate retirement benefits upon paying back
the amount withdrawn plus interest regardless of whether
they have been reemployed more than six months since the
date of their past employment; providing that former school
board members who have twenty-five or more years of combined
service with such members' service under the teachers retirement system may be credited within the teachers
retirement system for service as a school board member; and,
providing the retirement board shall prescribe by rule how
to calculate the school board credit.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, article seven-a, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section seven,
article seven-b of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-13. Membership in retirement system; cessation of
membership; reinstatement of withdrawn service.
The membership of the retirement system shall consist of the
following:
(a) New entrants, whose membership in the system shall be
compulsory upon employment as teachers and nonteachers.
(b) The membership of the retirement system shall not
include any person who is an active member of or who has been
retired by the West Virginia public employees retirement system,
the judge's retirement system, or the retirement system of the
department of public safety or the supplemental retirement system
as provided in section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter.
The membership of any person in the retirement system shall
cease:
(1) Upon the withdrawal of accumulated contributions after
the cessation of service; or (2) upon retirement; or (3) at
death; or (4) if service amounts to fewer than five years in any
period of ten consecutive years.
Any former member of the retirement system who has withdrawn
his or her accumulated contributions but subsequently reenters
the retirement system shall be permitted to repay to the
retirement fund the amount withdrawn, plus interest at a rate of
six percent, compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to
the date of repayment: Provided, That no such repayment may be
made until the former member has completed two years of
contributory service after reentry; and such member shall be
accorded all the rights to prior service and experience as were
held at the time of withdrawal of such accumulated contributions:
Provided, however, That no withdrawn service may be reinstated
that has been transferred to another retirement system from which
the member is currently or will in the future draw benefits based
on the same service unless the member has twenty-five or more
years of service under the teachers retirement system or combined
service with such system, including years spent as a member of a county school board, as provided for under section seven, article
seven-b of this chapter. The interest paid shall be deposited
in the reserve fund.
No member shall be eligible for prior service credit unless
he or she is eligible for prior service pension, as prescribed by
section twenty-two of this article; however, a new entrant who
becomes a present teacher as provided in this paragraph shall be
deemed eligible for prior service pension upon retirement.
Any former school board member may be credited for prior
service based upon each year spent as a school board member.
The retirement board shall credit each member with the prior
service to which he or she is entitled based upon such rules as
the board shall from time to time adopt and based upon sound
actuarial principles. In providing the credit for years spent as
a school board member, the board shall require the payment of a
sum based upon a percentage of the gross compensation paid to the
member in each past year in which he or she served as a member of
the school board.
ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS' DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7B-7. Participation in teachers' defined contribution
retirement system; limiting participation in
existing teachers retirement system.
Beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, the teachers' defined contribution retirement system
shall be the single retirement program for all new employees
whose employment commences on or after that date. No additional
new employees except as may be provided herein may be admitted to
the existing retirement system. Members of the existing
retirement system whose employment continues beyond the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, are not affected
by this article and shall continue to contribute and participate
in the existing system without change in provisions or benefits.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-three,
article seven-a of this chapter, any employee whose employment
terminates after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one, who is later reemployed by an employer shall
be eligible for membership only in the teachers' defined
contribution system: Provided, That if such reemployment with an
existing employer occurs not more than six months after the
employee's previous employment, he or she shall be entitled to
readmission to the existing retirement system in which he or she
was originally a member: Provided, however, That if such
employee has five or more years but less than twenty-five years
of credited service in the existing retirement system
or combined
service with such system, including years spent as a member of a
county school board,
he or she shall be entitled to readmission into the existing retirement system in which he or she was
originally a member so long as he or she has
not withdrawn his or
her contributions from the existing retirement system. In the
event, however, he or she has twenty-five years of service or
combined service, then he or she shall be entitled to readmission
into the existing retirement system regardless of whether their
reemployment occurs more than six months after their previous
employment: Provided further, That if such employee without a
minimum of twenty-five years of service or combined service,
including years spent as a school board member, has withdrawn his
or her contribution from the existing retirement system, then
readmission shall not be permitted and the employee will be
entitled only to the defined contribution system.
An employee whose employment with an employer was suspended
or terminated while he or she served as an officer with a
statewide professional teaching association is eligible for
readmission to the existing retirement system in which he or she
was a member. Any employee reemployed with an employer on or
after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one, who had five or more years credited service in the
teachers' defined benefit retirement system may elect readmission
to the teachers' defined benefit retirement system in which he or
she was originally a member. Any employee reemployed between the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, and who
was required to participate in the teachers' defined contribution
system but now elects, pursuant to the provisions of this
section, readmission to the teachers' defined benefit retirement
system shall pay an additional contribution to the teachers'
defined benefit retirement system equal to one and one-half
percent of his or her annual gross compensation earned for each
year he or she participated in the teachers' defined contribution
system and shall transfer all member and employer contributions
and investment earnings therefrom from the teacher defined
contribution system to the teachers' defined benefit system and
shall receive service credit for the time the member participated
in the defined contribution system as if that participation had
been in the teachers' defined benefit retirement system. Any
member making an election under the provisions of this section to
reenter the teachers' defined benefit retirement system who is
currently a member of the defined contribution retirement system
must do so on or before the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-six. Any other member reemployed must make
the election as to the retirement system that he or she will be
a member of at the time he or she is reemployed.
An employee whose employment with an employer or an existing employer is suspended as a result of an approved leave of
absence, approved maternity or paternity break in service, or any
other approved break in service authorized by the board, is
eligible for readmission to the existing retirement system in
which he or she was a member.
In all cases where a question exists as to readmission to
membership in the existing retirement system, the board shall
decide the question.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow persons who
withdraw retirement funds from the teachers retirement system who
have 25 or more years of service, including years spent as a
school board member to buy back into the retirement system. The
bill also allows such members with 25 or more years of service to
be credited for years on the school board in the event they
provide contributions in compliance with actuarially sound rules
prescribed by the retirement board consisting of an amount equal
to some percentage of their past gross compensation paid in each
year while they sat as a school board member.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.