H. B. 4131
(By Delegates Jenkins, Hubbard, Campbell,
Williams, Hall, Harrison and J. Smith)
[Introduced January 24, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-three, article
seven-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
withdrawal and preretirement benefits in the teachers
retirement system; and amending only the section heading to
reflect what is contained in section twenty-three.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-three, article seven-a, chapter eighteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-23. Withdrawal and preretirement death benefits.
Benefits upon withdrawal from service prior to retirement
under the provisions of this article shall be as follows:
(a) A contributor who withdraws from service for any cause
other than death or retirement shall, upon application, be paid
his or her accumulated contributions plus refund interest up to
the end of the fiscal year preceding the year in which
application is made, but in no event shall interest be paid
beyond the end of five years following the year in which the last
contribution was made: Provided, That such contributor, at the
time of application, is then no longer under contract, verbal or
otherwise, to serve as a teacher;
(b) If a contributor with fewer than five years of
established service does not apply for the refund of his or her
accumulated contributions within five years from the year in
which he or she quits service, then his or her accumulated
contributions plus refund interest, up to and including the fifth
year, shall be returned to such member or to his or her legal
representative; or
(c) If such contributor has completed twenty years of total
service, he or she may elect to receive at retirement age an
annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article:
Provided, That if such contributor has completed at least five,
but fewer than twenty years of total service in this state, he or
she may elect to receive at age sixty-two, an annuity which shall
be computed as provided in this article. The contributor must
notify the retirement board in writing concerning such election.
If such contributor has completed fewer than five years of service in this state, he or she shall be subject to the
provisions as outlined in subsections (a) or (b) above.
Benefits upon the death of a contributor prior to retirement
under the provisions of this article shall be paid as follows:
(1) If the contributor was at least fifty years old, and if
his or her total service as a teacher was at least twenty-five
years at the time of his or her death, then the surviving spouse
of the deceased, provided said spouse is designated as the sole
refund beneficiary, shall be eligible for an annuity which shall
be computed as though the deceased were actually a retired
teacher at the time of death, and had selected a survivorship
option which pays such spouse the same monthly amount which would
have been received by the deceased; or
(2) If the facts do not permit payment under the preceding
paragraph (1), then the following sum shall be paid to the refund
beneficiary of the contributor: His or her accumulated
contributions with refund interest up to the year of his or her
death plus the amount of his or her accumulated contributions.
The latter sum shall emanate from the employer's accumulation
fund.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify in its title
that the section pertains to preretirement death benefits. W.
Va. Code, §2-2-18 provides, however, that section headings are
mere catchwords and are not to be considered or construed to be
titles of sections, or any part of the section, or "as indicating
or expressing legislative intent or purpose".
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.