H. B. 2236


(By Delegates Manuel and Doyle)

[Introduced February 15, 2001 ; 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system with service as a county school board member, to reinstate retirement benefits upon paying back the amount withdrawn plus interest regardless of whether they have been reemployed more than six months since the date of their past employment; providing that former school board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 Membership in retirement system; cessation of membership; reinstatement of withdrawn service.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 West Virginia state police 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.
(c) Any former member of the retirement system who has withdrawn 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.
(d) 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. (e) 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.
(e) (f) Any individual who is a leased employee shall not be eligible to participate in the system. For purposes of this system, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization or other similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to decide the question.
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 the 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.
Any individual who is a leased employee shall not be eligible to participate in the system. For purposes of this system, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization or other similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to 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.