H. B. 2909

(By Delegates Varner, Kominar, Shaver,
Fahey, Givens, Hall and Michael)
[Introduced March 19, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]

A BILL to amend article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-two-g; and to amend article seven-a, chapter eighteen of said code by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-six-s, all relating to a minimum monthly retirement benefits for certain retired members of the public employees retirement system and the state teachers retirement system; specifying qualifying years of service; and excluding certain service credit.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-two-g; and that article seven-a, chapter eighteen of said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-six-s, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.

§5-10-22g. Minimum benefit for certain retirants; legislative declaration; state interest and public purpose.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
(1) An important state interest exists in providing a minimum retirement annuity for certain retirants, or their beneficiaries, who are credited with at least seventeen years of credited service;
(2) Providing a minimum retirement annuity for certain retirants is a public purpose; and
(3) The exclusions of credited service while an elected public official or while a temporary legislative employee are reasonable and equitable exclusions for purposes of determining eligibility for the minimum benefits.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Elected public official" means any member of the Legislature or any member of the legislative body of any political subdivision; and
(2) "Temporary legislative employee" means any employee of the clerk of the House of Delegates, the clerk of the Senate, the Legislature or a committee of the Legislature whose employment is classified as temporary and who is employed to perform services required by the clerk of the House of Delegates, the clerk of the Senate, the Legislature or a committee of the Legislature, as the case may be, for regular sessions, extraordinary sessions or interim meetings of the Legislature.
(c)(1) If the retirement annuity of a retirant, or, if applicable, his or her beneficiary, with at least seventeen years of credited service as of the effective date of this section is less than two hundred dollars per month, including any supplemental benefits or incentives provided by this article, then the monthly retirement benefit for the retired member, or if applicable, his or her beneficiary, shall be increased to two hundred dollars per month.
(2) If the retirement annuity of a retirant, or, if applicable, his or her beneficiary, with at least eighteen years of credited service as of the effective date of this section is less than three hundred dollars per month, including any supplemental benefits or incentives provided by this article, then the monthly retirement benefit for the retired member, or if applicable, his or her beneficiary, shall be increased to three hundred dollars per month.
(3) If the retirement annuity of a retirant, or, if applicable, his or her beneficiary, with at least nineteen years of credited service as of the effective date of this section is less than four hundred dollars per month, including any supplemental benefits or incentives provided by this article, then the monthly retirement benefit for the retired member, or if applicable, his or her beneficiary, shall be increased to four hundred dollars per month.
(d) Any year of credited service while an elected public official or a temporary legislative employee may not be taken into account for purposes of this section.
(e) The payment of a minimum benefit under this section is in lieu of, and not in addition to, the payments of any retirement benefit or supplemental benefit or incentives otherwise provided by law.
(f) A minimum benefit provided by this section is subject to any limitations on the benefit under §415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(g) Any minimum benefit provided by this section is not retroactive to the time of retirement and applies only to members who have retired prior to the effective date of this section, or, if applicable, to beneficiaries receiving benefits under the retirement system prior to the effective date.

ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§18-7A-26s. Minimum benefit for certain retired members; legislative declaration; state interest and public purpose.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) An important state interest exists in providing a minimum retirement annuity for certain retired members who are credited with at least seventeen years of total service;
(2) Providing a minimum retirement annuity is a public purpose; and
(3) The exclusion of total service for certain employees of institutions of higher education is a reasonable and equitable exclusion for purposes of determining eligibility for the minimum benefits.
(b) (1) If the retirement annuity of a retired member, or if applicable, a spouse of a retired member, with at least seventeen years of total service is less than two hundred dollars per month, including any supplemental or additional benefits provided by this article, then the monthly retirement annuity for the retired member or spouse shall be increased to two hundred dollars per month.
(2) If the retirement annuity of a retired member, or if applicable, a spouse of a retired member, with at least eighteen years of total service is less than three hundred dollars per month, including any supplemental or additional benefits provided by this article, then the monthly retirement annuity for the retired member or spouse shall be increased to three hundred dollars per month.
(3) If the retirement annuity of a retired member, or if applicable, a spouse of a retired member, with at least nineteen years of total service is less than four hundred dollars per month, including any supplemental or additional benefits provided by this article, then the monthly retirement annuity for the retired member or spouse shall be increased to four hundred dollars per month.
(c) Any year of service while an employee of an institution of higher education may not be taken into account for purposes of this section if his or her salary is capped under the retirement system at four thousand eight hundred dollars per year pursuant to section fourteen-a of this article.
(d) The payment of any minimum benefit under this section is in lieu of, and not in addition to, the payments of any retirement annuity or supplemental or additional benefits otherwise provided by this article.
(e) A minimum benefit provided by this section is subject to any limitations on the benefit under §415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(f) A minimum benefit provided by this section is not retroactive to the time of retirement and applies only to members who have retired prior to the effective date of this section, or, if applicable, to beneficiaries receiving benefits under the retirement system prior to the effective date.
(g) The minimum benefit provided in this section is subject to a recommendation by the governor for the minimum benefit through the delivery of an executive message to the Legislature and an appropriation by the Legislature for the minimum benefit. The appropriation to be made over a continuous six-year period following the effective date of this section.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide minimum monthly retirement benefits for most retired public employees and teachers. For retirees with 17, 18 and 19 years of service the minimum monthly benefits

would be $200, $300 and $400, respectively.

All sections in this bill are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.