Senate Bill No. 150
(By Senators Anderson, Sharpe, Minard, Minear, Redd,
Hunter,
McKenzie, Oliverio, Love, Bowman, Ross, Edgell, Mitchell,
Caldwell, Helmick, Fanning, Unger, Prezioso, Rowe and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 16, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-two, article ten,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to retirement
annuity of public employees and retirants; and increasing
the multiplier.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section 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.
§5-10-22. 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. After the first day
of July, two thousand one, all members retiring shall receive a
straight life annuity equal to two and one-half 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. In either any event, upon his
or her retirement he or she has 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 the retirant or beneficiary dies, and the annuity payments may 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, inclusive, 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 the
first day of March, 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the multiplier
for a retirement annuity in the public employees retirement
system from 2 to 2.5.
This bill also deletes language declared improper by the
Supreme Court of Appeals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.