ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 559
(By Senators Minear, Unger and Plymale)
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[Passed April 14, 2001; to take effect July 1, 2001.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section twenty-seven, article ten,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to preretirement
death benefits under the West Virginia public employees
retirement system; clarifying that a lump sum refund amount
may be paid as a preretirement death benefit in lieu of an
annuity; clarifying that no annuity benefit is due if the
member has fewer than ten years of service; and providing that
a married member who has at least ten years of service is
allowed to name a beneficiary other than a spouse to receive
preretirement death benefits if a valid waiver is presented to
the retirement board.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-seven, 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.
§5-10-27. Preretirement death annuities.
(a) In the event any member who has ten or more years of
credited service or any former member with ten or more years of
credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity,
pursuant to section twenty-one of this article, may at any time
prior to the effective date of his
or her
retirement, by written
declaration duly executed and filed with the board of trustees, in
the same manner as if he
or she
were then retiring from the employ
of a participating public employer, elect option A provided for in
section twenty-four of this article and nominate a beneficiary whom
the board finds to have had an insurable interest in the life of
the member. Prior to the effective date of his
or her
retirement,
a member may revoke his
or her
election of option A and nomination
of beneficiary and he
or she may again prior to his or her
retirement elect option A and nominate a beneficiary as provided in
this subsection. Upon the death of a member who has an option A
election in force, his or her beneficiary, if living, shall
immediately receive an annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the same member had retired the day preceding the
date of his or her death, notwithstanding that he or she might not
have attained age sixty years, and elected the said option A. If
at the time of his or her retirement a member has an option A
election in force, his or her election of option A and nomination
of beneficiary shall thereafter continue in force. As an
alternative to annuity option A, a member or former member may
elect to have the preretirement death benefit paid as a return of
accumulated contributions in a lump sum amount to any beneficiary
or beneficiaries he or she chooses.
(b) In the event any member who has ten or more years of
credited service, or any former member with ten or more years of
credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity,
pursuant to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies; and (2)
leaves a surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall immediately
receive an annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as
if the said member had: (1) Retired the day preceding the date of
his or her death, notwithstanding that he or she might not have
attained age sixty or sixty-two years, as the case may be; (2)
elected option A provided for in section twenty-four of this
article; and (3) nominated his or her surviving spouse as beneficiary. However, the surviving spouse shall have the right to
waive the annuity provided for in this section: Provided, That he
or she executes a valid and notarized waiver on a form provided by
the retirement board and that the member or former member attests
to the waiver. If the waiver is presented to and accepted by the
retirement board, the member or former member shall nominate a
beneficiary who has an insurable interest in the member's or former
member's life. As an alternative to annuity option A, the member
or former member may elect to have the preretirement death benefit
paid as a return of accumulated contributions in a lump sum amount
to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses in the event
a waiver, as provided for in this section, has been presented to
and accepted by the retirement board.
(c) In the event any member who has ten or more years of
credited service or any former member with ten or more years of
credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity,
pursuant to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies without
leaving surviving him or her a spouse; but (2) leaves surviving him
or her an infant child or children; and (3) does not have a
beneficiary nominated as provided in subsection (a) of this
section, the infant child or children shall be entitled to an annuity to be calculated as follows: The annuity reserve shall be
calculated as though the member had retired as of the date of his
or her decease and elected a straight life annuity and the amount
of the annuity reserve shall be paid in equal monthly installments
to said the member's infant child or children until the child or
children attain age twenty-one or sooner marry or become
emancipated; however, in no event shall any child or children
receive more than two hundred fifty dollars per month each. The
annuity payments shall be computed as of the date of the death of
the member and the amount of the annuity shall remain constant
during the period of payment. The annual amount of the annuities
payable by this section shall not exceed sixty percent of the
deceased member's final average salary.
(d) In the event any member or former member does not have ten
or more years of credited service, no preretirement death annuity
may be authorized, owed or awarded under this section.