Senate Bill No. 107
(By Senators Anderson, Sharpe, Minard, Minear, Redd, McKenzie,
Oliverio, Love, Bowman, Ross, Edgell, Mitchell, Caldwell,
Helmick, Unger, Kessler)
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[Introduced January 10, 2002; referred to the Committee
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 two, 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.