Senate Bill No. 436

(By Senators Fanning, Jackson, Plymale, Chafin, Mitchell, Minard, Kessler, Edgell, Anderson, Unger, Helmick, Bailey, Wooton, Bowman, Prezioso, Sharpe, Ross, Love, Hunter, Rowe, Caldwell, Oliverio, Facemyer, Redd, Minear, Boley, Snyder, McCabe, Sprouse and Tomblin, Mr. President)

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[Introduced January 29, 2002; 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-f, article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section twenty-six-r, article seven-a, chapter eighteen of said code, all relating to the public employees retirement act and the state teachers retirement system; and including disability retirants among those eligible for a minimum benefit.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-two-f, article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section twenty-six- r, article seven-a, chapter eighteen of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
 ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-22f. Minimum benefit for certain retirants; legislative declaration; state interest and public purpose.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that an important state interest exists in providing a minimum retirement annuity for certain retirants (or their beneficiaries) who are credited with twenty or more years of credited service or who retired pursuant to section twenty-five of this article; that such program constitutes a public purpose; and that 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 such minimum benefits. 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 thereof 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 thereof, as the case may be, for regular sessions, extraordinary sessions and/or interim meetings of the Legislature.
If the retirement annuity of a retirant (or, if applicable, his or her beneficiary) with at least twenty years of credited service or who retired pursuant to section twenty-five of this article as of the effective date of this section is less than five hundred dollars per month (including any supplemental benefits or incentives provided by this article), then the monthly retirement benefit for any such retired member (or if applicable, his or her beneficiary) shall be increased to five hundred dollars per month: Provided, That any year of credited service while an elected public official or a temporary legislative employee shall not be taken into account for purposes of this section.
The payment of any minimum benefit under this section shall be in lieu of, and not in addition to, the payments of any retirement benefit or supplemental benefit or incentives otherwise provided by law: Provided, That the minimum benefit provided herein shall be subject to any limitations thereon under §415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Any minimum benefit conferred herein shall not be retroactive to the time of retirement and shall apply 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-26r. Minimum benefit for certain retired members; legislative declaration; state interest and public purpose.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that an important state interest exists in providing a minimum retirement annuity for certain retired members who are credited with twenty or more years of total service or who retired pursuant to the disability retirement provisions of section twenty-five of this article; that such program constitutes a public purpose; and that 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 such minimum benefits.
If the retirement annuity of a retired member (or if applicable, a spouse thereof) with at least twenty years of total service or who retired pursuant to the disability provisions of section twenty-five of this article is less than five hundred dollars per month (including any supplemental or additional benefits provided by this article), then the monthly retirement annuity for any such retired member shall be increased to five hundred dollars per month: Provided, That any year of service while an employee of an institution of higher education shall 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.
The payment of any minimum benefit under this section shall be in lieu of, and not in addition to, the payments of any retirement annuity or supplemental or additional benefits otherwise provided by this article: Provided, That the minimum benefit provided herein shall be subject to any limitations thereon under §415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as the same may be amended.
Any minimum benefit conferred herein shall not be retroactive to the time of retirement and shall apply 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.
The minimum benefit provided herein shall be subject to a recommendation by the governor for such minimum benefit through the delivery of an executive message to the Legislature and an appropriation by the Legislature for such minimum benefit, such 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 include disability retirants within the eligibility rules for a minimum retirement benefit.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.