COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 455
(By Senators Minard and Unger)
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[Originating in the Committee on Pensions;
reported February 26, 2003.]
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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 fifteen-b,
relating to authorizing service credit toward retirement to
public employees for public employment in another state.
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 fifteen-b, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-15b. Credit for public employment in another state.
(a) Any member of the retirement system who has previously
been employed in public employment in any other state of the United
States is entitled to receive credited service for the time of
public employment in that state, not to exceed five years, if the member substantiates by appropriate documentation or evidence his
or her public employment in another state and makes contributions
as required: Provided, That the employee is not entitled to receive
the credited service if the employee is vested or entitled to be
vested in a retirement system of the state in which the employment
credit was earned and the employee is entitled to service credit in
that retirement system for the employment period for which the
applicant seeks credited service in West Virginia: Provided,
however, That the service credit from the other state may not be
used to meet West Virginia's eligibility requirements for
retirement or vesting.
Employees entitled to out-of-state service credit under the
provisions of this section shall make additional contribution to
the retirement system equal to the actuarial equivalent of the
amount which would have been contributed, together with earnings
thereon, by the employee and the employer, had the employee been
covered during the period of the retroactive service credit.
(b) In any case of doubt as to the period of service to be
credited a member under the provisions of this section, the board
of trustees has the final power to determine this period.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize service
credit toward retirement to public employees for public employment
in another state. The bill sets a maximum of five years and the
employee must pay into the members' deposit fund the amount the
employee and employer would have paid had the employee been
covered, plus interest.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)