Senate Bill No. 613
(By Senators Chafin, Unger, Love, Ross, Sharpe and Dempsey)
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[Introduced February 17, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article seven-a, chapter eighteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-six-t, relating to increasing supplemental benefits to
certain teacher retirement annuitants.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-six-t, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-26t. Supplemental benefits for certain annuitants.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances
provided, each annuitant who is receiving a disability annuity and
has been retired for at least five years, or is receiving a retirement annuity and is at least sixty years of age and has been
retired for at least five years, shall receive beginning on the
first day of July, two thousand four, and each year thereafter, a
supplemental benefit as follows:
An annual cost-of-living supplement which is equal to the
percentage increase in the consumer price index as published by the
United States department of labor or two percent, whichever is
less, multiplied by the first fifteen thousand dollars of the
retiree's annual annuity. This shall be phased in over a two-year
period as follows: One percent in the two thousand four-two
thousand five fiscal year, thereafter increasing to two percent in
the two thousand five-two thousand six fiscal year, and remaining
at the annual cost-of-living supplement or two percent, whichever
is less.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a
cost-of-living increase to certain annuitants under the teachers
retirement system. The supplement is equal to the percentage
increase in the consumer price index or two percent, whichever is
less, multiplied by the first fifteen thousand dollars of the
retiree's annual annuity.
This section is new: therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.