No such benefits, however, shall be paid to a present teacher who elects not to become a member of the teachers retirement system.
The governing boards of state educational institutions shall have authority to provide retirement benefits for teachers and other employees who have served at the institutions under their control, to supplement benefits received by such employees under the state teachers retirement system. Payment therefor shall be made from funds appropriated for personal services at the institution from which the teacher or employee was retired, and the amount thereof shall be determined in accordance with rules promulgated by the governing board of the institution.
The general administration and the management of the retirement system are hereby continued in a "teachers retirement board" through the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one and thereafter, in the consolidated public retirement board created by article ten-d, chapter five of this code. The retirement board shall have the right to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted with and shall make all necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this article. All of the business of the board shall be transacted, all of its funds invested, all warrants for money drawn and payments made, and all of its cash and securities and other property shall be held in the name of the "teachers retirement board."
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 33.
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 33.
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 33.
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 33.
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 33.
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 33.
The retirement board shall publish an annual report showing the condition of the various funds created by this article. It shall certify in such report the amount of accumulated cash and securities in the funds and shall present a full account of the operation of the system.
(a) New entrants, whose membership in the system is compulsory upon employment as teachers and nonteachers.
(b) The membership of the retirement system shall not include any person who is an active member of or who has been retired by the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System, the judge's retirement system, or the retirement system of the West Virginia State Police or the supplemental retirement system as provided in section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter. The membership of any person in the retirement system ceases:
(1) Upon the withdrawal of accumulated contributions after the cessation of service; or (2) upon effective retirement date; or (3) at death; or (4) upon the date, if any, when after the cessation of service, the outstanding balance of any loan obtained by the member pursuant to section thirty-four of this article or section five, article seven-d of this chapter, plus accrued interest, equals or exceeds the member's accumulated contributions.
(c) Any former member of the retirement system who has withdrawn accumulated contributions but subsequently reenters the retirement system may repay to the retirement fund the amount withdrawn, plus interest at a rate set by the board, compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment: Provided, That no repayment may be made until the former member has completed two years of contributory service after reentry; and the member shall be accorded all the rights to prior service and experience as were held at the time of withdrawal of the accumulated contributions: Provided, however, That no withdrawn service may be reinstated that has been transferred to another retirement system from which the member is currently or will in the future draw benefits based on the same service. The interest paid shall be deposited in the reserve fund.
(d) No member is eligible for prior service credit unless he or she is eligible for prior service pension, as prescribed by section twenty-two of this article; however, a new entrant who becomes a present teacher as provided in this subdivision shall be considered eligible for prior service pension upon retirement.
(e) Any individual who is a leased employee is not eligible to participate in the system. For purposes of this system, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization or other similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to decide the question.
(b) Retired teachers who qualified for an annuity because of age or service may not receive prior service allowance from the retirement board when employed as a teacher and when regularly employed by the State of West Virginia. The payment of the allowance shall be discontinued on the first day of the month within which such employment begins and shall be resumed on the first day of the month succeeding the month within which such employment ceases. The annuity paid the teacher on first retirement resulting from the Teachers' Accumulation Fund and the Employers' Accumulation Fund shall continue throughout the governmental service and thereafter according to the option selected by the teacher upon first retirement.
(c) Retired teachers who qualified for an annuity because of disability shall receive no further retirement payments if the retirement board finds that the disability of the teacher no longer exists; payment shall be discontinued on the first day of the month within which the finding is made. If the retired teacher returns to service as a teacher, he or she shall contribute to the Teachers' Accumulation Fund as a member of the system. His or her prior service eligibility, if any, shall not be impaired because of his or her disability retirement. His or her accumulated contributions which were transferred to the benefit fund upon his or her retirement shall be returned to his or her individual account in the Teachers' Accumulation Fund, minus retirement payments received which were not supported by such contributions and interest. Upon subsequent retirement, he or she shall receive credit for all of his or her contributory experience, anything to the contrary in this article notwithstanding.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a person who retires under the system provided by this article may subsequently become employed on either a full-time basis, part-time basis or contract basis by any institution of higher education without any loss of retirement annuity or retirement benefits if the person's retirement commences between the effective date of the enactment of this section in two thousand two and the thirty-first day of December, two thousand two: Provided, That the person shall not be eligible to participate in any other state retirement system provided by this code.
(e) The retirement board is herewith authorized to require of the retired teachers and their employers such reports as it deems necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, any present member of the retirement system who as an employee of the board of governors in the cooperative extension service of West Virginia University holds a federal appointment, making him eligible for membership in the federal civil service retirement system, shall have an option to terminate his membership in the state teachers retirement system at any time within twelve months after the effective date hereof, or to continue his membership if he so desires. If he elects to terminate his membership, he shall be entitled to withdrawal benefits similar to those that are provided in section twenty-three of this article for members who withdraw from service prior to retirement, and he shall be required to join the federal civil service retirement system. Any future employee in the cooperative extension service who is eligible for membership in the federal civil service retirement system shall be required to join that system, and shall be ineligible for membership in the state teachers retirement system during such period of employment. Should employment cease with the cooperative extension service of West Virginia University and the employee assumes a position that subjects him to membership in the teachers retirement system, he shall receive service credit for each year served in the cooperative extension service and within this state providing: (1) That the member pays to the system a contribution equal to the amount he contributed during his first full year of current employment, times the number of years for which credit is granted, plus interest at a rate equal to that established by the retirement board for the purchase of service as a teacher in the employment of the federal government, and (2) that such years of service for which he receives credit hereunder have not and will not, in the future, be used to obtain or enhance a retirement benefit from any other retirement system whatsoever, including the federal civil service retirement system.
The board of governors shall have the authority and shall be required to withhold from each salary payment due any employee in the cooperative extension service, who is a member of the federal civil service retirement system, the amount of the contribution he is required to make to the federal treasury for such membership. Upon proper requisition of the board, the auditor shall periodically issue a warrant payable to the treasurer of the United States for the total membership contributions so withheld from the salaries of all employees in the cooperative extension service.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary, any present member of the retirement system, or person who was a member on February twelve, one thousand nine hundred seventy, who, as an employee of the West Virginia board of regents was limited in the amount he could pay into the retirement system to two hundred sixteen dollars per year from July one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three, to July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, and to two hundred eighty-eight dollars from July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, shall have the option, at any time within twelve months from the effective date hereof, to pay into the retirement system twice the amount of the difference between such limitations and the amount he would have paid therein had he been paying the full amount provided by law for members of the retirement system other than employees of the board of regents: Provided, That this additional payment into the retirement system by any such member who was employed by the board of regents while he was under thirty years of age shall be reduced to once the amount of such difference so far as any salary he received from the board while under thirty years of age is concerned.
If such a member makes such election, he must thereafter make contributions into the retirement system on his entire salary without limitation, unless later imposed by law, and after such election is made the board of regents as his employer shall no longer make payments for such employee for the supplemental retirement plan authorized by section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter, but the matching contributions made by the state or employer in his behalf for retirement plans shall be limited to those provided by sections fourteen and sixteen of this article.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of Plan B, section twenty-six of this article, or any other provision herein, any such member who exercises such option and makes the required additional payment will then be considered entitled to retirement, death, withdrawal and all other benefits under the retirement system to the same extent as if he had been paying into the retirement system the full amount provided by law for members of the system other than employees of the board of regents throughout the period of his membership in the retirement system.
Any such member who does not make such election shall have the options of retaining his present status under the retirement system and the supplemental retirement plan as provided by section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter, or of ceasing to pay any portion of his salary into the retirement system and paying a percentage of his entire salary into a retirement plan established by the board of regents pursuant to the provisions of said section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter. In the event he makes the latter election he shall, upon retirement, receive benefits under the retirement system as if he had retired at the date he ceased making payments into the system, except that between such time and the time of actual retirement regular interest shall be considered in computing such benefits.
A person employed by the West Virginia board of regents in the future shall have the option, as of the date of his employment, to elect whether he is to pay a percentage of his entire salary into the state retirement system, or to pay a percentage of such salary into a retirement plan established by the board of regents pursuant to the provisions of section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter, and shall receive benefits according to the retirement plan he selects.
Since persons employed by the former board of governors of West Virginia University, and by the state board of education at institutions of higher education, on July one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, became employees of the West Virginia board of regents on that date, employment by such board of governors and the state board of education at institutions of higher education shallbe deemed to have been employment by the board of regents for the purposes of this section.
Each employer shall be held accountable for the sum composing the contributions made by its member employees. Whenever any county board of education shall fail to make timely remittance of the member contributions deducted as provided in this section, the board of school finance shall, upon request of the retirement board, deduct from the next allotment of state aid for schools made to such county board, and shall transfer to the retirement board, the amount so in default.
At the beginning of each quarter the governor shall transfer to the employers accumulation fund one fourth of the annual appropriations therefor.
(b) For the purpose of this article, the Retirement Board shall grant prior service credit to new entrants and other members of the retirement system for service in any of the Armed Forces of the United States in any period of national emergency within which a federal Selective Service Act was in effect. For purposes of this section, "Armed Forces" includes Women's Army Corps, women's appointed volunteers for emergency service, Army Nurse Corps, SPARS, Women's Reserve and other similar units officially parts of the military service of the United States. The military service is considered equivalent to public school teaching, and the salary equivalent for each year of that service is the actual salary of the member as a teacher for his or her first year of teaching after discharge from military service. Prior service credit for military service shall not exceed ten years for any one member, nor shall it exceed twenty-five percent of total service at the time of retirement. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Retirement Board is authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this section and, pursuant to the authority granted to the Retirement Board in section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code, may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. No military service credit may be used in more than one retirement system administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
(c) For service as a teacher in the employment of the federal government, or a state or territory of the United States, or a governmental subdivision of that state or territory, the Retirement Board shall grant credit to the member: Provided, That the member shall pay to the system double the amount he or she contributed during the first full year of current employment, times the number of years for which credit is granted, plus interest at a rate to be determined by the Retirement Board. The interest shall be deposited in the reserve fund and service credit granted at the time of retirement shall not exceed the lesser of ten years or fifty percent of the member's total service as a teacher in West Virginia. Any transfer of out-of-state service, as provided in this article, shall not be used to establish eligibility for a retirement allowance and the Retirement Board shall grant credit for the transferred service as additional service only: Provided, however, That a transfer of out-of-state service is prohibited if the service is used to obtain a retirement benefit from another retirement system: Provided further, That salaries paid to members for service prior to entrance into the retirement system shall not be used to compute the average final salary of the member under the retirement system.
(d) Service credit for members or retired members shall not be denied on the basis of minimum income rules promulgated by the teachers retirement board: Provided, That the member or retired member shall pay to the system the amount he or she would have contributed during the year or years of public school service for which credit was denied as a result of the minimum income rules of the Teachers Retirement Board.
(e) No members shall be considered absent from service while serving as a member or employee of the Legislature of the state of West Virginia during any duly constituted session of that body or while serving as an elected member of a county commission during any duly constituted session of that body.
(f) No member shall be considered absent from service as a teacher while serving as an officer with a statewide professional teaching association, or who has served in that capacity, and no retired teacher, who served in that capacity while a member, shall be considered to have been absent from service as a teacher by reason of that service: Provided, That the period of service credit granted for that service shall not exceed ten years: Provided, however, That a member or retired teacher who is serving or has served as an officer of a statewide professional teaching association shall make deposits to the Teachers Retirement Board, for the time of any absence, in an amount double the amount which he or she would have contributed in his or her regular assignment for a like period of time.
(g) The Teachers Retirement Board shall grant service credit to any former or present member of the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System who has been a contributing member for more than three years, for service previously credited by the Public Employees Retirement System and: (1) Shall require the transfer of the member's contributions to the Teachers Retirement System; or (2) shall require a repayment of the amount withdrawn any time prior to the member's retirement: Provided, That there shall be added by the member to the amounts transferred or repaid under this subsection an amount which shall be sufficient to equal the contributions he or she would have made had the member been under the Teachers Retirement System during the period of his or her membership in the Public Employees Retirement System plus interest at a rate to be determined by the Board compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to the date of payment. The interest paid shall be deposited in the reserve fund.
(h) For service as a teacher in an elementary or secondary parochial school, located within this state and fully accredited by the West Virginia Department of Education, the Retirement Board shall grant credit to the member: Provided, That the member shall pay to the system double the amount contributed during the first full year of current employment, times the number of years for which credit is granted, plus interest at a rate to be determined by the Retirement Board. The interest shall be deposited in the reserve fund and service granted at the time of retirement shall not exceed the lesser of ten years or fifty percent of the member's total service as a teacher in the West Virginia public school system. Any transfer of parochial school service, as provided in this section, may not be used to establish eligibility for a retirement allowance and the Board shall grant credit for the transfer as additional service only: Provided, however, That a transfer of parochial school service is prohibited if the service is used to obtain a retirement benefit from another retirement system.
(i) Active members who previously worked in CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) may receive service credit for time served in that capacity: Provided, That in order to receive service credit under the provisions of this subsection the following conditions must be met: (1) The member must have moved from temporary employment with the participating employer to permanent full-time employment with the participating employer within one hundred twenty days following the termination of the member's CETA employment; (2) the Board must receive evidence that establishes to a reasonable degree of certainty as determined by the Board that the member previously worked in CETA; and (3) the member shall pay to the Board an amount equal to the employer and employee contribution plus interest at the amount set by the Board for the amount of service credit sought pursuant to this subsection: Provided, however, That the maximum service credit that may be obtained under the provisions of this subsection is two years: Provided further, That a member must apply and pay for the service credit allowed under this subsection and provide all necessary documentation by the thirty-first day of March, two thousand three: And provided further, That the Board shall exercise due diligence to notify affected employees of the provisions of this subsection.
(j) If a member is not eligible for prior service credit or pension as provided in this article, then his or her prior service shall not be considered a part of his or her total service.
(k) A member who withdrew from membership may regain his or her former membership rights as specified in section thirteen of this article only in case he or she has served two years since his or her last withdrawal.
(l) Subject to the provisions of subsections (a) through (l), inclusive, of this section, the Board shall verify as soon as practicable the statements of service submitted. The Retirement Board shall issue prior service certificates to all persons eligible for the certificates under the provisions of this article. The certificates shall state the length of the prior service credit, but in no case shall the prior service credit exceed forty years.
(m) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, when a member is or has been elected to serve as a member of the Legislature, and the proper discharge of his or her duties of public office require that member to be absent from his or her teaching or administrative duties, the time served in discharge of his or her duties of the legislative office are credited as time served for purposes of computing service credit: Provided, That the Board may not require any additional contributions from that member in order for the Board to credit him or her with the contributing service credit earned while discharging official legislative duties: Provided, however, That nothing in this section may be construed to relieve the employer from making the employer contribution at the member's regular salary rate or rate of pay from that employer on the contributing service credit earned while the member is discharging his or her official legislative duties. These employer payments shall commence as of the first day of June, two thousand: Provided further, That any member to which the provisions of this subsection apply may elect to pay to the Board an amount equal to what his or her contribution would have been for those periods of time he or she was serving in the Legislature. The periods of time upon which the member paid his or her contribution shall then be included for purposes of determining his or her final average salary as well as for determining years of service: And provided further, That a member using the provisions of this subsection is not required to pay interest on any contributions he or she may decide to make.
(n) The Teachers Retirement Board shall grant service credit to any former member of the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System who has been a contributing member for more than three years, for service previously credited by the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System; and: (1) Shall require the transfer of the member's contributions to the Teachers Retirement System; or (2) shall require a repayment of the amount withdrawn any time prior to the member's retirement: Provided, That the member shall add to the amounts transferred or repaid under this paragraph an amount which is sufficient to equal the contributions he or she would have made had the member been under the Teachers Retirement System during the period of his or her membership in the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System plus interest at a rate to be determined by the Board compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to the date of payment. The interest paid shall be deposited in the reserve fund.
(b) There shall be deposited into the Teachers Employers Contribution Collection Account the following:
(1) Contributions of employers, through state appropriations, and such amounts shall be included in the budget bill submitted annually by the Governor;
(2) Beginning on the first day of July, two-thousand five, contributions from each county in an amount equal to fifteen percent of all salary paid in excess of that authorized for minimum salaries in sections two and eight-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code and any salary equity authorized in section five of said article or any county supplement equal to the amount distributed for salary equity among the counties for each individual who was a member of the Teachers' Retirement System before the first day of July, two-thousand five: Provided, That the rate shall be seven and one-half percent for any individual who becomes a member of the Teachers Retirement System for the first time on or after the first day of July, two-thousand five or any individual who becomes a member of the Teachers' Retirement System as a result of the transfer contemplated in article seven-d of this chapter;
(3) The amounts transferred pursuant to section eighteen-a of this article; and
(4) Any other moneys, available and not otherwise expended, which may be appropriated or transferred to this account.
(c) Moneys on deposit in the Teacher Employers Contribution Collection Account shall be transferred monthly in the following order:
(1) To the Teachers' Retirement System Fund the amount certified by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board as the actuarially required contribution; and
(2) The balance, if any, to the Employee Pension and Health Care Benefits Fund established under section thirty-nine, article seven-a of this chapter.
(d) There is hereby continued in the State Treasury a separate irrevocable trust designated the Teachers' Retirement System Fund. The Teachers' Retirement System Fund shall be invested as provided in section nine-a, article six, chapter twelve of this code.
(e) There shall be deposited into the Teachers' Retirement System Fund, the following:
(1) Moneys transferred from the Teachers Employers Contribution Collection Account;
(2) Member contributions provided for in section fifteen of this article;
(3) Gifts and bequests to the fund and any accretions and accumulations which may properly be paid into and become a part of the fund;
(4) Specific appropriations to the fund made by the Legislature;
(5) Interest on the investment of any part or parts of the fund; and
(6) Any other moneys, available and not otherwise expended, which may be appropriated or transferred to the Teachers Retirement System or the Fund.
(f) The Teachers Retirement System Fund shall be the fund from which annuities shall be paid.
(g) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board has sole authority to direct and approve the making of any and all fund transfers as provided in this section, anything in this code to the contrary notwithstanding.
(h) References in the code to the Teachers Accumulation Fund, the Employers Accumulation Fund, the Benefit Fund, the Reserve Fund and the Expense Fund mean the Teachers Retirement System Fund.
There shall be an additional allocation in each year an amount equal to the total of all irrevocably forfeited amounts in the suspension account established in section eleven, article seven-b of this chapter plus earnings thereon which have been certified to the several contributing employers as irrevocably forfeited in the prior fiscal year and subsequently used by the contributing employers to reduce their total aggregate contribution requirements pursuant to section seventeen, article seven-b of this chapter.
(b) The additional allocation provided in this section represents a funding method by which a part of a rational amortization plan will be established to amortize the current unfunded liability of the Teachers Retirement System created by this article. The additional allocations are not and shall not be construed to be moneys which are owed to, nor earned by any employee.
The custodian shall furnish annually to the retirement board a sworn statement of the amount of the funds in his custody belonging to the retirement system.
The members of the retirement board shall be the trustees of the several funds created by this article, and shall determine from time to time what part of the moneys belonging to the retirement system shall be invested. When such board shall determine to invest any moneys or to convert or sell any securities, it shall by resolution so direct the custodian. The board of public works is hereby empowered to determine in what securities the investments shall be made, but such investments shall be made only in those securities to which the board of public works is limited in the investment of workers' compensation funds under section two, article three, chapter twenty-three of this code, or in bonds, notes, or other instruments evidencing loans secured by mortgages or deeds of trust insured, or with respect to which commitments to insure have been made by the United States, or by the secretary of agriculture, pursuant to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937, as heretofore or hereinafter amended. It shall be the duty of every county, school district or municipality issuing any bonds to offer them in writing to the board of public works, prior to advertising the bonds for sale. The board of public works, within fifteen days after receipt of such offer, may accept or reject such offer in whole or in part. It shall be the duty of the custodian to collect the principal and the interest on investments when they become due and payable and to credit such collections to the retirement system.
(a) Present members upon retirement;
(b) Any person who has served at least twenty-five years as a teacher prior to July one, one thousand nine hundred forty- one; and
(c) A new entrant who becomes a present teacher.
(1) A contributor who withdraws from service for any cause other than death, disability or retirement shall, upon application, be paid his or her accumulated contributions up to the end of the fiscal year preceding the year in which application is made, after offset of any outstanding loan balance, plus accrued interest, pursuant to section thirty-four of this article, but in no event shall interest be paid beyond the end of five years following the year in which the last contribution was made: Provided, That the contributor, at the time of application, is then no longer under contract, verbal or otherwise, to serve as a teacher; or
(2) If the contributor has completed twenty years of total service, he or she may elect to receive at retirement age an annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article: Provided, That if the contributor has completed at least five, but fewer than twenty, years of total service in this state, he or she may elect to receive at age sixty-two an annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article. The contributor must notify the retirement board in writing concerning the election. If the contributor has completed fewer than five years of service in this state, he or she shall be subject to the provisions as outlined in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(b) Benefits upon the death of a contributor prior to retirement under the provisions of this article shall be paid as follows:
(1) If the contributor was at least fifty years old and if his or her total service as a teacher was at least twenty-five years at the time of his or her death, then the surviving spouse of the deceased, provided the spouse is designated as the sole refund beneficiary, is eligible for an annuity computed as though the deceased were actually a retired teacher at the time of death and had selected a survivorship option which pays the spouse the same monthly amount which would have been received by the deceased; or
(2) If the facts do not permit payment under subdivision (1) of this subsection, then the following sum shall be paid to the refund beneficiary of the contributor: The contributor's accumulated contributions up to the year of his or her death plus an amount equal to his or her employee contributions. The latter sum shall emanate from the Employer's Accumulation Fund.
(b) In the event that all claims to benefits payable to, or on behalf of, a retired member expire, and the accumulated contributions exceed the accumulated net benefit payments paid to or on behalf of the retired member, the balance in the retired member's account shall be paid to the person or persons as the retired member has nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the board of trustees. If there is no designated person or persons surviving the retired member following the expiration of the claims, the excess of the accumulated contributions over the accumulated net benefit, if any, shall be paid to the retired member's estate: Provided, That the provisions of this section are retroactive to all members who entered retirement status on or after the ninth day of June, two thousand.
Acts, 2006 Reg. Sess., Ch. 200.
(b) Any member who has attained the age of fifty-five years and who has served thirty years as a teacher in West Virginia is eligible for an annuity.
(c) Any member who has served at least thirty but less than thirty-five years as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia and is less than fifty-five years of age is eligible for an annuity, but the annuity shall be the reduced actuarial equivalent of the annuity the member would have received if the member were age fifty-five at the time such annuity was applied for.
(d) The request for any annuity shall be made by the member in writing to the retirement board, but in case of retirement for disability, the written request may be made by either the member or the employer.
(e) A member is eligible for annuity for disability if he or she satisfies the conditions in either subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection and meets the conditions of subdivision (3) of this subsection as follows:
(1) His or her service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia must total at least ten years and service as a teacher or nonteaching member must have been terminated because of disability, which disability must have caused absence from service for at least six months before his or her application for disability annuity is approved.
(2) His or her service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia must total at least five years and service as a teacher or nonteaching member must have been terminated because of disability, which disability must have caused absence from service for at least six months before his or her application for disability annuity is approved and the disability is a direct and total result of an act of student violence directed toward the member.
(3) An examination by a physician or physicians selected by the Retirement Board must show that the member is at the time mentally or physically incapacitated for service as a teacher, that for that service the disability is total and likely to be permanent and that he or she should be retired in consequence of the disability.
(f) Continuance of the disability of the retired member shall be established by medical examination, as prescribed in subdivision (3), subsection (e) of this section, annually for five years after retirement, and thereafter at such times required by the retirement board. Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, a member who has retired because of a disability may select an option of payment under the provisions of section twenty-eight of this article: Provided, That any option selected under the provisions of section twenty-eight of this article shall be in all respects the actuarial equivalent of the straight life annuity benefit the disability retiree receives or would receive if the options under said section were not available and that no beneficiary or beneficiaries of the disability annuitant may receive a greater benefit, nor receive any benefit for a greater length of time, than the beneficiary or beneficiaries would have received had the disability retiree not made any election of the options available under said section. In determining the actuarial equivalence, the board shall take into account the life expectancies of the member and the beneficiary: Provided, however, That the life expectancies may at the discretion of the board be established by an underwriting medical director of a competent insurance company offering annuities. Payment of the disability annuity provided in this article shall cease immediately if the retirement board finds that the disability of the retired teacher no longer exists, or if the retired teacher refuses to submit to medical examination as required by this section.
As of the effective date of this section, no person serving under a contract of unlimited tenure or similar arrangement providing for unlimited tenure at an institution of higher education shall be compelled to retire from such employment prior to attaining seventy years of age. In the event such person shall reach age seventy in the middle of a semester or fiscal year, such person shall not be compelled to retire prior to the end of the semester or fiscal year: Provided, That in no event shall such retirement be postponed beyond six months after the date on which such person attained the age of seventy: Provided, however, That nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude discharge of such person for cause.
Annuitants whose annuities were approved by the retirement board on or before December eighteen, one thousand nine hundred sixty-two, shall, upon written application, receive in addition to such approved annuities a monthly allowance computed as follows: The annuitant's years of service shall be multiplied by thirty dollars and this product shall then be divided by his monthly retirement allowance, as computed prior to the above-stated date, excluding any portion of said allowance which is based on voluntary deposits of the annuitant.
In addition thereto, beginning July one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-five, each annuitant under the provisions of this section shall receive a monthly amount equal to seventy-six cents multiplied by his total service credit.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved by the retirement board prior to January one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-seven, shall receive a monthly amount equal to twenty-five cents multiplied by his total service credit.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved by the retirement board prior to January one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, shall receive a monthly amount equal to fifty cents multiplied by his total service credit.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved by the retirement board prior to July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, shall receive, upon application, an amount equal to twenty-five percent of his present retirement allowance.
(a) An annuitant whose annuity was approved by the board effective after June thirty, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three, and before July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, may receive, at his election, an annuity of two percent of his average final salary times his total service credit, plus deposits and tax sheltered annuities, but not including the supplemental benefits permitted pursuant to sections twenty-six-a, twenty-six-b, twenty-six-c and twenty-six-d of this article. Any additional benefit conferred herein shall not be retroactive, but shall be paid beginning July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one, if the option to elect the above plan is exercised by the annuitant prior to May thirty-one, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one.
(b) An annuitant whose annuity was approved by the board effective before July one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three, and any annuitant who is eligible for, but does not elect the plan specified in subsection (a) of this section shall receive, upon application, an additional amount equal to twenty-five percent of his present retirement allowance.
(c) Any retired teacher who was an employee of the West Virginia board of governors or the state board of education and who was limited in the amount he could pay into the retirement system to two hundred sixteen dollars per year from July one, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three, to July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, and who retired prior to February one, one thousand nine hundred seventy, shall have the option at any time within six months from the effective date hereof, to pay into the retirement system the difference between such limitations and twice the amount he would have paid therein had he been paying the full amount provided by law for members of the retirement system other than employees of the West Virginia board of governors or the state board of education. Upon completion of such above-named contributions the annuitant shall be entitled to benefits under the formula specified in subsection (a) of this section, plus deposits and tax sheltered annuities, but not including the supplemental benefits permitted pursuant to sections twenty-six-a, twenty-six-b, twenty-six-c and twenty-six-d of this article. Any additional benefit conferred herein shall not be retroactive to the time of retirement, but shall be paid beginning July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose retirement allowance became effective during the respective dates indicated in this section shall receive, upon application, an increased amount, payable monthly, which is the product of his present retirement allowance multiplied by the percentage increase applicable, according to the effective date of retirement and according to the plan of retirement, as provided by the schedule below.
Effective Date ofPercentage of
RetirementRetirement Allowance Increase
July 1, 1941 through June 30, 1953 16.00%
July 1, 1953 through June 30, 1963 19.00%
July 1, 1963 through June 30, 1965 14.00%
July 1, 1965 through June 30, 1966 10.50%
July 1, 1966 through June 30, 1968 9.50%
July 1, 1968 through June 30, 1969 6.00%
July 1, 1969 through June 30, 1970 9.00%
Any additional benefit conferred herein shall not be retroactive to the time of retirement, but shall be paid as follows: One half of the respective retirement allowance percentage increase shall become effective July 1, 1973, and one half of the respective retirement allowance percentage increase shall become effective July 1, 1974.
From an appropriation of general revenue funds made annually by the Legislature for this purpose and as an additional supplement to other retirement allowances, each annuitant whose retirement allowance became effective during the respective dates indicated in this section shall receive, upon application, an amount which is the product of his present retirement allowance, including all of the supplemental benefits provided in the preceding section of this article, multiplied by the percentage increase applicable, according to the effective date of retirement and according to the plan of retirement, as provided by the schedule below.
Effective Date Percentage of Retirement
of Retirement Allowance Increase
July 1, 1941 through June 30, 1953 13.50%
July 1, 1953 through June 30, 1963 15.25%
July 1, 1963 through June 30, 1965 12.25%
July 1, 1965 through June 30, 1966 9.00%
July 1, 1966 through June 30, 1968 8.75%
July 1, 1968 through June 30, 1969 5.50%
July 1, 1969 through June 30, 1970 8.25%
Any additional benefit conferred herein shall not be retroactive to the time of retirement, but shall be paid beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred seventy-five.
Any annuitant who is receiving a retirement annuity of less than seven thousand five hundred dollars annually on the effective date of this section shall receive a supplemental benefit, prospectively, under this section: Provided, That the effective date of retirement for such annuitant was prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred seventy-nine, and he had ten years or more of credited service at the time of such retirement. For the purposes of this section, "effective date of retirement" means the last day of actual employment, or the last day carried on the payroll of the employer, whichever is later, together with a meeting fully of all eligibility requirements for retirement prior to the aforesaid effective date. Any annuitant retired pursuant to the disability provisions of this article shall be considered to have had ten years or more credited service at the time of such retirement.
Each such annuitant shall receive as his supplemental benefit an increased annual amount which is the product of the sum of eighteen dollars multiplied by his years of credited service: Provided, That the total annuity of any annuitant affected by the provisions of this section, together with any of the other provisions of this article, shall not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars annually.
Any annuitant receiving the supplemental benefit provided for herein for the annuity payment period just prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-five, or any annuitant made newly eligible for receipt of such supplemental benefit on such date, shall receive a nineteen percent increase in the amount of such supplemental benefit prior received or newly calculated, effective on and after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-five, and irrespective of the maximum total annuity proviso, and limitation of seven thousand five hundred dollars annually. In any fiscal year in which pay increases are granted by the Legislature to active teachers, there may also be given an increase in retirement benefits for retired teachers, if funding is available for this purpose.
For the purpose of calculating the supplemental benefit provided in this section, fractional parts of a service credit year are to be disregarded unless in excess of one half of a credited service year, in which event the same shall constitute a full year of service credit.
On or after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-two, for the purpose of computation for determination of eligibility and for the amount of any supplemental benefit hereunder, separate computation shall be made of a retirant's own benefit and that which may be receivable as beneficiary of another, under the provisions of this article, with each such benefit being eligible for the supplemental benefit herein provided.
Beginning on the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, any annuitant who is receiving a retirement annuity on the effective date of this section shall receive a supplemental benefit, prospectively, if the effective date of retirement for such annuitant was prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, and such annuitant is not receiving supplemental benefits pursuant to section twenty-six-h of this article. For the purposes of this section, "effective date of retirement" means the last day of actual employment or the last day carried on the payroll of the employer, whichever is later, together with fully meeting all of the eligibility requirements for retirement prior to the aforesaid effective date.
Each such eligible annuitant shall receive as his or her supplemental benefit an increased annual amount which is the product of the sum of eighteen dollars multiplied by his or her years of credited service.
For the purpose of calculating the supplemental benefit provided in this section, fractional parts of a service credit year are to be disregarded unless in excess of one half of a credited service year, in which event a full year of service credit shall be given.
For the purpose of computation for determination of eligibility and for the amount of any supplemental benefit hereunder, separate computation shall be made of a retirant's own benefit and that which may be receivable as beneficiary of another, under the provisions of this article, with each such benefit being eligible for the supplemental benefit herein provided.
Prior to the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, the executive secretary of the board shall provide to the Legislature information as to the number of annuitants who retired before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, the amounts of the annuities they receive, the amount of funds necessary to provide cost of living increases to such annuitants, and such other detail and related information as the joint committee on government and finance may direct.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved by the retirement board prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, and such annuitant is not receiving supplemental benefits pursuant to section twenty-six-i of this article, shall receive a monthly amount equal to one dollar and twenty-five cents multiplied by his or her total service credit.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant who retired between the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, and the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-two, shall receive a monthly amount equal to two dollars multiplied by his or her total service credit.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved by the retirement board prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-two, and whose benefits were increased in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety, pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-six-i of this article, shall receive a monthly amount equal to fifty cents multiplied by his or her total service credit.
(a) As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved by the retirement board prior to the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one, and who is receiving a monthly pension of three hundred dollars or less, shall receive a monthly amount equal to one dollar multiplied by his or her total service credit.
(b) As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant whose annuity was approved on or after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-two, and before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four, shall receive a monthly amount equal to two dollars multiplied by his or her total service credit.
(1) For retirees who, as of the first day of July, two thousand one, are at least sixty-five years of age and who have been an annuitant for at least five consecutive years, this one-time supplement shall equal five percent of his or her annuity benefit as of the effective date of this section;
(2) For retirees who, as of the first day of July, two thousand one, are at least seventy years of age and who have been an annuitant for at least five consecutive years, this one-time supplement shall equal ten percent of his or her annuity benefit as of the effective date of this section; and
(3) For any person who, as of the first day of July, two thousand one, is at least sixty-five years of age and who retired under the early retirement incentive provided in section thirty-five-b of this article, this one-time supplement shall equal three percent of his or her annuity benefit as of the effective date of this section and subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection do not apply.
(b) The one-time supplement provided for in this section applies only to members who have retired prior to or as of the effective date of this section or, if applicable, to beneficiaries receiving benefits under the retirement system prior to or as of the effective date of this section: Provided, That the supplement provided herein is subject to any applicable limitations thereon under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(b) The one-time supplement provided in this section applies only to members who have retired at least five years prior to the first day of July, two thousand six, or, if applicable, to beneficiaries of deceased members who have been receiving benefits under the retirement system at least five years prior to the first day of July, two thousand six: Provided, That the supplement provided herein is subject to any applicable limitations thereon under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(a) As an additional bonus payment to other retirement allowances provided, a one-time bonus payment to retirement benefits shall be paid to retirants of the retirement system as provided in subsection (b) of this section. The one-time bonus payment shall equal six hundred dollars and shall be paid on the twenty-fifth day of July, two thousand eight.
(b) The one-time bonus payment provided in this section applies to any retirant with at least twenty years of service as a contributing member who currently receives an annual retirement annuity of not more than seven thousand two hundred dollars. This one-time bonus payment is subject to any applicable limitations under section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(c) The one-time bonus payment provided by this section shall be payable pro rata to any beneficiaries of a qualifying retirant who currently receive an annuity or other benefit payable by the retirement system.
(b) The one-time bonus payment provided in this section applies to any retirant with at least twenty years of service as a contributing member who currently receives an annual retirement annuity of not more than $7,200. This one-time bonus payment is subject to any applicable limitations under section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(c) The one-time bonus payment provided by this section shall be payable pro rata to any beneficiaries of a qualifying retirant who currently receive an annuity or other benefit payable by the retirement system.
When a beneficiary and his or her spouse have been approved for a retirement plan which provides for them a joint life annuity, and their marriage is subsequently dissolved, the board shall permit such beneficiary to convert to the maximum life annuity plan approved by the board: Provided, That the beneficiary shall furnish to the board proof of entry of a final decree of divorce or annulment: Provided, however, That a beneficiary who qualifies for the change of retirement plans afforded by this section shall be permitted only one such change: Provided further, That the recalculated monthly benefits, independently of increases granted by law after the beneficiary's retirement, shall not exceed the monthly benefits which would have been applicable under the maximum life annuity plan at the time the beneficiary retired; and with such recalculation to be effective on the first day of the month following submission to the board by the beneficiary of proof of entry of a final decree of divorce or annulment.
Upon remarriage, a retirant may name the new spouse as an annuitant for any of the survivorship retirement benefit options offered by the provisions of this section: Provided, That the beneficiary shall furnish to the retirement board satisfactory proof of the marriage: Provided, however, That the retirant certifies under penalty of perjury that no qualified domestic relations order that would restrict such a designation is in effect: Provided further, That no cause or action against the board may then arise or be maintained on the basis of having permitted the retirant to name a new spouse as annuitant for any of the survivorship retirement benefit options. The value of the new survivorship annuity shall be the actuarial equivalent of the retirant's benefit prospectively in effect at the time the new annuity is elected.
(b) If any increase of existing benefits or creation of new benefits for any retirees or beneficiaries currently receiving monthly benefit payments under the retirement system, other than an increase in benefits or new benefits effected by operation of law in effect on the effective date of this article, causes any additional unfunded actuarial accrued liability in any of the West Virginia state sponsored pension systems as calculated in the annual actuarial valuation for each plan during any fiscal year, additional unfunded actuarial accrued liability of that pension system shall be fully amortized over no more than the six consecutive fiscal years following the date the increase in benefits or new benefits become effective as certified by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board. Following the receipt of the certification of additional actuarial accrued liability, the Governor shall submit the amount of the amortization payment each year for the retirement system as part of the annual budget submission or in an executive message to the Legislature.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the computation of annuities or benefits for active members due to retirement, death or disability as provided for in the retirement system shall not be amended in such a manner as to increase any existing benefits or to provide for new benefits.
(d) The provisions of this section terminate effective the first day of July, two thousand thirty-four: Provided, That if bonds are issued pursuant to article eight, chapter twelve of this code, the provisions of this section shall not terminate while any of the bonds are outstanding.
(1) Loans shall be made in multiples of $10, the minimal loan being $100 and the maximum being $8,000: Provided, That the maximum amount of any loan when added to the outstanding balance of all other loans granted under this section shall not exceed the lesser of the following: (A) $8,000 reduced by the excess, if any, of the highest outstanding balance of loans during the one-year period ending on the day before the date on which the loan is made, over the outstanding balance of loans to the member on the date on which the loan is made; or (B) fifty percent of the member's contributions to his or her individual account in the Teachers Retirement System: Provided, however, That if the total amount of loaned money outstanding exceeds $40 million, the maximum shall not exceed $3,000 until the retirement board determines that loans outstanding have been reduced to an extent that additional loan amounts are again authorized: Provided further, That the amount of any loan made pursuant to article seven-d of this chapter is not included for the purposes of determining if the $40 million threshold has been exceeded.
(2) Interest charged on the amount of the loan shall be six percent per annum, or a higher rate as set by the board: Provided, That interest charged shall be commercially reasonable in accordance with the provisions of Section 72(p)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the federal regulations issued thereunder. If repayable in installments, the interest shall not exceed the annual rate so established upon the principal amount of the loan, for the entire period of the loan, and the charge shall be added to the principal amount of the loan. The minimal interest charge shall be for six months.
(3) No member is eligible for more than one outstanding loan at any time: Provided, That the foregoing provision does not apply to any loan made pursuant to article seven-d of this chapter. Upon full payment of a loan, a member may apply for a subsequent loan after sixty days beginning the first day of the month following receipt of final payment.
(4) If a refund of accumulated contributions is payable to the borrower or his or her beneficiary before he or she repays the loan with interest, the balance due with interest to date shall be deducted from the refund. A member with an unpaid loan balance who wishes to retire or becomes eligible to receive disability benefits under any provision of this article may have the loan repaid in full by accepting retirement income or disability payments reduced by deducting from the actuarial reserve for the accrued benefit the amount of the unpaid balance plus accrued interest, if any, and then converting the remaining of the reserve to a monthly pension or disability benefit payable in the form of the annuity desired by the member.
(5) From his or her monthly salary as a teacher or a nonteacher the member shall pay the loan and interest by deductions which will pay the loan and interest in substantially level payments in not more than sixty nor less than six months. Upon notice of loan granted and payment due, the employer is responsible for making the salary deductions and reporting them to the retirement board. At the option of the board, loan deductions may be collected as prescribed herein for the collection of members' contribution, or may be collected through issuance of warrant by employer. If the borrower is no longer employed as a teacher or nonteaching member, the borrower must make monthly loan payments directly to the Consolidated Public Retirement Board and the board must accept the payments.
(6) The entire unpaid balance of any loan, and interest due thereon, shall, at the option of the board, become due and payable without further notice or demand upon the occurrence with respect to the borrowing member of any of the following events of default: (A) Any payment of principal and accrued interest on a loan remains unpaid after it becomes due and payable under the terms of the loan or after the grace period established in the discretion of the board; (B) the borrowing member attempts to make an assignment for the benefit of creditors of his or her refund or benefit under the retirement system; or (C) any other event of default set forth in rules promulgated by the board in accordance with the authority granted pursuant to section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code: Provided, That any refund or offset of an unpaid loan balance shall be made only at the time the member is entitled to receive a distribution under the retirement system.
(7) Loans shall be evidenced by such form of obligations and shall be made upon such additional terms as to default, prepayment, security, and otherwise as the board determines.
(8) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the loan program authorized by this section shall comply with the provisions of Section 72(p)(2) and Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code, and the federal regulations issued thereunder, and accordingly, the retirement board is authorized to: (A) Apply and construe the provisions of this section and administer the plan loan program in such a manner as to comply with the provisions of Section 72(p)(2) and Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code and the federal regulations issued thereunder; (B) adopt plan loan policies or procedures consistent with these federal law provisions; and (C) take such actions as it considers necessary or appropriate to administer the plan loan program created hereunder in accordance with these federal law provisions. The retirement board is further authorized in connection with the plan loan program to take any actions that may at any time be required by the Internal Revenue Service regarding compliance with the requirements of Section 72(p)(2) or Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code, and the federal regulations issued thereunder, notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary.
(b) Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary, the loan program authorized by this section shall not be available to any teacher or nonteacher who becomes a member of the Teachers Retirement System on or after July 1, 2005: Provided, That a member is eligible for a loan under article seven-d of this chapter to pay all or part of the Actuarial Reserve, or if available in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d), section six, article seven-d of this chapter, the one and one-half percent contribution for service in the Teachers' Defined Contribution System for the purpose of receiving additional service credit in the State Teachers Retirement System pursuant to section six, article seven-d, of this chapter.
(c) A member who ceases service with an unpaid loan balance will no longer be a member when the unpaid loan balance, plus accrued interest, equals or exceeds the member's accumulated contributions.
(b) Such nonteaching employees shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and benefits provided for teachers by this article, upon the same terms and conditions as are herein prescribed for teachers. Any member who was employed as a regular full-time employee in a nonteaching capacity by a board of education, school principal or school administrator, prior to the time he became eligible for membership in the state teachers retirement system, shall be granted prior service credit for such service upon making application to the retirement board and providing satisfactory evidence of such service.
(c) Except as provided in section thirteen-b of this article, employees of the cooperative extension service and its predecessors in title, (agriculture extension division, West Virginia extension agency, and West Virginia University cooperative extension service) shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and benefits provided for teachers by this article, upon the same terms and conditions as are herein prescribed for teachers. Any member of the extension service or its predecessors in title, who was employed for thirty hours or more per week, prior to the time he became eligible for membership in the state teachers retirement system, shall be granted service credit for such service upon making application to the retirement board and providing satisfactory evidence of such service. When the prior service is credited, each member of the retirement system so credited shall contribute an amount equal to the amount he would have contributed had he been a member of the retirement system during the period credited.
Any former member of the state teachers retirement system who was employed as a regular full-time employee in a nonteaching capacity by a board of education, school principal or school administrator, prior to the time he became eligible for membership in the state teachers retirement system, shall be eligible for prior service credit for such service. Upon making application to the retirement board and providing satisfactory evidence, prior service credit shall be granted and his retirement allowance shall be recomputed and adjusted to include such prior service credit. Any increased retirement allowance resulting from the provisions of this section shall not be retroactive.
(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) "Contract" means any personal service agreement, not involving the sale of commodities, that cannot be performed within sixty days or for which the total compensation exceeds seven thousand five hundred dollars in any twelve-month period. The term "contract" does not include any agreement obtained by a retirant through a bidding process and which is for the furnishing of any commodity to a government agency; (2) "governmental entity" means the state of West Virginia; a constitutional branch or office of the state government, or any subdivision of state government; a county, city or town in the state; a county board of education; a separate corporation or instrumentality established pursuant to a state statute; any other entity currently permitted to participate in any state public retirement system or the public employees insurance agency; or any officer or official of any entity listed in this subsection who is acting in his or her official capacity; (3) "substitute teacher" means a teacher, public school librarian, registered professional nurse employed by the county board of education or any other person employed for counselling or instructional purposes in a public school in this state who is temporarily fulfilling the duties of an existing person employed in a specific position who is temporarily absent from that specific position; and (4) "part-time elected or appointed office" means any elected or appointed office that compensates its members in an amount less than two thousand five hundred dollars or requires less than sixty days of service in any twelve-month period.
(b) Any member who participated in the retirement incentive program under the prior enactment of this section is not eligible to accept further employment or accept, directly or indirectly, work on a contract basis from a governmental entity: Provided, That the executive director may approve, upon written request for good cause shown, an exception allowing a retirant to perform work on a contract basis: Provided, however, That a person may retire under this section and thereafter serve in an elective office: Provided further, That he or she shall not receive the incentive option he or she elected under the prior enactment of this section during the term of service in that office for which the total compensation exceeds seven thousand five hundred dollars, but shall receive his or her annuity calculated on regular basis, as if originally taken not under the prior enactment of this section but on a regular basis. At the end of the term and cessation of service in the office, the incentive option resumes. In respect of an appointive office, as distinguished from an elective office, any person retiring under this section and thereafter serving in the appointive office for which the total compensation exceeds seven thousand five hundred dollars shall not receive the incentive option he or she elected under the prior enactment of this section during the term of service in that office, but the incentive option resumes during that period: And provided further, That at the end of the term and cessation of service in the appointive office the incentive option provided for under the prior enactment of this section resumes: And provided further, That any person elected or appointed to office by the state or any of its political subdivisions who waives whatever salary, wage or per diem compensation he or she may be entitled to by virtue of service in that office and who does not receive any income from service in that office except the reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs and expenses that are permitted by the statutes governing the office shall continue to receive the incentive option he or she elected under this section. The service may not be counted as contributed or credited service for purposes of computing retirement benefits.
(c) If the elected or appointed office is a part-time elected or appointed office, a person electing retirement under this section may serve in the elective or appointive office with no loss of the benefits provided under the prior enactment of this section.
(d) Prior to the initiation or renewal of any contract for which the total compensation exceeds seven thousand five hundred dollars and entered into pursuant to this section or the acceptance of any elective or appointive office for which the total compensation exceeds seven thousand five hundred dollars, a person who has elected to retire under the early retirement provisions of the prior enactment of this section shall complete a disclosure and waiver statement executed under oath and acknowledged by a notary public. The board shall propose rules for promulgation, pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, regarding the form and contents of the waiver and disclosure statement. The disclosure and waiver statement shall be forwarded to the appropriate state public retirement system administrator who shall take action to ensure that the early retirement incentive option benefit is reduced in accordance with the provisions of this section. The administrator shall then certify that action in writing to the appropriate governmental entity.
(e) In any event, an eligible member who retired under the prior enactment of this section may continue to receive his or her incentive annuity and be employed as a substitute teacher, as adjunct faculty, as a school service personnel substitute, or as a part-time member of the faculty of southern West Virginia community college or West Virginia northern community college: Provided, That the board of directors determines that the part-time employment is in accordance with policies to be adopted by the board regarding adjunct faculty. For purposes of this section, a "part-time member of the faculty" means an individual employed solely to provide instruction for not more than twelve college credits per semester.
(f) Any incentive retirants, under the prior enactment of this section, may not receive an annuity and enter or reenter any governmental retirement system established or authorized to be established by the state, notwithstanding any provision of the code to the contrary, unless required by constitutional provision.
(g) The additional annuity allowed for temporary early retirement is intended to be paid from the retirement incentive account created as a special account in the state treasury and from the funds in the special account established with moneys required to be applied or transferred by heads of spending units from the unused portion of salary and fringe benefits in their budgets accruing in respect to the positions vacated and subsequently canceled under this temporary early retirement program. Salary and fringe benefit moneys actually saved in a particular fiscal year constitute the fund source. No additional annuity shall be disallowed even though initial receipts may not be sufficient, with funds of the system to be applied for the purpose, as for the base annuity.
(h) The executive secretary of the retirement system shall file a quarterly report to the Legislature detailing the number of retirees who have elected to accept early retirement incentive options, the dollar cost to date by option selected, and the projected annual cost through the year two thousand.
(i) Termination of temporary retirement incentives program. -- The right to retire under this section terminated on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
Whenever the board determines that (1) any person has knowingly made any false statement or falsified or permitted to be falsified any record or records of the retirement system in an attempt to defraud the system, or (2) any person who resumes employment with any governmental entity or accepts, directly or indirectly, work on a contract basis from any governmental entity, except as provided for under this article, the board shall terminate any benefit that a person is receiving, has received, or is entitled to receive under the early retirement provisions of this article. Further, if any person taking early retirement under this article desires to revoke his or her early retirement incentive, he or she shall be allowed to do so if he or she is entitled to regular retirement pursuant to this article: Provided, That such revocation shall be retroactive to the date of last employment and any incentive annuity already received by the retiree be repaid to the retirement system. Any person who revokes his or her early retirement incentive shall be thereafter carried upon the records of the retirement system as a regular retiree and shall not be entitled to any enhanced benefit by reason of the early retirement options contained in this article: Provided, however, That any person who opted to retire pursuant to the early retirement provisions of this article who would not have been and is not eligible for regular retirement but for the early retirement incentive options must upon returning to the employment of a participating employer, reapply for admission to a retirement system and repay all pension benefits paid to that person since the date his previous employment ceased. Any termination of benefits may be appealed pursuant to the state administrative procedures act in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The board shall promulgate rules regarding the procedure for termination of benefits and the repayment of any benefit, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
In light of the determination to repeal the public employees retirement system II (PERS II) before its proposed date of initial operation, a study shall be undertaken through the cooperative efforts of the board of the public employees retirement system, the board of the teachers retirement system and the legislative commission on pensions and retirement toward determining the best method by which to address the fiscal problems of the teachers retirement system together with any combining of retirement systems of the state that might be indicated, with report to be made to the joint committee on government and finance of the Legislature by the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
(1) The consolidated public retirement board has determined that retired substitute teachers should not perform substitute teaching without limit;
(2) The consolidated public retirement board has established, by rule, a maximum number of days in which a retired teacher may accept employment prior to having his or her retirement benefit reduced; and
(3) There have been inconsistencies in the manner in which county boards calculate the maximum number of days established by rule.
(b) The consolidated public retirement board may not set forth in rule a maximum number of days in which a retired teacher may accept employment prior to having his or her retirement benefit reduced that is less than one hundred forty days.
(c) For the purpose of calculating whether a retired substitute teacher has exceeded the maximum number of days in which a substitute teacher may accept employment without incurring a reduction in his or her retirement benefit, the number of days worked shall be determined by:
(1) Totaling the number of hours worked; and
(2) Dividing by the standard number of hours that a full-time teacher works per day.
(b) Effective the first day of July, two thousand five, any savings realized from the reduction in employer contributions for current retirement benefits, being the difference between the required employer contributions that would have been required into the Teachers Defined Contribution System as in effect immediately prior to the first day of July, two thousand five and the required employer contribution for normal cost into the State Teachers Retirement System on and after the first day of July, two thousand five, shall be deposited into the Employee Pension and Health Care Benefits Fund. The Consolidated Public Retirement Board shall determine the annual amount of the savings based on the annual actuarial valuation for the plan prepared as of the first day of July following the end of each fiscal year and certify the amount to the Governor by the thirty-first day of January of that fiscal year. The Governor shall submit the amount of the savings as part of the annual budget submission or in an executive message to the Legislature.
(c) Moneys in the Employee Pension and Health Care Benefits Fund are to be used and expended to pay for the cost of unfunded health care benefits or unfunded pension benefits, or to be transferred into the Pension Liability Redemption Fund created in section eight, article eight, chapter twelve of this code as appropriated by the Legislature.
(1) To be in conflict with section four-a, article twenty-three, chapter eighteen of this code; or
(2) To affect the membership of higher education employees who are currently members of either the State Teachers Retirement System created in this article or the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System created in article seven-b of this chapter: Provided, That any higher education employees who are currently members of the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System may become members of the Teachers Retirement System upon meeting the requirements of article seven-d of this chapter.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session
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