COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 415
(By Senators Foster, Wells, Unger and Minard)
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[Originating in the Committee on Military;
reported March 16, 2009.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §5-10-15 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §15-2A-19 of said code;
to amend and reenact §18-7A-17 of said code; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-7A-17a;
to amend and reenact §18-7B-8a and §18-7B-11 of said code; and
to amend and reenact §51-9-4 and §51-9-6 of said code, all
relating to providing up to twenty-four months of military
service credit for the time served in active military duty to
any qualified member of the West Virginia Public Employees
Retirement Act, the West Virginia State Police Retirement
System, the State Teachers Retirement System, the Teachers'
Defined Contribution Retirement System and the Judges'
Retirement System hired for the first time on or after July 1,
2009, or for any qualified member who is not vested on June
30, 2009.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §15-2A-19 of said code be amended
and reenacted; that §18-7A-17 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18-7A-17a; that §18-7B-8a and §18-7B-11 of
said code be amended and reenacted; and that §51-9-4 and §51-9-6 of
said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS OF AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS;
MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-15. Military service credit; qualified military service.
(a)
(1) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this
state who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States
during times of war, conflict and danger. It is the intent of this
section to confer military service credit
upon persons who are
eligible at any time for public employees retirement benefits for
any time served in active military duty in the Armed Forces of the
United States
when the duty was during any period of compulsory
military service or during a period of armed conflict, as defined
in this section upon members who are eligible for public employees
retirement benefits whether or not he or she was a public employee
at the time of entering the military service.
(2) In addition to any benefit provided by federal law, any
member of the retirement system who has previously served in or
enters the active service of the Armed Forces of the United States
during any period of compulsory military service or during a period
of armed conflict shall receive credited service for the time spent
in the Armed Forces of the United States, not to exceed five years
if the member:
(A) Has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces; and
(B) Substantiates by appropriate documentation or evidence his
or her active military service and entry into military service
during any period of compulsory military service or during periods
of armed conflict.
(3) Any member of the retirement system who enters the active
service of the Armed Forces of the United States during any period
of compulsory military service or during a period of armed conflict
shall receive the credit provided by this section regardless of
whether he or she was a public employee at the time of entering the
military service.
(4) If a member of the Public Employees Retirement System
enters the active service of the United States and serves during
any period of compulsory military service or during any period of
armed conflict, during the period of the armed service and until
the member's return to the employ of a participating public
employer, the member's contributions to the retirement system is
suspended and any credit balance remaining in the member's deposit
fund shall be accumulated at regular interest: Provided, That
notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary, if
an employee of a participating political subdivision serving in the
military service during any period of compulsory military service
or armed conflict has accumulated credited service prior to the
last entry into military service, in an amount that, added to the
time in active military service while an employee equals nine or
more years, and the member is unable to resume employment with a
participating employer upon completion of duty due to death during
or as a result of active service, all time spent in active military
service, up to and including a total of five years, is considered to be credited service and death benefits are vested in the member:
Provided, however, That the active service during the time the
member is an employee must be as a result of an order or call to
duty, and not as a result of volunteering for assignment or
volunteering to extend the time in service beyond the time required
by order or call.
(5) No member may receive duplicate credit for service for a
period of compulsory military service which falls under a period of
armed conflict.
(6) 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 have final power to determine the period.
(7) The Board may consider a petition by any member whose tour
of duty, in a territory that would reasonably be considered hostile
and dangerous, was extended beyond the period in which an armed
conflict was officially recognized, if that tour of duty commenced
during a period of armed conflict, and the member was assigned to
duty stations within the hostile territory throughout the period
for which service credit is being sought. The Board has the
authority to evaluate the facts and circumstances peculiar to the
petition, and rule on whether granting service credit for the
extended tour of duty is consistent with the objectives of this
article. In that determination, the board may grant full credit for
the period under petition subject to the limitations otherwise
applicable, or to grant credit for any part of the period as the
board considers appropriate, or to deny credit altogether.
(8) The Board of Trustees may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Period of armed conflict" means the Spanish-American War,
the Mexican border period, World War I, World War II, the Korean
conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War and any other
period of armed conflict by the United States, including, but not
limited to, those periods sanctioned by a declaration of war by the
United States Congress or by executive or other order of the
President.
(2) "Spanish-American War" means the period beginning on the
twenty-first day of April, one thousand eight hundred ninety-eight,
and ending on the fourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred
two, and includes the Philippine Insurrection, the Boxer Rebellion,
and in the case of a veteran who served with the United States
Military forces engaged in hostilities in the Moro Province, means
the period beginning on the twenty-first day of April, one thousand
eight hundred ninety-eight, and ending on the fifteenth day of
July, one thousand nine hundred three.
(3) "The Mexican border period" means the period beginning on
the ninth day of May, one thousand nine hundred sixteen, and ending
on the fifth day of April, one thousand nine hundred seventeen, in
the case of a veteran who during the period served in Mexico, on
its borders or in the waters adjacent to it.
(4) "World War I" means the period beginning on the sixth day
of April, one thousand nine hundred seventeen, and ending on the
eleventh day of November, one thousand nine hundred eighteen, and in the case of a veteran who served with the United States Military
forces in Russia, means the period beginning on the sixth day of
April, one thousand nine hundred seventeen, and ending on the first
day of April, one thousand nine hundred twenty.
(5) "World War II" means the period beginning on the seventh
day of December, one thousand nine hundred forty-one, and ending on
the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
forty-six.
(6) "Korean conflict" means the period beginning on the
twenty-seventh day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and
ending on the thirty-first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred fifty-five.
(7) "The Vietnam era" means the period beginning on the
twenty-eighth day of February, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one,
and ending on the seventh day of May, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-five, in the case of a veteran who served in the Republic
of Vietnam during that period; and the fifth day of August, one
thousand nine hundred sixty-four, and ending on the seventh day of
May, one thousand nine hundred seventy-five, in all other cases.
(8) "Persian Gulf War" means the period beginning on the
second day of August, one thousand nine hundred ninety, and ending
on the eleventh day of April, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one.
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast
Guard or Marine Corps. This term includes regularly required
training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component
or National Guard if the member can establish that he or she has
served at least three years of service as set forth in subsection (f) of this section.
(2) "Actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount" means the
purchase annuity rate multiplied by the purchase accrued benefit.
The purchase annuity rate is the actuarial lump sum annuity factor
calculated on a monthly basis based on the following actuarial
assumptions: interest rate of seven and a half percent; mortality
of the 1971 group annuity mortality table, fifty percent blended
male and female rates, applied on a unisex basis to all members; if
purchase age is under age sixty, a deferred annuity factor with
payments commencing at age sixty; and if purchase age is sixty or
over, an immediate annuity factor with payments starting at the
purchase age. The purchase accrued benefit is two percent times
the purchase military service times the purchase average monthly
salary. The purchase military service is the amount of military
service being purchased by the employee as a fraction of a year up
to a one year maximum. The purchase average monthly salary is the
final average monthly salary of the employee at the beginning of
the month which is three months prior to the purchase month as if
the employee terminated employment on that date. The purchase
month is the month in which the employee deposits the actuarial
reserve lump sum purchase amount into the plan trust fund in full
payment of the service being purchased. The purchase age is the
attained age of the employee in years and completed months as of
the first day of the purchase month.
(3) "Compulsory military service" means service during the
period of time in which the federal Selective Service Act was in
effect.
(4) "Korean conflict" means the period beginning on June 27, 1950, and ending on January 31, 1955.
(5) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the
calendar month.
(6) "Operation Noble Eagle" means the period beginning on
September 11, 2001, and ending on June 30, 2009.
(7) "Period of armed conflict" means World War I, World War
II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, and
Operation Noble Eagle.
(8) "Persian Gulf War" means the period beginning on August 2,
1990, and ending on April 11, 1991.
(9) "Selective Service Act" means the period beginning on
September 16, 1940, and ending on July 1, 1973.
(10) "Vested" means five or more years of contributory service
for which contributions have been made and remain on deposit. Any
withdrawn contributions that have been reinstated in full by June
30, 2009 shall apply toward vesting.
(11) "The Vietnam era" means the period beginning on February
28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975, in the case of a veteran who
served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period; and August 5,
1964, and ending on May 7, 1975, in all other cases.
(12) "World War I" means the period beginning on April 6,
1917, and ending on November 11, 1918, and in the case of a veteran
who served with the United States Military forces in Russia, means
the period beginning on April 6, 1917, and April 1, 1920.
(13) "World War II" means the period beginning on December 7,
1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.
(C) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, 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. No military service
credit may be used in more than one retirement system administered
by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board and once used in any
system, may not be used again in any other system. The Board is
authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions
relating to this section and, pursuant to the authority granted to
the board in section one, article ten-d of this chapter, may
promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service
credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(c) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(3) That the member has served at least three years as a
member of a reserve component or National Guard as substantiated by
the reserve component's or National Guard's annual statement of
service history; and
(4) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
governmental retirement system, except those benefits provided by
federal law, for his or her active military duty.
(d) The retirement board may not credit any member with more than twelve months of service in any calendar year; and may not
grant any member duplicate credit for service for a period of
compulsory military service which falls under a period of armed
conflict.
(e) Except for a member who has served as a member of a
reserve component or National Guard, for any member hired for the
first time prior to July 1, 2009 and who is vested in the Public
Employees Retirement System on June 30, 2009, he or she shall
receive the greater of:
(1) Up to sixty months of service for any time served in
active military duty during any period of compulsory military
service or during any period of armed conflict; or
(2) Up to twenty-four months of service for any time served in
active military duty: Provided, That any employee may purchase an
additional twelve months of service for any time served in active
military duty that otherwise has not been credited by paying the
actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within three years from
the effective date of this section: Provided, however, That any
vested member not employed on the effective date of this section
may only purchase an additional twelve months of service for any
time served in active military duty that otherwise has not been
credited upon his or her initial reemployment after the effective
date of this section by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum
purchase amount after one year of reemployment, but within three
years from initial reemployment:
(f) A member hired for the first time prior to July 1, 2009 ,
who is vested in the Public Employees Retirement System on June 30,
2009, and who has served as a member of a reserve component or National Guard shall receive up to twenty-four months of service by
receiving twelve months for each three years served in active
military duty as defined in subsection (b) of this section:
Provided, That any member may purchase an additional twelve months
of service for any time served in active military duty that
otherwise has not been credited by paying the actuarial reserve
lump sum amount within three years from the effective date of this
section: Provided, however, That for any member hired for the first
time on or after July 1, 2009, or for any member who is not vested
on June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive up to twenty-four months
of service for any time served in active military duty.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the
contrary, if an employee of a participating political subdivision
serving in the military service during any period of compulsory
military service or armed conflict has accumulated credited service
prior to the last entry into military service, in an amount that,
added to the time in active military service while an employee
equals nine or more years, and the member is unable to resume
employment with a participating employer upon completion of duty
due to death during or as a result of active service, all time
spent in active military service, up to and including a total of
five years, is considered to be credited service and death benefits
are vested in the member: Provided, That the active military
service during the time the member is an employee must be as a
result of an order or call to duty, and not as a result of
volunteering for assignment or volunteering to extend the time in
service beyond the time required by order or call.
(h) For any member hired for the first time on or after July 1, 2009, or for any member who is not vested on June 30, 2009, he
or she shall receive up to twenty-four months of service for any
time served in active military duty: Provided, That any employee
may purchase an additional twelve months of service for any time
served in active military duty that otherwise has not been credited
by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within
three years after becoming vested.
(
I) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(j) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
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.
(k) The provisions of section twenty-two-h of this article are
not applicable to the amendments made to this section during the
2009 regular session.
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§15-2A-19. Credit toward retirement for member's prior military
service; credit toward retirement when member has
joined Armed Forces in time of armed conflict;
qualified military service.
(a) Any member
hired for the first time prior to July 1, 2009,
and who have twenty years of service credit in the police retirement system on June 30, 2009, and who has previously served on active
military duty is entitled to receive additional credited service for
the purpose of determining the amount of retirement award under the
provisions of this article for a period equal to the active military
duty not to exceed
five years, subject to the following sixty months
of service or up to twenty-four months of service for serving as a
member of a reserve component or National Guard, in accordance with
subsection (e) below .
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the Armed
Forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate documentation
or evidence his or her period of active military duty;
(3) That he or she is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system for his or her active military duty; and
(4) That, except with respect to disability retirement pay
awarded under this article, he or she has actually served with the
agency for twenty years exclusive of his or her active military duty.
(b) In addition, any person who, while an employee of the
agency, was commissioned, enlisted or inducted into the Armed Forces
of the United States or, being a member of the reserve officers'
corps, was called to active duty in the Armed Forces between
September 1, 1940, and the close of hostilities in World War II, or
between June 27, 1950, and the close of the armed conflict in Korea
on July 27, 1953, between August 1, 1964, and the close of the armed
conflict in Vietnam, or during any other period of armed conflict by
the United States whether sanctioned by a declaration of war by
Congress or by executive or other order of the President, is entitled
to and shall receive credit on the minimum period of service required by law for retirement pay from the service of the agency, or its
predecessor agency, for a period equal to the full time that he or
she has or, pursuant to that commission, enlistment, induction or
call, shall have served with the Armed Forces subject to the
following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the Armed
Forces;
(2) That, within ninety days after honorable discharge from the
Armed Forces, he or she presented himself or herself to the
superintendent and offered to resume service as an active member of
the agency; and
(3) That he or she has made no voluntary act, whether by
reenlistment, waiver of discharge, acceptance of commission or
otherwise, to extend or participate in extension of the period of
service with the Armed Forces beyond the period of service for which
he or she was originally commissioned, enlisted, inducted or called.
(c)
The total amount of military service credit allowable under
this section may not exceed five years for any member of the agency.
For any member hired for the first time on or after July 1, 2009, or
for any member who does not have twenty years of service credit in
the State Police Retirement System, on June 30, 2009, he or she shall
receive up to twenty-four months of service for any time served in
active military duty, in accordance with the provisions of subsection
(e) below: Provided, That any employee may purchase an additional
twelve months of service for any time served in active military duty
that otherwise has not been credited by paying the actuarial reserve
lump sum purchase amount within three years after becoming vested.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast
Guard or Marine Corps. This term includes regularly required training
or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component or
National Guard if the member can establish that he or she has served
at least three years of service.
(2) "Actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount" means the
purchase annuity rate multiplied by the purchase accrued benefit.
The purchase annuity rate is the actuarial lump sum annuity factor
calculated on a monthly basis based on the following actuarial
assumptions: Interest rate of seven point five percent; mortality
of the 1983 group annuity mortality table, male rates, applied on a
unisex basis to all members; if purchase age is under age fifty, a
deferred annuity factor with payments commencing at age fifty; and
if purchase age is fifty or over, an immediate annuity factor with
payments starting at the purchase age. The purchase accrued benefit
is two and three fourths percent times the purchase military service
times the purchase average monthly salary. The purchase military
service is the amount of military service being purchased by the
employee as a fraction of a year up to a one year maximum. The
purchase average monthly salary is the final average monthly salary
of the employee at the beginning of the month which is three months
prior to the purchase month as if the employee terminated employment
on that date. The purchase month is the month in which the employee
deposits the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount into the plan
trust fund in full payment of the service being purchased. The
purchase age is the attained age of the employee in years and completed months as of the first day of the purchase month.
(3) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the calendar
month.
(e) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(3) That the member has served at least three years as a member
of a reserve component or National Guard as substantiated by the
reserve component's or National Guard's annual statement of service
history;
(4) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
governmental retirement system, except those benefits provided by
federal law, for his or her active military duty; and
(5) That, except with respect to disability retirement pay
awarded under this article, he or she has actually served with the
agency for twenty years exclusive of his or her active military duty.
(f) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year.
(g) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(d) (h) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, 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 board shall
determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this
section and, pursuant to the authority granted to the 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.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-17. Statement and computation of teachers' service
.
(a) Under rules adopted by the retirement board, each teacher
shall file a detailed statement of his or her length of service as
a teacher for which he or she claims credit. The Retirement Board
shall determine what part of a year is the equivalent of a year of
service. In computing the service, however, it shall credit no
period of more than a month's duration during which a member was
absent without pay, nor shall it credit for more than one year of
service performed in any calendar year.
(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) (b) 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) (c) 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) (d) 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) (e) 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) (f) 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) (g) 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) (h) 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 March 31, 2003
: And provided further, That the
board shall exercise due diligence to notify affected employees of
the provisions of this subsection.
(j) (I) 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) (j) 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) (k) Subject to the provisions of subsections (a) through
(l)
(k), 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) (l) 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 June 1, 2000
: 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) (m) 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.
§18-7A-17a. Qualified military service for retirement credit.
(a) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this state
who have served in the active military duty of the Armed Forces of
the United States. It is the intent of this section to confer
military service credit for time served in active military duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States upon members who are eligible
for teachers' retirement benefits whether he or she was a member of
the Teachers Retirement System at the time of entering the military
service.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast
Guard or Marine Corps. This term includes regularly required training
or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component or
National Guard if the member can establish that he or she has served
at least three years of service.
(2) "Actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount" means the
purchase annuity rate multiplied by the purchase accrued benefit. The
purchase annuity rate is the actuarial lump sum annuity factor
calculated on a monthly basis based on the following actuarial
assumptions: interest rate of seven point five percent; mortality of
the 1983 group annuity mortality table, blended thirty percent male
and seventy percent female rates, applied on a unisex basis to all
members; if purchase age is under age sixty, a deferred annuity
factor with payments commencing at age sixty; and if purchase age is
sixty or over, an immediate annuity factor with payments starting at
the purchase age. The purchase accrued benefit is two percent times
the purchase military service times the purchase average monthly
salary. The purchase military service is the amount of military
service being purchased by the employee as a fraction of a year up
to a one year maximum. The purchase average monthly salary is the
final average monthly salary of the employee at the beginning of the
month which is three months prior to the purchase month as if the
employee terminated employment on that date. The purchase month is
the month in which the employee deposits the actuarial reserve lump
sum purchase amount into the plan trust fund in full payment of the
service being purchased. The purchase age is the attained age of the
employee in years and completed months as of the first day of the
purchase month.
(3) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the calendar
month.
(4) "Selective Service Act" means the period beginning on
September 16, 1940, and ending on July 1, 1973.
(5) "Vested" means five or more years of contributory service
for which contributions have been made and remain on deposit. Any
withdrawn contributions that have been reinstated in full by June 30,
2009 shall apply toward vesting.
(c) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(3) That the member has served at least three years as a member
of a reserve component or National Guard as substantiated by the
reserve component's or National Guard's annual statement of service
history; and
(4) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system, except those benefits provided by federal law, for
his or her active military duty.
(d) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year.
(e) Except for a member who has served as a member of a reserve
component or National Guard, for any member hired for the first time
prior to July 1, 2009, and who is vested in the Teachers Retirement
System on June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive the greater of:
(1) Up to one hundred and twenty months of service, not to
exceed twenty-five percent of total service at the time of
retirement, for any time served in active military duty during the
period in which the Selective Service Act was in effect; or
(2) Up to twenty-four months of service for any time served in
active military duty:
Provided, That any employee may purchase an
additional twelve months of service for any time served in active
military duty that otherwise has not been credited by paying the
actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within three years from
the effective date of this section:
Provided, however, That any
vested member not employed on the effective date of this section may
only purchase an additional twelve months of service for any time
served in active military duty that otherwise has not been credited
upon his or her initial reemployment after the effective date of this
section by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount
after one year of reemployment, but within three years from initial
reemployment.
(f) A member hired for the first time prior to July 1, 2009 ,
who is vested in the Public Employees Retirement System on June 30,
2009, and who has served as a member of a reserve component or
National Guard shall receive up to twenty-four months of service by
receiving twelve months for each three years served in active
military duty as defined in subsection (b) of this section: Provided,
That any member may purchase an additional twelve months of service
for any time served in active military duty that otherwise has not
been credited by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum amount within
three years from the effective date of this section.
(f) For any member hired for the first time on or after July 1,
2009, or for any member who is not vested on June 30, 2009, he or she
shall receive up to twenty-four months of service for any time served
in active military duty:
Provided, That any employee may purchase
an additional twelve months of service for any time served in active military duty that otherwise has not been credited by paying the
actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within three years after
becoming vested.
(g) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(h) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
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.
(I) The provisions of section twenty-eight-e of this article are
not applicable to the amendments made to this section during the 2009
regular session.
ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS' DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7B-8a. Qualified military service.
(a) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this state
who have served in the active military duty of the Armed Forces of
the United States. It is the intent of this section to confer
military service credit for time served in active military duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States upon members who are eligible
for distribution from the member's annuity account whether or not he
or she was a member of the Teachers Defined Contribution Retirement
System at the time of entering the military service.
(b) A member shall be awarded, upon termination, an additional
twenty-four months of employment service which shall be used solely to determine the distribution of the employer's contributions and any
earnings thereon, upon satisfactory showing to the board that the
member has completed at least two years of active military duty and
has been honorably discharged from active military duty. A member
who has served in a reserve component or National Guard shall be
awarded, upon termination, up to twenty-four months of service by
receiving twelve months for each three years served in a reserve
component or National Guard, which shall be used solely to determine
the distribution of the employer's contributions and any earnings
thereon: Provided, That the term "active military duty" means
full-time duty in the active military service of the United States
Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine Corps. This term
includes regularly required training or other duty performed by a
member of a reserve component or National Guard if the member can
establish that he or she has served at least three years of service.
The honorable discharge and the active military duty must be
substantiated by a federal form DD-214 or by the reserve component's
or National Guard's annual statement of service history.
(c) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified
military service will 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.
(d) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
§18-7B-11. Termination of membership.
(a) Any member whose employment with a participating employer
terminates after the completion of six complete years of employment
service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and
receive a distribution from the member's annuity account, in an
amount equal to the member's contribution plus one third of the
employer contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose
employment with a participating employer terminates after the
completion of nine complete years of employment service is eligible
to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution
from the member's annuity account, in an amount equal to the member's
contribution plus two thirds of the employer's contributions and any
earnings thereon. Any member whose employment with a participating
employer terminates after the completion of twelve complete years of
employment service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity
account and receive a distribution of all funds contributed and
accumulated in his or her annuity account. Any member whose
employment with a participating employer terminates prior to the
completion of six complete years of employment service is eligible
to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution
from the member's annuity account, in an amount equal to the member's
contribution plus any earnings thereon
: Provided, That on the death or permanent, total disability of any member, that member is eligible
to terminate his or her annuity account and receive all funds
contributed to or accumulated in his or her annuity account:
Provided, however, That upon satisfactory showing to the board that
the member has completed at least twenty-four months of active
military duty, pursuant to section eight-a of this article, the
member, upon termination, shall be awarded an additional twenty-four
months of employment service which shall be used solely to determine
the distribution of the employer's contributions and any earnings
thereon. Any member whose employment with a participating employer
terminates after the completion of four complete years of employment
service and who has at least twenty-four months of active military
duty is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive
a distribution from the member's annuity account, in an amount equal
to the member's contribution plus one third of the employer
contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose employment
with a participating employer terminates after the completion of
seven complete years of employment service and who has at least
twenty-four months of active military duty is eligible to terminate
his or her annuity account and receive a distribution from the
member's annuity account, in an amount equal to the member's
contribution plus two thirds of the employer's contributions and any
earnings thereon. Any member whose employment with a participating
employer terminates after the completion of ten complete years of
employment service and who has at least twenty-four months of active
military duty is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and
receive a distribution of all funds contributed and accumulated in
his or her annuity account. Any member whose employment with a participating employer terminates prior to the completion of four
complete years of employment service and who has at least twenty-four
months of active military service is eligible to terminate his or her
annuity account and receive a distribution from the member's annuity
account, in an amount equal to the member's contribution plus any
earnings thereon.
(b) (1) Upon termination of employment, regardless of whether
the member has taken a distribution of all or a portion of his or her
vested account, the remaining balance, if any, in the member's
employer account that is not vested shall be remitted and paid into
a suspension account to be administered by the board. The Board
shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding the
distribution of any balance in the special account created by this
section
: Provided, That any funds in the account shall be used
solely for the purpose of reducing employer contributions in future
years.
(2) Any account balances remitted to the suspension account
herein shall be maintained by the board in the suspension account in
the name of the terminated employee for a period of five years
following the member's termination of employment. For each terminated
employee at the culmination of the five-year period, the board shall
certify in writing to each contributing employer the amount of the
account balance plus earnings thereon attributable to each separate
contributing employer's previously terminated employee's account
which has been irrevocably forfeited due to the elapse of a five-year
period since termination pursuant to section sixteen of this article.
(c) Upon certification to the several contributing employers of the aggregate account balances plus earnings thereon which have been
irrevocably forfeited pursuant to this section, the several
contributing employers shall be permitted in the next succeeding
fiscal year or years to reduce their total aggregate contribution
requirements pursuant to section seventeen of this article, for the
then current fiscal year by an amount equal to the aggregate amounts
irrevocably forfeited and certified as such to each contributing
employer
: Provided, That should the participating employer no longer
be contributing to the Defined Contribution System, any funds in the
account shall be paid directly to the employer.
(d) Upon the use of the amounts irrevocably forfeited to any
contributing employer as a reduction in the then current fiscal year
contribution obligation and upon notification provided by the several
contributing employers to the board of their intention to use
irrevocably forfeited amounts, the board shall direct the
distribution of the irrevocably forfeited amounts from the suspension
account to be deposited on behalf of the contributing employer to the
member annuity accounts of its then current employees pursuant to
section seventeen of this article
: Provided, That 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 requires that
member to be absent from his or her teaching, nonteaching 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, regardless when this time was
served
: Provided, however, 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 further, That
nothing herein 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 July 1, 2003
:
And 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.
CHAPTER 51. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 9. RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES.
§51-9-4. Required percentage contributions from salaries; any
termination of required contributions prior to actual
retirement disallowed; leased employees; military
service credit; maximum allowable and qualified
military service; qualifiable prosecutorial service.
(a) Every person who is now serving or shall hereafter serve as
a judge of any court of record of this state shall pay into the
Judges' Retirement Fund six percent of the salary received by such
person out of the State Treasury
: Provided, That when a judge
becomes eligible to receive benefits from such trust fund by actual
retirement, no further payment by him or her shall be required, since
such employee contribution, in an equal treatment sense, ceases to
be required in the other retirement systems of the state, also, only
after actual retirement
: Provided, however, That on and after January 1, 1995, every person who is then serving or shall thereafter
serve as a judge of any court of record in this state shall pay into
the Judges' Retirement Fund nine percent of the salary received by
that person
: Provided further, That consistent with the salary
increase granted to judges of courts of record during the 2005
regular legislative session and to changes effectuated in judicial
retirement by provisions enacted during the third extraordinary
legislative session of 2005, on and after July 1, 2005, every person
who is then serving or shall thereafter serve as a judge of any court
of record in this state shall pay into the Judges' Retirement Fund
ten and one-half percent of the salary received by that person. Any
prior occurrence or practice to the contrary, in any way allowing
discontinuance of required employee contributions prior to actual
retirement under this retirement system, is rejected as erroneous and
contrary to legislative intent and as violative of required equal
treatment and is hereby nullified and discontinued fully, with the
State Auditor to require such contribution in every instance
hereafter, except where no contributions are required to be made
under any of the provisions of this article.
(b) An individual who is a leased employee shall not be 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 the final power to decide the question.
(c) In drawing warrants for the salary checks of judges, the
State Auditor shall deduct from the amount of each such salary check six percent thereof, which amount so deducted shall be credited by
the Consolidated Public Retirement Board to the trust fund
:
Provided, That on or after January 1, 1995, the amount so deducted
and credited shall be nine percent of each such salary check
:
Provided, however, That consistent with the salary increase granted
to judges of courts of record during the 2005 regular legislative
session and to changes effectuated in judicial retirement by
provisions enacted during the third extraordinary legislative session
of 2005, on or after July 1, 2005, the amount so deducted and
credited shall be ten and one-half percent of each such salary check.
(d) Any judge seeking to qualify military service to be claimed
as credited service, in allowable aggregate maximum amount up to five
years, shall be entitled to be awarded the same without any required
payment in respect thereof to the Judges' Retirement Fund.
(d) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this state
who have served in the active military duty of the Armed Forces of
the United States. It is the intent of this section to confer
military service credit for time served in active military duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States upon members who are eligible
for judges' retirement benefits whether he or she was a member of the
judges' retirement system at the time of entering the military
service.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast
Guard or Marine Corps. This term includes regularly required
training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component or National Guard if the member can establish that he or she has
served at least three years of service.
(2) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the calendar
month.
(f) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(3) That the member has served at least three years as a member
of a reserve component or National Guard as substantiated by the
reserve component's or National Guard's annual statement of service
history; and
(4) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system, except those benefits provided by federal law, for
his or her active military duty.
(g) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year.
(h) For any member elected or appointed for the first time prior
to July 1, 2009, and who is eligible for an annuity benefit on June
30, 2009, he or she shall receive up to sixty months of service, for
any time served in active military duty.
(I) For any member elected or appointed for the first time prior to July 1, 2009, and who is eligible for an annuity benefit on June
30, 2009, and who has served in a reserve component or National
Guard, he or she shall receive up to twenty-four months of service
by receiving twelve months for each three years served in a reserve
component or National Guard.
(j) For any member elected or appointed for the first time on
or after July 1, 2009, or for any member who is not eligible for an
annuity benefit on June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive up to
twenty-four months of service for any time served in active military
duty.
(k) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(e) (l) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
section, 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 may promulgate rules relating to
contributions, benefits and service credit pursuant to the authority
granted to the retirement board in section one, article ten-d,
chapter five of this code to comply with Section 414(u) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
(f) (m) Any judge holding office as such on the effective date
of the amendments to this article adopted by the Legislature at its regular session in the year 1987 who seeks to qualify service as a
prosecuting attorney as credited service, which service credit must
have been earned prior to the year 1987, shall be required to pay
into the Judges' Retirement Fund nine percent of the annual salary
which was actually received by such person as prosecuting attorney
during the time such prosecutorial service was rendered prior to the
year 1987 and for which credited service is being sought, together
with applicable interest. No judge whose term of office shall
commence after the effective date of such amendments to this article
shall be eligible to claim any credit for service rendered as a
prosecuting attorney as eligible service for retirement benefits
under this article, nor shall any time served as a prosecutor after
the year 1988 be considered as eligible service for any purposes of
this article.
§51-9-6. Eligibility for and payment of benefits.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in sections five, six-d, twelve
and thirteen of this article, and subject to the provisions of
subsection (e) of this section, any person who is now serving, or who
shall hereafter serve, as a judge of any court of record of this
state and shall have served as such judge for a period of not less
than sixteen full years and shall have reached the age of sixty-five
years, or who has served as judge of such court or of that court and
other courts of record of the state for a period of sixteen full
years or more (whether continuously or not and whether said service
be entirely before or after this article became effective, or partly
before and partly after said date, and whether or not said judge
shall be in office on the date he or she shall become eligible to
benefits hereunder) and shall have reached the age of sixty-five years, or who is now serving, or who shall hereafter serve, as a
judge of any court of record of this state and shall have served as
such judge for a period of not less than twenty-four full years,
regardless of age, shall, upon a determination and certification of
his or her eligibility as provided in section nine hereof, be paid
from the fund annual retirement benefits, so long as he or she shall
live, in an amount equal to seventy-five percent of the annual salary
of the office from which he or she has retired based upon such salary
of such office and as such salary may be changed from time to time
during the period of his or her retirement and the amount of his or
her retirement benefits shall be based upon and be equal to
seventy-five percent of the highest annual salary of such office for
any one calendar year during the period of his or her retirement and
shall be payable in monthly installments
: Provided, That such
retirement benefits shall be paid only after such judge has resigned
as such or, for any reason other than his or her impeachment, his or
her service as such has ended
: Provided, however, That every such
person seeking to retire and to receive the annual retirement
benefits provided by this subsection must have served a minimum of
twelve years as a sitting judge of any such court of record
:
Provided further, That every individual who is appointed or elected
for the first time as judge of a court of record of this state after
July 1, 2005, who subsequently seeks to retire and to receive the
annual retirement benefits provided by this subsection must have
served a minimum of fourteen years as a sitting judge of any court
of record.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article with
the exception of sections twelve-a and twelve-b, any person who is now serving or who shall hereafter serve as a judge of any court of
record of this state and who shall have accumulated sixteen years or
more of credited service, at least twelve years of which is as a
sitting judge of a court of record, and who has attained the age of
sixty-two years or more but less than the age of sixty-five years,
may elect to retire from his or her office and to receive the pension
to which he or she would otherwise be entitled to receive at age
sixty-five, but with an actuarial reduction of pension benefit to be
established as a reduced annuity receivable throughout retirement
:
Provided, That every individual who is appointed or elected for the
first time as judge of a court of record of this state after July 1,
2005, who subsequently seeks to retire and to receive the annual
retirement benefits provided by this subsection must have served a
minimum of fourteen years as a sitting judge of any court of record.
The reduced percentage (less than seventy-five percent) actuarially
computed, determined and established at time of retirement in respect
of this reduced pension benefit shall also continue and be applicable
to any subsequent new annual salary set for the office from which
such judge has retired and as such salary may be changed from time
to time during the period of his or her retirement.
(c) In determining eligibility for the benefits provided by this
section,
all active military duty full-time duty (including leaves
and furloughs) in the Armed Forces of the United States shall be
eligible for qualification as credited military service for the
purposes of
section four, article nine, of this chapter of the code
and shall apply toward eligibility in the judges' retirement system.
this article by any judge with twelve or more years actual service
as a sitting judge of a court of record, such awardable military service to not exceed five years: Provided, That in determining
eligibility for the benefits provided by this section for every
individual who is appointed or elected for the first time as judge
of a court of record of this state after the first day of July, two
thousand five, active full-time duty (including leaves and furloughs)
in the Armed Forces of the United States qualifies as credited
service for the purposes of this article for any judge with fourteen
or more years actual service as a sitting judge of a court of record
of this state, the awardable military service not to exceed five
years.
(d) If a judge of a court of record who is presently sitting as
such on the effective date of the amendments to this section enacted
by the Legislature at its regular session held in the year 1987 and
who has served for a period of not less than twelve full years and
has made payments into the Judges' Retirement Fund as provided in
this article for each month during which he or she served as judge,
following the effective date of this section, any portion of time
which he or she had served as prosecuting attorney in any county in
this state shall qualify as years of service, if such judge shall pay
those sums required to be paid pursuant to the provisions of section
four of this article
: Provided, That any term of office as
prosecuting attorney, or part thereof, commencing after December 31,
1988, shall not hereafter in any way qualify as eligible years of
service under this retirement system. For purposes of this article,
eligible service as a "prosecuting attorney" or as a "prosecutor"
does not include any service as an assistant prosecuting attorney.
The amendment to this subsection during the third extraordinary
session in the year 2005 is not for the purpose of changing existing law but is intended to clarify the intent of the Legislature as to
existing law regarding eligibility for benefits for service as a
prosecuting attorney since its initial enactment and this
clarification shall be applied retrospectively to the effective date
of this section and any predecessor acts in which service as a
prosecuting attorney was initially determined by statute to qualify
as eligible years of service under the retirement system provided by
this article.
(e) Any retirement benefit accruing under the provisions of this
section shall not be paid if otherwise barred under the provisions
of article ten-a, chapter five of this code.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article,
forfeitures under the system shall not be applied to increase the
benefits any member would otherwise receive under the system.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide up to twenty-four
months of military service credit for time served in active military
duty to any qualified member of the West Virginia Public Employees
Retirement Act, the West Virginia State Police Retirement System, the
State Teachers Retirement System, the Teachers' Defined Contribution
Retirement System and the Retirement System for Judges hired for the
first time on or after July 1, 2009, or for any qualified member who
is not vested on June 30, 2009.
Strike- throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§18-7A-17a is new, therefore, underscoring and strike-throughs
have been omitted.