Introduced Version
House Bill 2833 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2833
(By Delegates Miley, Skinner, Shott, Manchin,
Hunt and Barill)
[Introduced March 5, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact
§51-9-4
of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the judicial retirement system;
reducing the contribution rate of judges; authorizing the
Consolidated Public Retirement Board to annually establish
future participant contribution rates based on the State
Actuary's report; and limiting the participant contribution
rate to ten and one-half percent of a participant's salary.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §51-9-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES OF COURTS OF RECORD.
§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: And provided further, That on and after
July 1, 2013, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section,
every person who is then serving or shall thereafter serve as a judge of any court of record in this state and who elects to
participate in this retirement system shall pay into the Judges'
Retirement Fund seven percent of the salary received. 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) On and after July 1, 2014, every person who is serving or
shall hereafter serve as a judge of any court of record of this
state and who elects to participate in this retirement system shall
contribute to the fund an amount determined by the board. This
amount will be based on the annual actuarial valuation prepared by
the State Actuary: Provided, That the contribution will be no
less than seven percent or no more than ten and one-half percent of
the participant's annual compensation.
_____(b) (c) 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) (d) 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: Provided further, That on and after July 1,
2013, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the
amount so deducted and credited shall be seven percent of each
salary check: And provided further, That on and after July 1,
2014, the amount so deducted and credited will be determined by the
board.
_____(d) (e) 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.
(e) (f) 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) (g) Any judge holding office as such on the effective date
of the amendments to this article adopted by the Legislature at its
1987 regular session 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a sliding scale
for the retirement contribution of judges participating in the
judicial retirement system to ensure that the judicial pension
system remains fully funded and is a "qualifying system" under
federal law.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.