(a) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board is continued to administer all public retirement plans in this state. It shall administer the Public Employees Retirement System established in §5-10-1 et seq. of this code; the Teachers Retirement System established in §18-7A-1 et seq. of this code; the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System created by §18-7B-1 et seq. of said code; the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created by §15-2-1 et seq. of this code; the West Virginia State Police Retirement System created by §15-2A-1 et seq. article two-a of said code; the Deputy Sheriff Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created by article fourteen-d, chapter seven §7-14D-1 et seq. of this code; the Judges' Retirement System created under §51-9-1 et seq. of this code; the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System established in §16-5V-1 et seq. of this code; and the Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System established in §8-22A-1 et seq. of this code.

(b) The membership of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board consists of:

(1) The Governor or his or her designee;

(2) The State Treasurer or his or her designee;

(3) The State Auditor or his or her designee;

(4) The Secretary of the Department of Administration or his or her designee;

(5) Four residents of the state, who are not members, retirants or beneficiaries of any of the public retirement systems, to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate; and

(6) A member, annuitant or retirant of the Public Employees Retirement System who is or was a state employee; a member, annuitant or retirant of the Public Employees Retirement System who is not or was not a state employee; a member, annuitant or retirant of the Teachers Retirement System; a member, annuitant or retirant of the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund; a member, annuitant or retirant of the West Virginia State Police Retirement System; a member, annuitant or retirant of the Deputy Sheriff Death, Disability and Retirement Fund; a member, annuitant or retirant of the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System; a member, annuitant or retirant of the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System; and beginning as soon as practicable after January 1, 2010, one person who is a member, annuitant or retirant of a municipal policemen's or firemen's pension and relief fund or the West Virginia Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System, all to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall choose the member representing the municipal policemen's or firemen's pension and relief fund or the West Virginia Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System from two names submitted by the state's largest organization of professional police officers and two names submitted by the state's largest organization of professional firefighters. Representation of the municipal police officers and firefighters shall alternate after each term on the board between persons having police officer and firefighter affiliation so that each professional group is represented on the board every other term.

All appointees to the board shall have recognized competence or significant experience in pension management or administration, actuarial analysis, institutional management or accounting. Those members appointed prior to January 1, 2010, shall be considered to have met these qualifications. One trustee shall be an attorney experienced in finance and pension matters and one trustee shall be a certified public accountant. Each member of the board must complete annual fiduciary training and timely complete any conflict of interest forms required to serve as a trustee.

(c) The appointed members of the board shall serve five-year terms. A member appointed pursuant to subdivision (6), subsection (b) of this section ceases to be a member of the board if he or she ceases to be a member of the represented system. If a vacancy occurs in the appointed membership, the Governor, within sixty days, shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term. No more than six appointees may be of the same political party.

(d) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board has all the powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the Public Employees Retirement System established pursuant to §5-10-1 et seq. of this code; the Teachers Retirement System established pursuant to §18-7A-1 et seq. of this code; the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System established pursuant to §18-7B-1 et seq. of this code; the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created pursuant to §15-2-1 et seq. of this code; the West Virginia State Police Retirement System created by §15-2A-1 et seq. of this code; the Deputy Sheriff Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created pursuant to §7-14D-1 et seq. of this code; the Judges' Retirement System created pursuant to §51-9-1 et seq. of this code; the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System established in §16-5V-1 et seq. of this code; and the Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System created pursuant to §8-22A-1 et seq. of this code, and their appropriate governing boards.

(e) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board may propose rules for legislative approval, in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, necessary to effectuate its powers, duties and responsibilities: Provided, That the board may adopt any or all of the rules, previously promulgated, of a retirement system which it administers.

(f) (1) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board shall continue to transfer all funds received for the benefit of the retirement systems, including, but not limited to, all employer and employee contributions, to the West Virginia Investment Management Board: Provided, That the employer and employee contributions of the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System, established in §18-7B-3 of this code, and voluntary deferred compensation funds invested by the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board pursuant to §5-10B-5 of this code may not be transferred to the West Virginia Investment Management Board.

(2) The board may recover from a participating employer that fails to pay any amount due a retirement system in a timely manner the contribution due and an additional amount not to exceed interest or other earnings lost as a result of the untimely payment, or a reasonable minimum fee, whichever is greater, as provided by legislative rule promulgated pursuant to the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code. Any amounts recovered shall be administered in the same manner in which the amount due is required to be administered.

(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this code or any legislative rule to the contrary, all assets of the public retirement plans set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be held in trust. The Consolidated Public Retirement Board is a trustee for all public retirement plans, except with regard to the investment of funds: Provided, That the Consolidated Public Retirement Board is a trustee with regard to the investments of the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System and any other assets of the public retirement plans administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board as set forth in subsection (a) of this section for which no trustee has been expressly designated in this code.

(h) The board may employ the West Virginia Investment Management Board to provide investment management consulting services for the investment of funds in the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System.

CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.

ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§15-2A-6. Retirement; commencement of benefits.

(a) A member may retire with full benefits upon attaining the age of fifty and completing twenty-five or more years of service or attaining the age of fifty-two and completing twenty years or more of service by filing with the board his or her voluntary application in writing for retirement. A member who is less than age fifty-two may retire upon completing twenty years or more of service: Provided, That he or she will receive a reduced benefit that is of equal actuarial value to the benefit the member would have received if the member deferred commencement of his or her accrued retirement benefit to the age of fifty-two.

(b) When the board retires a member with full benefits under the provisions of this section, the board, by order in writing, shall make a determination that the member is entitled to receive an annuity equal to two and three-fourths percent of his or her final average salary multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of his or her service at the time of retirement,: Provided, That beginning July 1, 2019, the member is entitled to receive an annuity equal to three percent of this or her final average salary multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of his or her service at the time of retirement: Provided, however, That the amendments to this subsection enacted during the 2019 regular session of the Legislature apply to current retirants. Any annuity calculated pursuant to the provisions of this subsection are subject to reduction if necessary to comply with the maximum benefit provisions of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code and section six-a of this article. The retirant's annuity shall begin the first day of the calendar month following the month in which the member's application for the annuity is filed with the board on or after his or her attaining age and service requirements and termination of employment.

(c) In no event may the provisions of section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code be applied in determining eligibility to retire with either a deferred or immediate commencement of benefit.”