WEST virginia legislature

2019 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 595

By Senators Blair, Boso, Cline, Sypolt, and Maroney

[Introduced February 13, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-7A-13a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing retired teachers to be subsequently employed by the Higher Education Policy Commission, Council for Community and Technical College Education, or state institutions of higher education without any loss of retirement annuity or retirement benefits under certain circumstances.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§18-7A-13a. Resumption of service by retired teachers.

(a) For the purpose of this section, reemployment of a former or retired teacher as a teacher shall in no way does not impair the teacher's eligibility for a prior service pension or any other benefit provided by this article.

(b) Retired teachers Retirants 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 or nonteaching member. The payment of the prior service allowance shall be discontinued on the first day of the month within which such the employment begins and shall be resumed on the first day of the month succeeding the month within which such the employment ceases. The guaranteed annuity portion paid the teacher retirant on first retirement resulting from the Teachers' Accumulation Fund and the Employers' Accumulation Retirement System Fund shall continue throughout the governmental resumption of service and thereafter according to the option selected by the teacher retirant upon first retirement.

(c) Retired teachers Retirants who qualified for an annuity because of disability shall may 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 retirant 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 is 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 the 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 prior to July 1, 2019, under the system provided by this article may subsequently become employed on either a full-time, basis part-time basis or contract basis by the West Virginia Higher Education  Policy Commission, West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education, or any state 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 2002 and December 31, 2002: Provided, That the person shall not be person has a break in service of not less than six months following retirement before the subsequent employment commences.  Such person is not eligible to participate in any other state retirement system provided by this code, except that system set out in §18B-7-5 of this code.

(e) The retirement board is herewith authorized to may require of the retired teachers retirant and their employers such reports as it deems any reports it considers necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow retired members of the Teachers Retirement System to be employed by the Higher Education Policy Commission, Council for Community and Technical College Education or state institutions of higher education without any loss of retirement annuity or retirement benefits.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.