H. B. 2359
(By Delegates Hubbard, Dempsey,
Yeager and Flanigan)
[Introduced
February 20, 2001
; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-one, article ten,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the public
employees retirement act; and permitting early retirement with
full pension rights, when a member has thirty years of
service, regardless of age.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-one, article ten, chapter five of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-21. Deferred retirement and early retirement.
(a) Any member who has five or more years of credited service in force, of which at least three years are contributing service,
and who leaves the employ of a participating public employer prior
to his or her attaining age sixty years for any reason except his
or her disability retirement or death, shall be entitled to an
annuity computed according to section twenty-two of this article,
as that section was in force as of the date of his or her
separation from the employ of a participating public employer:
Provided, That he or she does not withdraw his or her accumulated
contributions from the members' deposit fund. His or her annuity
shall begin the first day of the calendar month next following the
month in which his or her application for same is filed with the
board of trustees on or after his or her attaining age sixty-two
years.
(b) Any member who qualifies for deferred retirement benefits
in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and has ten or
more years of credited service in force and who has attained age
fifty-five as of the date of his or her separation may, prior to
the effective date of his or her retirement, but not
thereafter
after the effective date of his or her retirement, elect to receive
the actuarial equivalent of his or her deferred retirement annuity
as a reduced annuity commencing on the first day of any calendar month between his or her date of separation and his or her
attainment of age sixty-two years and payable throughout his or her
life.
(c) Any member who qualifies for deferred retirement benefits
in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and has twenty
or more years of credited service in force, may elect to receive
the actuarial equivalent of his or her deferred retirement annuity
as a reduced annuity commencing on the first day of any calendar
month between his or her fifty-fifth birthday and his or her
attainment of age sixty-two years and payable throughout his or her
life.
(d) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this
section or of this article, except sections twenty-seven-a and
twenty-seven-b, and pursuant to rules promulgated by the board, any
member who has thirty or more years of credited service in force,
at least three of which are contributing service, and who elects to
take early retirement, which for the purposes of this subsection
means retirement prior to age sixty, whether an active employee or
a separated employee at the time of application, shall be entitled
to the full computation of annuity according to section twenty-two
of this article, as that section was in force as of the date of retirement application, but with the reduced actuarial equivalent
of the annuity the member would have received if his or her benefit
had commenced at age sixty when he or she would have been entitled
to full computation of benefit without any reduction.
(e) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this
section or of this article, except sections twenty-seven-a and
twenty-seven-b of this article, any member of the retirement system
may retire with full pension rights, without reduction of benefits,
if he or she is at least fifty-five years of age and the sum of his
or her age plus years of contributing service and limited credited
service, as defined in section two of this article, equals or
exceeds eighty.
(f) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this
section or of this article, any member of the retirement system may
retire with full pension rights, without reduction of benefits, if
the member has at least thirty years of contributing service,
regardless of age.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide public employees
retirement with full pension rights when their contributing service
equals or exceeds 30 years, regardless of age.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
