WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2023 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 3060

By Delegates Street, Chiarelli, Foggin, Hanna, Kirby, Burhammer, Statler, Brooks, Keaton, Ellington, and Pinson

[Introduced January 25, 2023; Referred to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-7A-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting membership of the state teachers retirement system to include any person who has been retired by any other retirement system administered by the Board at the option of the retirant; providing for implementation and conditions of membership; and deleting a cross-reference to a repealed provision of law.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§18-7A-13. Membership in retirement system; cessation of membership; reinstatement of withdrawn service.

The membership of the retirement system shall consist of the following:

(a) New entrants, whose membership in the system is compulsory upon employment as teachers and nonteachers: Provided, That any teaching member or nonteaching member, as defined in section three of this article, who has concurrent employment in an additional job or jobs which would require the teaching member or nonteaching member to be a member of the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement System, the West Virginia Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System or the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System shall abide by the concurrent employment statutory provisions of said retirement system and shall participate in only one retirement system administered by the retirement board.

(b) The membership of the retirement system shall not include any person who is an active member of or who has been retired by the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System, the judge's retirement system, or the retirement system of the West Virginia State Police. or the supplemental retirement system as provided in section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter The membership of the retirement system may include any person who has been retired by any other retirement system administered by the Board as provided by this subsection.  A retirant employed as a teacher or nonteacher on or after the effective date of the amendments to this section in 2023 shall elect to become a member of the retirement system upon his or her initial employment.  A retirant employed as a teacher or nonteacher before the effective date of the amendments to this section in 2023 may elect to become a member of the retirement system on or before December 31, 2023:  Provided, That the retirant may not receive service credit for any period so employed prior to becoming a member of the retirement system.  As soon as reasonably possible following the enactment of this section in 2023, or upon retirement, whichever shall last occur, the Board shall send by letter or email to each person who has been retired by any other retirement system administered by the Board a description of the opportunities provided by the provisions of the amendments to this section in 2023 as soon as reasonably possible following the enactment of this section in 2023, or upon retirement, which ever shall last occur, and shall additionally provide the description on its website.  

The membership of any person in the retirement system ceases: (1) Upon the withdrawal of accumulated contributions after the cessation of service; (2) upon effective retirement date; (3) at death; or (4) upon the date, if any, when after the cessation of service, the outstanding balance of any loan obtained by the member pursuant to section thirty-four of this article or section five, article seven-d of this chapter, plus accrued interest, equals or exceeds the member's accumulated contributions.

(c) Any former member of the retirement system who has withdrawn accumulated contributions but subsequently reenters the retirement system may repay to the retirement fund the amount withdrawn, plus interest at a rate set by the board, compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment: Provided, That no repayment may be made until the former member has completed two years of contributory service after reentry; and the member shall be accorded all the rights to prior service and experience as were held at the time of withdrawal of the accumulated contributions: Provided, however, That no withdrawn service may be reinstated that has been transferred to another retirement system from which the member is currently or will in the future draw benefits based on the same service. The interest paid shall be deposited in the reserve fund.

(d) No member is eligible for prior service credit unless he or she is eligible for prior service pension, as prescribed by section twenty-two of this article; however, a new entrant who becomes a present teacher as provided in this subdivision shall be considered eligible for prior service pension upon retirement.

(e) Any individual who is a leased employee is not 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 final power to decide the question.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit membership of the State Teachers Retirement System to include any person who has been retired by any other retirement system administered by the West Virginia Consolidated Retirement Board at the option of the retirant employed as a teacher or nonteacher.

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