Senate Bill No. 26
(By Senator Fanning)
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[Introduced February 9, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §5-10-22f of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §18-7A-26r of said
code, all relating to the Public Employees Retirement Act and
the State Teachers Retirement System; and including disability
retirees within the eligibility rules for minimum retirement
benefits under the public employees and the state teachers
retirement systems.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10-22f of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §18-7A-26r of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD
OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,
OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-22f. Minimum benefit for certain retirees; legislative
declaration; state interest and public purpose.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that an important
state interest exists in providing a minimum retirement annuity for
certain
retirants retirees(or their beneficiaries) who are credited
with twenty or more years of credited service
or who retired
pursuant to section twenty-five of this article; that
such the
program constitutes a public purpose; and that the exclusions of
credited service while an elected public official or while a
temporary legislative employee are reasonable and equitable
exclusions for purposes of determining eligibility for
such the
minimum benefits. For purposes of this section: (1) "Elected
public official" means any member of the Legislature or any member
of the legislative body of any political subdivision; and (2)
"temporary legislative employee" means any employee of the Clerk of
the House of Delegates, the Clerk of the Senate, the Legislature or
a committee thereof whose employment is classified as temporary and
who is employed to perform services required by the Clerk of the
House of Delegates, the Clerk of the Senate, the Legislature or a
committee thereof, as the case may be, for regular sessions,
extraordinary sessions and/or interim meetings of the Legislature.
If the retirement annuity of a
retirant retiree (or, if
applicable, his or her beneficiary) with at least twenty years of credited service
or who retired pursuant to section twenty-five of
this article as of the effective date of this section is less than
five hundred dollars per month (including any supplemental benefits
or incentives provided by this article), then the monthly
retirement benefit for
any such the retired member (or if
applicable, his or her beneficiary)
shall must be increased to five
hundred dollars per month:
Provided, That any year of credited
service while an elected public official or a temporary legislative
employee shall not be taken into account for purposes of this
section.
The payment of any minimum benefit under this section
shall be
is in lieu of, and not in addition to, the payments of any
retirement benefit or supplemental benefit or incentives otherwise
provided by law:
Provided, That the minimum benefit provided
herein
shall be is subject to any limitations thereon under §415 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Any minimum benefit conferred herein
shall not be is not
retroactive to the time of retirement and
shall apply applies only
to members who have retired prior to the effective date of this
section, or, if applicable, to beneficiaries receiving benefits
under the retirement system prior to the effective date.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-26r. Minimum benefit for certain retired members; legislative declaration; state interest and public
purpose.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that an important
state interest exists in providing a minimum retirement annuity for
certain retired members who are credited with twenty or more years
of total service
or who retired pursuant to the disability
retirement provisions of section twenty-five of this article; that
such the program constitutes a public purpose; and that the
exclusion of total service for certain employees of institutions
of higher education is a reasonable and equitable exclusion for
purposes of determining eligibility for
such the minimum benefits.
If the retirement annuity of a retired member (or if
applicable, a spouse thereof) with at least twenty years of total
service
or who retired pursuant to the disability provisions of
section twenty-five of this article is less than five hundred
dollars per month (including any supplemental or additional
benefits provided by this article), then the monthly retirement
annuity for
any such the retired member
shall must be increased to
five hundred dollars per month:
Provided, That any year of service
while an employee of an institution of higher education
shall may
not be taken into account for purposes of this section if his or
her salary is capped under the retirement system at four thousand
eight hundred dollars per year pursuant to section fourteen-a of
this article.
The payment of any minimum benefit under this section
shall be
is in lieu of, and not in addition to, the payments of any
retirement annuity or supplemental or additional benefits
otherwise provided by this article:
Provided, That the minimum
benefit provided herein
shall be is subject to any limitations
thereon under §415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as the
same may be amended.
Any minimum benefit conferred herein
shall not be is not
retroactive to the time of retirement and
shall apply applies only
to members who have retired prior to the effective date of this
section, or, if applicable, to beneficiaries receiving benefits
under the retirement system prior to the effective date.
The minimum benefit provided herein shall be subject to a
recommendation by the Governor for
such the minimum benefit through
the delivery of an executive message to the Legislature and an
appropriation by the Legislature for
such the minimum benefit.
such The appropriation
is to be made over a continuous six-year
period following the effective date of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include disability
retirees within the eligibility rules for minimum retirement
benefits under the public employees and the state teachers
retirement systems.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.