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Engrossed Version Senate Bill 559 History

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ENGROSSED

Senate Bill No. 559

(By Senators Minear, Unger and Plymale)

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[Introduced March 22, 2001; referred to the Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-seven, article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to preretirement death benefits under the West Virginia public employees retirement system; clarifying that a lump sum refund amount may be paid as a preretirement death benefit in lieu of an annuity; clarifying that no annuity benefit is due if the member has fewer than ten years of service; and providing that a married member who has at least ten years of service is allowed to name a beneficiary other than a spouse to receive preretirement death benefits if a valid waiver is presented to the retirement board.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section twenty-seven, 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. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.

§5-10-27. Preretirement death annuities.

(a) In the event any member who has ten or more years of credited service or any former member with ten or more years of credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant to section twenty-one of this article, may at any time prior to the effective date of his
or her retirement, by written declaration duly executed and filed with the board of trustees, in the same manner as if he or she were then retiring from the employ of a participating public employer, elect option A provided for in section twenty-four of this article and nominate a beneficiary whom the board finds to have had an insurable interest in the life of said the member. Prior to the effective date of his or her retirement, a member may revoke his or her said election of option A and nomination of beneficiary and he or she may again prior to his or her retirement elect the said option A and nominate a beneficiary as provided in this subsection. Upon the death of a member who has an option A election in force, his or her beneficiary, if living, shall immediately receive an annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the same member had retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that he or she might not have attained age sixty years, and elected the said option A. If at the time of his or her retirement a member has an option A election in force, his or her said election of option A and nomination of beneficiary shall thereafter continue in force. As an alternative to annuity option A, a member or former member may elect to have the preretirement death benefit paid as a return of accumulated contributions in a lump sum amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses.
(b) In the event any member who has ten or more years of credited service, or any former member with ten or more years of credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies; and (2) leaves a widow, or in the case of a female member leaves a widower surviving spouse, the said widow or widower, as the case may be, surviving spouse shall immediately receive an annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the said member had: (1) Retired the day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that he or she might not have attained age sixty or sixty-two years, as the case may be; (2) elected option A provided for in section twenty-four of this article; and (3) nominated his or her said widow or widower, as the case may be, surviving spouse as beneficiary. However, the surviving spouse shall have the right to waive the annuity provided for in this section: Provided, That he or she executes a valid and notarized waiver on a form provided by the retirement board and that the member or former member attests to the waiver. If the waiver is presented to and accepted by the retirement board, the member or former member shall nominate a beneficiary who has an insurable interest in the member's or former member's life. As an alternative to annuity option A, the member or former member may elect to have the preretirement death benefit paid as a return of accumulated contributions in a lump sum amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses in the event a waiver, as provided for in this section, has been presented to and accepted by the retirement board.
(c) In the event any member who has ten or more years of credited service or any former member with ten or more years of credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies without leaving surviving him or her a spouse; but (2) leaves surviving him or her an infant child or children; and (3) does not have a beneficiary nominated as provided in subsection (a) of this section, said the infant child or children shall be entitled to an annuity to be calculated as follows: The annuity reserve shall be calculated as though said the member had retired as of the date of his or her decease and elected a straight life annuity and the amount of said the annuity reserve shall be paid in equal monthly installments to said the member's infant child or children until said the child or children attain age twenty-one or sooner marry or become emancipated; however, in no event shall any child or children receive more than two hundred fifty dollars per month each. The said annuity payments shall be computed as of the date of the death of the said member and the amount of said the annuity shall remain constant during the period of payment. The annual amount of the annuities payable by this section shall not exceed sixty percent of said the deceased member's final average salary.
(d) In the event any member or former member does not have ten or more years of credited service, no preretirement death annuity may be authorized, owed or awarded under this section.

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