Senate Bill No. 364
(By Senators Blatnik, Ross, Helmick, Walker,
Craigo, Wagner, Chafin and Sharpe)
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[Introduced February 12, 1996;
referred to the Committee on Pensions.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four-a, article twenty-three,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
supplemental and additional retirement plans for the
employees of state institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four-a, article twenty-three, chapter eighteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-
one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 23. ADDITIONAL POWERS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
GOVERNING BOARDS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
EDUCATION.
§18-23-4a. Supplemental and additional retirement plans for employees; payroll deductions; authority to match
employee contributions; retroactive curative and
technical corrective action.
The governing boards shall have the authority to contract
for a supplemental retirement plan for any or all of its
employees to supplement the benefits such employees will receive
under the state teachers retirement system. The governing boards
shall have the authority to make additional periodic deductions
from the salary payments due such employees in the amount they
are required to contribute for the supplemental retirement plan
selected by the board. The additional deductions shall not
exceed five percent of the salary of employees under thirty-five
years of age, six percent of the salary of those thirty-five
through forty-four years of age, and seven and one-half percent
of the salary of those forty-five years of age and above, and
shall not cover any portion of an employee's salary which is
covered by the state teachers retirement system.
The governing boards shall also have the authority to
contract for an additional retirement plan for any of its
employees who elect to participate solely in such a retirement
plan selected by the governing boards without participating in the state retirement system. The governing boards shall have the
authority to make periodic deductions from the salary payments
due such employees in the amount they are required to contribute
to the additional plan, which deductions shall be the same
percentage of the participating employees' salaries as that
deducted from the salaries of members of the state retirement
system.
The board is further authorized, by way of additional
compensation to such employees, to pay an amount equal to the
contributions of such employees into either the supplemental or
additional retirement plan from funds appropriated to it for
personal services. Each participating employee shall have a full
and immediate vested interest in the retirement and death
benefits accrued from all the moneys paid into such supplemental
or additional retirement plan for his or her benefit. Upon
proper requisition of the board, the auditor shall periodically
issue a warrant, payable as specified in the requisition, for the
total contributions so withheld from the salaries of all
participating employees and for the governing board's matching
funds.
Pursuant to the provisions contained in article seven-a and article twenty-three of this chapter, once a member has elected
one of the options contained in section fourteen-a, article
seven-a of this chapter and section four-a, article twenty-three
of this chapter, he cannot thereafter change such election. The
Legislature declares that the amendment of this section in
Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 4672, enacted at
the regular session, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, was
inadvertent and remained in said bill contrary to legislative
intent that the same be deleted; therefore, such language is
hereby retroactively deleted and expunged as of the effective
date of said Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill No.
4672 as curative and technical corrective action. The
Legislature further declares that such ambiguous and deficient
language inadvertently enacted in said bill shall be given no
force and effect whatsoever in any litigation involving such
language.
Beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one, any person whose employment commences on or
after that date and is eligible to participate in an additional
retirement plan provided pursuant to this section shall be
required to participate in said additional plan and shall not be eligible to participate in any other state retirement system. On
or before the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-six, the governing boards shall provide a choice of no
fewer than three nor more than ten vendors of retirement products
and services who are authorized to do business in this state to
all of their employees who participate in the additional
retirement plan provided pursuant to this section. The vendors
shall be chosen by the governing bodies pursuant to a request for
proposal issued pursuant to the provisions of section four,
article five, chapter eighteen-b of this code. The current
vendor for the additional retirement plan may be considered by
the governing boards pursuant to the request for proposal.
Vendors shall be permitted to market their products and services
through licensed agents directly to state employees.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the governing
boards of the state institutions of higher education to provide
to its employees a choice of no fewer than three nor more than
ten vendors of retirement products and services. Vendors are to
be chosen by one board pursuant to a request for proposal.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.