Senate Bill No. 560

(By Senator Redd, Unger, Kessler, Mitchell, Ross, Dawson, Bowman, Sharpe, Ball, Hunter, Minard and Love)

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[Introduced February 21, 2000; referred to the Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article seven-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-six-r, relating to supplemental annuities for certain retired employees of the state teachers retirement system.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-six-r, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-26r. Supplemental benefits for certain annuitants.
As an additional supplement to other retirement allowances provided, each annuitant who is receiving a retirement annuity of less than twenty-five thousand dollars annually and who retired between the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred seventy and the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred eighty-five, and who retired with a minimum of ten years of service, shall receive annually after the effective date of this section a supplemental benefit as follows: An annual cost-of-living supplement which is equal to the annual increase in the consumer price index as published by the United States department of labor or two percent of their annual annuity, whichever is less: Provided, That such supplement shall not cause the annual retirement annuity of any annuitant to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars: Provided, however, That if granting the full supplement to an annuitant would result in the annual annuity exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars then the annuitant shall receive that portion of the supplement that will maintain an annual annuity of twenty-five thousand dollars.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide an annual cost-of-living increase for certain retirees in the defined benefit teacher system who receive less than $25,000.00 annually. The supplement is to equal the consumer price index or two percent of the annual annuity, whichever is smaller. Retirees affected are those who retired between 1970 and 1985 with ten or more years of service.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.