H. B. 2387
(By Delegates Stalnaker, Browning, Williams and Duke)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5-10-27 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to removing the ability of a
member to choose a beneficiary who has an insurable interest
to receive an annuity and allowing a member or former member
to choose to have the preretirement death benefit paid in a
lump sum amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she
chooses.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10-27 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, 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) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 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 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 the member. Prior to the
effective date of his or her retirement, a member may revoke his or
her election of option A and nomination of beneficiary and he or
she may again prior to his or her retirement elect 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
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.
(2) In the event any member or former member, who first became
a member of the Public Employees Retirement System after the
effective date of amendments made to this section during the two
thousand six regular legislative session and who has ten or more years of credited service and who is entitled to a deferred
annuity, pursuant to section twenty-one of this article: Dies
without leaving a surviving spouse; but leaves surviving him or her
a child who is financially dependent on the member by virtue of a
permanent mental or physical disability upon evidence satisfactory
to the board; and has named the disabled child as sole beneficiary,
the disabled child shall immediately receive an annuity computed in
the same manner in all respects as if the member had: (A) 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; (B) elected option A provided in section
twenty-four of this article; and (C) nominated his or her disabled
child as beneficiary. A member or former member with ten or more
years of credited service, who does not leave surviving him or her
a spouse or a disabled child, 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) (1) 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: Dies; and leaves
a surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall immediately receive
an annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the
member had: (A) 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; (B) elected option A
provided in section twenty-four of this article; and (C) nominated
his or her surviving spouse as beneficiary. However, the surviving
spouse shall have the right to waive the annuity provided in this
section
Provided, That if he or she executes a valid and notarized
waiver on a form provided by the board and that the member or
former member attests to the waiver. If the waiver is presented to
and accepted by the board, the member or former member, may:
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
in this section, has been presented to and accepted by the board.
(1) Elect to have the preretirement death benefit paid in a lump
sum amount, rather than annuity option A provided in section
twenty-four of this article, as a return of accumulated
contributions to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she
chooses; or (2) may name his or her surviving child who is
financially dependent on the member by virtue of a permanent mental
or physical disability as his or her sole beneficiary to receive an
annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the
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 as the case may be;(2) elected Option A provided in section twenty-four of this article; and (3) nominated his or
her disabled child as beneficiary.
(2) Whenever any member or former member who first became a
member of the retirement system after the effective date of the
amendments to this section made during the two thousand six regular
legislative session and who has ten or more years of credited
service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant to
section twenty-one of this article: Dies; and leaves a surviving
spouse, the surviving spouse shall immediately receive an annuity
computed in the same manner in all respects as if the member had:
(A) 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; (B) elected option A provided
in section twenty-four of this article; and (C) nominated his or
her surviving spouse as beneficiary. However, the surviving spouse
shall have the right to waive the annuity provided in this section,
Provided, That if he or she executes a valid and notarized waiver
on a form provided by the board and that the member or former
member attests to the waiver. If the waiver is presented to and
accepted by the Board, the member or former member may: (1) Elect
to have the preretirement death benefit paid in a lump sum amount,
rather than annuity option A provided in section twenty-four of
this article, as a return of accumulated contributions to any
beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses; or (2) may name his
or her surviving child, who is financially dependent on the member
by virtue of a permanent mental or physical disability, as his or her sole beneficiary to receive an annuity computed in the same
manner in all respects as if the member had: (A) Retired the day
preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that he or
she might not have attained the age of sixty or sixty-two as the
case may be; (B) elected option A provided in section twenty-four
of this article; and (C) nominated his or her disabled child as
beneficiary.
(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, the infant child or children are entitled to an annuity to
be calculated as follows: The annuity reserve shall be calculated
as though the member had retired as of the date of his or her
decease and elected a straight life annuity and the amount of the
annuity reserve shall be paid in equal monthly installments to the
member's infant child or children until 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 annuity payments
shall be computed as of the date of the death of the member and the
amount of 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 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, except as
provided in subdivision (4), subsection (a), section fifteen of
this article as amended during the two thousand five regular
session of the Legislature.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to: (1) Remove the ability
of a member to choose a beneficiary who has an insurable interest,
other than his or her spouse or disabled dependent child, to
receive an annuity; and (2) allow a member or former member to
choose to have the preretirement death benefit paid in a lump sum
amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added
.