WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 2537
By Delegates Kelly, Criss, Deem, Wagner, Ward, Atkinson, Cooper, Rowan, Romine, R., Harshbarger and Hollen
[Introduced February 17,
2017; Referred
to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-22-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to disability pensions of municipal employees; increasing amount of income that may be earned before an offset of benefits is required; and increasing that limit automatically when the minimum wage increases.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-22-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. RETIREMENT BENEFITS GENERALLY; POLICEMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND; FIREMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND; PENSION PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES OF WATERWORKS SYSTEM, SEWERAGE SYSTEM OR COMBINED WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM.
§8-22-24. Disability pensions.
(a) The monthly sum to be
paid to each member eligible for disability received as a proximate result of
service rendered in the performance of his or her duties under the provisions
of section twenty-three-a of this article shall be is equal to
sixty percent of the monthly salary being received by such the member,
at the time he or she is so disabled, or the sum of $500 per month,
whichever shall be is greater: Provided, That the
limitation provided in subsection (b) of this section is not exceeded.
(b) Effective for any
member who becomes eligible for disability benefits on or after July 1, 1981,
under the provisions of section twenty-three-a of this article, as a proximate
result of service rendered in the performance of his the member's
duties within such departments, his the member's monthly
disability payment as provided in subsection (a) of this section shall may
not, when aggregated with the monthly amount of state workers' compensation,
result in such the disabled member receiving a total monthly
income from such the sources in excess of one hundred percent of
the basic compensation which is paid to members holding the same position which
such the member held within such the department at
the time of his the member's disability. Lump sum payments of
state workers' compensation benefits shall are not be
considered for purposes of this subsection unless such the lump
sum payments represent commuted values of monthly state workers' compensation
benefits.
(c) Any member who has served on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States as described in section twenty-seven of this article, whether prior or subsequent to becoming a member of a paid police or fire department covered by the provisions of this article, and who, on July 1, 1986, is receiving or thereafter receives a disability pension, shall receive in addition to the sixty percent or minimum $500 authorized in subsection (a) of this section, one additional percent for each year served in active military duty, up to a maximum of four additional percent.
(d) Beginning on and after
April 1, 1991, the monthly sum to be paid to a member who becomes eligible for
total disability incurred not in the line of duty shall be is the
monthly benefit provided in subsection (a) of this section: Provided,
That the limitation is subsection (b) of this section is not exceeded: Provided,
however, That for any person receiving benefits under this subsection who
is self-employed or employed by another, there shall be offset against said
the benefits the amount of $1 for each $3 of income derived from
self-employment or employment by another: Provided further, That a
person receiving disability benefits must file a certified copy of his or her
tax return on or before the April 15 of each year to demonstrate either
unemployment or income earned from self-employment or employment by another: And
provided further, That there shall be is no offset of benefit
for any income derived from self-employment or employment by another when the
annual total amount of such the income is $7,500 $18,200
or less.
(e) The $18,200 limit in subsection (d) of this section shall be automatically increased when the minimum wage increases, by the same percentage of the increase in the minimum wage.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase amount of income that may be earned by a person receiving a municipal disability pension before an offset of benefits is required. The bill also provides an automatic increase to that limit when the minimum wage increases.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.