ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2717
(By Delegates Stalnaker, Amores, Craig and Spencer)
[Passed March 9, 2007; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §5-10A-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §5-10D-1 of said code;
and to amend said code by adding thereto a new article,
designated §16-5V-1, §16-5V-2, §16-5V-3, §16-5V-4, §16-5V-5,
§16-5V-6, §16-5V-7, §16-5V-8, §16-5V-9, §16-5V-10, §16-5V-11,
§16-5V-12, §16-5V-13, §16-5V-14, §16-5V-14a, §16-5V-15,
§16-5V-16, §16-5V-17, §16-5V-18, §16-5V-19, §16-5V-20,
§16-5V-21, §16-5V-22, §16-5V-23, §16-5V-24, §16-5V-25,
§16-5V-26, §16-5V-27, §16-5V-28, §16-5V-29, §16-5V-30,
§16-5V-31, §16-5V-32, §16-5V-33 and §16-5V-34, all relating to
the Consolidated Public Retirement Board; providing that the
board administer the Emergency Medical Services Retirement
System; establishing the Emergency Medical Services Retirement
System; setting forth definitions including application of
honorable service condition to plan participants; providing
effective dates and voting requirement; establishing federal qualification requirements; providing for liberal
construction; providing that plan is not a substitute for
social security; providing for and setting membership
standards; setting forth required contributions from members
and employers; creating fund and providing for investments;
providing for transfer from Public Employees Retirement
System; setting time limits; setting forth notice
requirements; providing for the commencement of benefits,
federal law maximum benefit limitations, minimum required
distributions and direct rollovers; providing for retirement
credited through member's use of accrued annual or sick leave;
providing for retirement benefits; setting forth annuity
options; providing for refunds in certain circumstances;
providing for deferred retirement; providing for forfeitures
of benefits; providing awards and benefits for duty-related
disability and for other causes; requiring physical
examinations; establishing criteria for termination of
disability; providing for prior disability; providing awards
and benefits to surviving spouse and additional death benefits
and scholarships for dependent children; providing for burial
benefit; prohibiting double death benefits; establishing
exemption from taxation, garnishment and other process;
authorizing certain deductions; establishing the effect of
qualified domestic relation orders; prohibiting fraud;
establishing criminal penalties; requiring repayment in
certain circumstances; providing for treatment of prior military service; establishing effective date of the system;
providing voluntary employer participation; establishing
starting date for benefits; limiting county liability; and
providing for no forfeiture of benefits if system terminates.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10A-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §5-10D-1 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
article, designated §16-5V-1, §16-5V-2, §16-5V-3, §16-5V-4,
§16-5V-5, §16-5V-6, §16-5V-7, §16-5V-8, §16-5V-9, §16-5V-10,
§16-5V-11, §16-5V-12, §16-5V-13, §16-5V-14, §16-5V-14a, §16-5V-15,
§16-5V-16, §16-5V-17, §16-5V-18, §16-5V-19, §16-5V-20, §16-5V-21,
§16-5V-22, §16-5V-23, §16-5V-24, §16-5V-25, §16-5V-26, §16-5V-27,
§16-5V-28, §16-5V-29, §16-5V-30, §16-5V-31, §16-5V-32, §16-5V-33
and §16-5V-34, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD
OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,
OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 10A. DISQUALIFICATION FOR PUBLIC RETIREMENT PLAN BENEFITS.
§5-10A-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Retirement plan" or "plan" means the Public Employees
Retirement Act, pursuant to article ten, chapter five of this code;
each municipal employees retirement plan, pursuant to article twenty-two, chapter eight of this code; each policemen's and
firemen's pension and relief fund, pursuant to article twenty-two,
chapter eight of this code; the West Virginia State Police Death,
Disability and Retirement Fund, pursuant to article two, chapter
fifteen of this code; the West Virginia State Police Retirement
System, pursuant to article two-a, chapter fifteen of this code;
the State Teachers Retirement System, pursuant to article seven-a,
chapter eighteen of this code; the Teachers' Defined Contribution
Retirement System, pursuant to article seven-b, chapter eighteen of
this code; the Deputy Sheriff Retirement System, pursuant to
article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code; supplemental and
additional retirement plans, pursuant to section four-a, article
twenty-three, chapter eighteen of this code; the Judges' Retirement
System, pursuant to article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code;
the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System established in
article five-v, chapter sixteen of this code; and any other plan
established pursuant to this code for the payment of pension,
annuity, disability or other benefits to any person by reason of
his or her service as an officer or employee of this state or of
any political subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof,
whenever the plan is supported in whole or in part by public funds.
(b) "Beneficiary" means any person eligible for or receiving
benefits on account of the service for a public employer by a
participant in a retirement plan.
(c) "Benefits" means pension, annuity, disability or any other
benefits granted pursuant to a retirement plan.
(d) "Conviction" means a conviction on or after the effective
date of this article in any federal or state court of record
whether following a plea of guilty, not guilty or nolo contendere,
and whether or not the person convicted was serving as an officer
or employee of a public employer at the time of the conviction.
(e) "Less than honorable service" means:
(1) Impeachment and conviction of a participant under the
provisions of section nine, article four of the Constitution of
West Virginia, except for a misdemeanor;
(2) Conviction of a participant of a felony for conduct
related to his or her office or employment which he or she
committed while holding the office or during the employment; or
(3) Conduct of a participant which constitutes all of the
elements of a crime described in either of the foregoing
subdivisions (1) or (2) but for which the participant was not
convicted because:
(i) Having been indicted or having been charged in an
information for the crime, he or she made a plea bargaining
agreement pursuant to which he or she pleaded guilty to or nolo
contendere to a lesser crime:
Provided, That the lesser crime is
a felony containing all the elements described in subdivisions (1)
or (2) of this subsection; or
(ii) Having been indicted or having been charged in an
information for the crime, he or she was granted immunity from
prosecution for the crime.
(f) "Participant" means any person eligible for or receiving any benefit under a retirement plan on account of his or her
service as an officer or employee for a public employer.
(g) "Public employer" means the State of West Virginia and any
political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof for which
there is established a retirement plan.
(h) "Supervisory board" or "Board" means the Consolidated
Public Retirement Board; the board of trustees of any municipal
retirement fund; the board of trustees of any policemen's or
firemen's retirement plan; the governing board of any supplemental
retirement plan instituted pursuant to authority granted by section
four-a, article twenty-three, chapter eighteen of this code, and
any other board, commission or public body having the duty to
supervise and operate any retirement plan.
ARTICLE 10D. Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
§5-10D-1. Consolidated Public Retirement Board continued; members;
vacancies; investment of plan funds.
(a) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board is continued to
administer all public retirement plans in this state. It shall
administer the Public Employees Retirement System established in
article ten of this chapter; the Teachers Retirement System
established in article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code; the
Teachers Defined Contribution Retirement System created by article
seven-b of said chapter; the West Virginia State Police Death,
Disability and Retirement Fund created by article two, chapter
fifteen of this code; the West Virginia State Police Retirement System created by article two-a of said chapter; the Deputy Sheriff
Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created by article
fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code; the Judges' Retirement
System created under article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code;
and the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System established in
article five-v, chapter sixteen of this code.
(b) The membership of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board
consists of:
(1) The Governor or his or her designee;
(2) The State Treasurer or his or her designee;
(3) The State Auditor or his or her designee;
(4) The Secretary of the Department of Administration or his
or her designee;
(5) Four residents of the state, who are not members,
retirants or beneficiaries of any of the public retirement systems,
to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate; and
(6) A member, annuitant or retirant of the Public Employees
Retirement System who is or was a state employee; a member,
annuitant or retirant of the Public Employees Retirement System who
is not or was not a state employee; a member, annuitant or retirant
of the Teachers Retirement System; a member, annuitant or retirant
of the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement
Fund; a member, annuitant or retirant of the Deputy Sheriff Death,
Disability and Retirement Fund; a member, annuitant or retirant of
the Teachers Defined Contribution Retirement System; and a member, annuitant or retirant of the Emergency Medical Services Retirement
System, all to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and
consent of the Senate.
(c) The appointed members of the board shall serve five-year
terms. A member appointed pursuant to subdivision (6), subsection
(b) of this section ceases to be a member of the board if he or she
ceases to be a member of the represented system. If a vacancy
occurs in the appointed membership, the Governor, within sixty
days, shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term.
No more than five appointees may be of the same political party.
(d) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board has all the
powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the Public
Employees Retirement System established pursuant to article ten of
this chapter; the Teachers Retirement System established pursuant
to article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code; the Teachers
Defined Contribution System established pursuant to article seven-b
of said chapter; the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability
and Retirement Fund created pursuant to article two, chapter
fifteen of this code; the West Virginia State Police Retirement
System created by article two-a of said chapter; the Deputy Sheriff
Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created pursuant to article
fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code; the Judges' Retirement
System created pursuant to article nine, chapter fifty-one of this
code; and the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System
established in article five-v, chapter sixteen of this code and
their appropriate governing boards.
(e) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board may propose rules
for legislative approval, in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, necessary to effectuate its powers,
duties and responsibilities:
Provided, That the board may adopt
any or all of the rules, previously promulgated, of a retirement
system which it administers.
(f)(1) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board shall continue
to transfer all funds received for the benefit of the retirement
systems within the consolidated pension plan as defined in section
three-c, article six-b, chapter forty-four of this code, including,
but not limited to, all employer and employee contributions, to the
West Virginia Investment Management Board:
Provided, That the
employer and employee contributions of the Teachers Defined
Contribution System, established in section three, article seven-b,
chapter eighteen of this code, and voluntary deferred compensation
funds invested by the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement
Board pursuant to section five, article ten-b of this chapter may
not be transferred to the West Virginia Investment Management
Board.
(2) The board may recover from a participating employer that
fails to pay any amount due a retirement system in a timely manner
the contribution due and an additional amount not to exceed
interest or other earnings lost as a result of the untimely
payment, or a reasonable minimum fee, whichever is greater, as
provided by legislative rule promulgated pursuant to the provisions
of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. Any amounts recovered shall be administered in the same manner in which the
amount due is required to be administered.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this code or any
legislative rule to the contrary, all assets of the public
retirement plans set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall
be held in trust. The Consolidated Public Retirement Board is a
trustee for all public retirement plans, except with regard to the
investment of funds:
Provided, That the Consolidated Public
Retirement Board is a trustee with regard to the investments of the
Teachers' Defined Contribution Systemand any other assets of the
public retirement plans administered by the Consolidated Public
Retirement Board as set forth in subsection (a) of this section for
which no trustee has been expressly designated in this code.
(h) The board may employ the West Virginia Investment
Management Board to provide investment management consulting
services for the investment of funds in the Teachers' Defined
Contribution System.
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 5V.á EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT.
§16-5V-1. Title.
This article is known and may be cited as the "West Virginia
Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act."
§16-5V-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless a federal law or regulation or
the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(a) "Accrued benefit" means on behalf of any member two and
six-tenths percent per year of the member's final average salary
for the first twenty years of credited service. Additionally, two
percent per year for twenty-one through twenty-five years and one
percent per year for twenty-six through thirty years will be
credited with a maximum benefit of sixty-seven percent. A member's
accrued benefit may not exceed the limits of Section 415 of the
Internal Revenue Code and is subject to the provisions of section
twelve of this article.
(1) The board may upon the recommendation of the board
actuary increase the employees' contribution rate to ten and
five-tenths percent should the funding of the plan not reach
seventy percent funded by the first day of July, two thousand
twelve. The board shall decrease the contribution rate to eight
and one-half percent once the plan funding reaches the seventy
percent support objective as of any later actuarial valuation date.
(2) Upon reaching the seventy-five percent actuarial funded
level, as of an actuarial valuation date, the board shall increase
the two and six-tenths percent to two and three-quarter percent for
the first twenty years of credited service. The maximum benefit
will also be increased from sixty-seven percent to seventy percent.
(b) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all
retirement contributions deducted from the compensation of a
member, or paid on his or her behalf as a result of covered
employment, together with regular interest on the deducted amounts.
(c) "Active military duty" means full-time active duty with any branch of the armed forces of the United States, including
service with the national guard or reserve military forces when the
member has been called to active full-time duty and has received no
compensation during the period of that duty from any board or
employer other than the armed forces.
(d) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value
computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates
as set and adopted by the board in accordance with the provisions
of this article.
(e) "Annual compensation" means the wages paid to the member
during covered employment within the meaning of Section 3401(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code, but determined without regard to any
rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based upon the
nature or location of employment or services performed during the
plan year plus amounts excluded under Section 414(h)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code and less reimbursements or other expense
allowances, cash or noncash fringe benefits or both, deferred
compensation and welfare benefits. Annual compensation for
determining benefits during any determination period may not exceed
one hundred thousand dollars as adjusted for cost-of-living in
accordance with Section 401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) "Annual leave service" means accrued annual leave.
(g) "Annuity starting date" means the first day of the month
for which an annuity is payable after submission of a retirement
application.á For purposes of this subsection, if retirement income
payments commence after the normal retirement age, "retirement" means the first day of the month following or coincident with the
latter of the last day the member worked in covered employment or
the member's normal retirement age and after completing proper
written application for such "retirement" on an application
supplied by the board.
(h) "Board" means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
(i) "County commission or political subdivision" has the
meaning ascribed to it in this code.
(j) "Covered employment" means either: (1) Employment as an
emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician/
paramedic or emergency medical services/registered nurse and the
active performance of the duties required of emergency medical
services officers; or (2) the period of time during which active
duties are not performed but disability benefits are received under
this article; or (3) concurrent employment by an emergency medical
services officer in a job or jobs in addition to his or her
employment as an emergency medical services officer where such
secondary employment requires the emergency medical services
officer to be a member of another retirement system which is
administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board pursuant
to this code:
Provided, That the emergency medical services
officer contributes to the fund created in this article the amount
specified as the member's contribution in section eight of this
article.
(k) "Credited service," means the sum of a member's years of
service, active military duty, disability service and accrued annual and sick leave service.
(l) "Emergency medical services officer" means an individual
employed by the State, county or other political subdivision as a
medical professional that is qualified to respond to medical
emergencies, aids the sick and injured and arranges or transports
to medical facilities, as defined by the West Virginia Office of
Emergency Medical Services. This definition is construed to
include employed ambulance providers and other services such as law
enforcement, rescue, or fire department personnel who primarily
perform these functions and are not provided any other credited
service benefits or retirement plans. These persons may hold the
rank of emergency medical technician/basic, emergency medical
technician/paramedic, emergency medical services/registered nurse,
or others as defined by the West Virginia Office of Emergency
Medical Services and the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
(m) "Dependent child" means either:
(1) An unmarried person under age eighteen who is:
(A) A natural child of the member;
(B) A legally adopted child of the member;
(C) A child who at the time of the member's death was living
with the member while the member was an adopting parent during any
period of probation; or
(D) A stepchild of the member residing in the member's
household at the time of the member's death; or
(2) Any unmarried child under age twenty-three:
(A) Who is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university;
(B) Who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal
income tax purposes at the time of member's death; and
(C) Whose relationship with the member is described in
paragraph (A), (B) or (C), subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(n) "Dependent parent" means the father or mother of the
member who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal
income tax purposes at the time of the member's death.
(o) "Disability service" means service received by a member,
expressed in whole years, fractions thereof or both, equal to one
half of the whole years, fractions thereof, or both, during which
time a member receives disability benefits under this article.
(p) "Effective date" means the first day of January, two
thousand eight.
(q) "Final average salary" means the average of the highest
annual compensation received for covered employment by the member
during any five consecutive plan years within the member's last ten
years of service while employed, prior to any disability payment.
If the member did not have annual compensation for the five full
plan years preceding the member's attainment of normal retirement
age and during that period the member received disability benefits
under this article then "final average salary" means the average of
the monthly salary determined paid to the member during that period
as determined under section twenty-two of this article multiplied
by twelve. "Final average salary" does not include any lump sum
payment for unused, accrued leave of any kind or character.
(r) "Fund" means the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services
Retirement Fund created by this article.
(s) "Hour of service" means:
(1) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during which time active duties are
performed. These hours shall be credited to the member for the
plan year in which the duties are performed; and
(2) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during a plan year but where no
duties are performed due to vacation, holiday, illness, incapacity
including disability, layoff, jury duty, military duty, leave of
absence or any combination thereof, and without regard to whether
the employment relationship has terminated. Hours under this
subdivision shall be calculated and credited pursuant to West
Virginia Division of Labor rules. A member will not be credited
with any hours of service for any period of time he or she is
receiving benefits under section nineteen or twenty of this
article; and
(3) Each hour for which back pay is either awarded or agreed
to be paid by the employing county commission or political
subdivision, irrespective of mitigation of damages. The same hours
of service shall not be credited both under subdivision (1) or (2)
of this subsection and under this subdivision. Hours under this
paragraph shall be credited to the member for the plan year or
years to which the award or agreement pertains, rather than the
plan year in which the award, agreement or payment is made.
(t) "Member" means a person first hired as an emergency
medical services officer by an employer which is a participating
public employer of the Public Employees Retirement System or the
Emergency Medical Services Retirement System after the effective
date of this article, as defined in subsection (p) of this section,
or an emergency medical services officer of an employer which is a
participating public employer of the Public Employees Retirement
System first hired prior to the effective date and who elects to
become a member pursuant to this article. A member shall remain a
member until the benefits to which he or she is entitled under this
article are paid or forfeited.
(u) "Monthly salary" means the W-2 reportable compensation
received by a member during the month.
(v) "Normal form" means a monthly annuity which is one twelfth
of the amount of the member's accrued benefit which is payable for
the member's life. If the member dies before the sum of the
payments he or she receives equals his or her accumulated
contributions on the annuity starting date, the named beneficiary
shall receive in one lump sum the difference between the
accumulated contributions at the annuity starting date and the
total of the retirement income payments made to the member.
(w) "Normal retirement age" means the first to occur of the
following:
(1) Attainment of age fifty years and the completion of twenty
or more years of regular contributory service, excluding active
military duty, disability service and accrued annual and sick leave service.
(2) While still in covered employment, attainment of at least
age fifty years and when the sum of current age plus regular
contributory years of service equals or exceeds seventy years;
(3) While still in covered employment, attainment of at least
age sixty years and completion of ten years of regular contributory
service; or
(4) Attainment of age sixty-two years and completion of five
or more years of regular contributory service.
(x) "Public Employees Retirement System" means the West
Virginia Public Employee's Retirement System created by West
Virginia Code.
(y) "Plan" means the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services
Retirement System established by this article.
(z) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing on
the first day of January of any designated year and ending the
following thirty-first day of December.
(aa) "Regular interest" means the rate or rates of interest
per annum, compounded annually, as the board adopts in accordance
with the provisions of this article.
(bb) "Retirement income payments" means the monthly retirement
income payments payable under the plan.
(cc) "Spouse" means the person to whom the member is legally
married on the annuity starting date.
(dd) "Surviving spouse" means the person to whom the member
was legally married at the time of the member's death and who survived the member.
(ee) "Totally disabled" means a member's inability to engage
in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically
determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to
result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for
a continuous period of not less than twelve months.
For purposes of this subsection:
(1) A member is totally disabled only if his or her physical
or mental impairment or impairments is so severe that he or she is
not only unable to perform his or her previous work as an emergency
medical services officer but also cannot, considering his or her
age, education and work experience, engage in any other kind of
substantial gainful employment which exists in the State regardless
of whether: (A) The work exists in the immediate area in which the
member lives; (B) a specific job vacancy exists; or (C) the member
would be hired if he or she applied for work. For purposes of this
article, substantial gainful employment is the same definition as
used by the United States Social Security Administration.
(2) "Physical or mental impairment" is an impairment that
results from an anatomical, physiological or psychological
abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical and
laboratory diagnostic techniques. The board may require submission
of a member's annual tax return for purposes of monitoring the
earnings limitation
(ff) "Year of service" means a member shall, except in his or
her first and last years of covered employment, be credited with years of service credit based upon the hours of service performed
as covered employment and credited to the member during the plan
year based upon the following schedule:
Hours of Service Year of Service Credited
ááááááááááááááááááááááLess than 500 ........................ 0
ááááááááááááááááááááááá500 to 999 ........................... 1/3
ááááááááááááááááááááááá1,000 to 1,499 ....................... 2/3
áááááááááááááááááááááá 1,500 or more ........................ 1
During a member's first and last years of covered employment,
the member shall be credited with one twelfth of a year of service
for each month during the plan year in which the member is credited
with an hour of service. A member is not entitled to credit for
years of service for any time period during which he or she
received disability payments under section nineteen or twenty of
this article. Except as specifically excluded, years of service
include covered employment prior to the effective date.
Years of service which are credited to a member prior to his
or her receipt of accumulated contributions upon termination of
employment pursuant to section eighteen of this article or section
thirty, article ten, chapter five of this code, shall be
disregarded for all purposes under this plan unless the member
repays the accumulated contributions with interest pursuant to
section eighteen of this article or had prior to the effective date
made the repayment pursuant to section eighteen, article ten,
chapter five of this code.
(gg) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April of the calendar year following the later of: (1) The calendar year in
which the member attains age seventy and one-half; or (2) the
calendar year in which he or she retires or otherwise separates
from covered employment; or (3) for members who are covered under
the Public Employees Retirement System, their service shall be
recognized upon transfer of asset from the Public Employees
Retirement System according to the provisions of section nine of
this article. Prior service for members not covered under the
Public Employees Retirement System shall be recognized only upon
repayment of amounts covered under the provisions of section six of
this article.
§16-5V-3. Meaning of terms.
Any term used in this article has the same meaning as when
used in a comparable context in the laws of the United States,
unless a different meaning is clearly required. Any reference in
this article to the Internal Revenue Code means the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
§16-5V-4. Creation and administration of West Virginia Emergency
Medical Services Retirement System; specification of
actuarial assumptions.
There is hereby created the West Virginia Emergency Medical
Services Retirement System. The purpose of this system is to
provide for the orderly retirement of emergency medical services
officers who become superannuated because of age or permanent
disability and to provide certain survivor death benefits. The retirement system shall come into effect the first day of January,
two thousand eight:
Provided, That at least seventy percent of all
eligible emergency medical services officers and at least eighty-
five percent of the eligible emergency medical services officers
who are currently active members of the Public Employees Retirement
System elect to participate in this plan by the thirty-first day of
December, two thousand seven. If this level of participation is
not reached, then all of the provisions of this article are void
and of no force and effect. All business of the system shall be
transacted in the name of the West Virginia Emergency Medical
Services Retirement System. The board shall specify and adopt all
actuarial assumptions for the plan at its first meeting of every
calendar year or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, which
assumptions shall become part of the plan.
§16-5V-5. Article to be liberally construed; supplements federal
social security; federal qualification requirements.
(a) The provisions of this article shall be liberally
construed so as to provide a general retirement system for
emergency medical services officers eligible to retire under the
provisions of this plan. Nothing in this article may be construed
to permit a county to substitute this plan for federal social
security now in force in West Virginia.
(b) The board shall administer the plan in accordance with its
terms and may construe the terms and determine all questions
arising in connection with the administration, interpretation and
application of the plan. The board may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with and conduct all the business of the system
in the name of the plan. The board may employ those persons it
considers necessary or desirable to administer the plan. The board
shall administer the plan for the exclusive benefit of the members
and their beneficiaries subject to the specific provisions of the
plan.
(c) The plan is intended to meet the federal qualification
requirements of Section 401(a) and related sections of the Internal
Revenue Code as applicable to governmental plans. Notwithstanding
any other provision of state law, the board shall administer the
plan to fulfill this intent for the exclusive benefit of the
members and their beneficiaries. Any provision of this article
referencing or relating to these federal qualification requirements
is effective as of the date required by federal law. The board may
propose rules for promulgation and amend or repeal conflicting
rules in accordance with the authority granted to the board
pursuant to section one, article ten-d of chapter five of this code
to assure compliance with the requirements of this section.
§16-5V-6. Members.
(a) Any emergency medical services officer first employed by
a county or political subdivision in covered employment after the
effective date of this article shall be a member of this retirement
system and plan and upon such membership does not qualify for
membership in any other retirement system administered by the
board, so long as he or she remains employed in covered employment.
(b) Any emergency medical services officer employed in covered employment by an employer which is currently a participating public
employer of the Public Employees Retirement System shall notify in
writing both the county commission in the county or officials in
their political subdivision in which he or she is employed and the
board of his or her desire to become a member of the plan by the
thirty-first day of December, two thousand seven. Any emergency
medical services officer who elects to become a member of the plan
ceases to be a member or have any credit for covered employment in
any other retirement system administered by the board and shall
continue to be ineligible for membership in any other retirement
system administered by the board so long as the emergency medical
services officer remains employed in covered employment by an
employer which is currently a participating public employer of the
Public Employees Retirement System in this plan:
Provided, That
any emergency medical services officer who does not affirmatively
elect to become a member of the plan continues to be eligible for
any other retirement system as is from time to time offered to
other county employees but is ineligible for this plan regardless
of any subsequent termination of employment and rehire.
(c) Any emergency medical services officer who was employed as
an emergency medical services officer prior to the effective date,
but was not employed on the effective date of this article, shall
become a member upon rehire as an emergency medical services
officer. For purposes of this section, the member's years of
service and credited service prior to the effective date shall not
be counted for any purposes under this plan unless: (1) The emergency medical services officer has not received the return of
his or her accumulated contributions in the Public Employees
Retirement Fund System pursuant to section thirty, article ten,
chapter five of this code; or (2) the accumulated contributions
returned to the member from the Public Employees Retirement System
have been repaid pursuant to this article. If the conditions of
subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection are met, all years of the
emergency medical services officer's covered employment shall be
counted as years of service for the purposes of this article. Each
transferring emergency medical services officer shall be given
credited service for the purposes of this article for all covered
employment transferred from the Public Employees Retirement System
regardless of whether the credited service (as that term is defined
in section two, article ten, chapter five of this code) was earned
as an emergency medical services officer. All service in the
Public Employees Retirement System accrued by a transferring
emergency medical services officer shall be transferred into the
plan created by this article and the transferring emergency medical
services officer shall be given the same credit for the purposes of
this article for all covered service which is transferred from the
Public Employees Retirement System as that transferring emergency
medical services officer would have received from the Public
Employees Retirement System if the transfer had not occurred. In
connection with each emergency medical services officer receiving
credit for prior employment provided in this subsection, a transfer
from Public Employees Retirement System to this plan shall be made pursuant to the procedures described in this article.
(d) Once made, the election made under this section is
irrevocable. All emergency medical services officers employed by
an employer which is a participating public employer of the Public
Employees Retirement System after the effective date and emergency
medical services officers electing to become members as described
in this section shall be members as a condition of employment and
shall make the contributions required by this article.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, any
individual who is a leased employee is not eligible to participate
in the plan. For purposes of this plan, a "leased employee" means
any individual who performs services as an independent contractor
or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization
or similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status
of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to
decide the question.
§16-5V-7. Creation of Fund; investments.
(a) There is hereby created the "West Virginia Emergency
Medical Services Retirement Fund" for the benefit of the members of
the retirement system created pursuant to this article and the
dependents of any deceased or retired member of the system.
(b) All moneys paid into and accumulated in the fund, except
amounts designated by the board for payment of benefits as provided
in this article, shall be held in trust and invested in the
consolidated pensions fund administered by the West Virginia
Investment Management Board as provided by law.
§16-5V-8. Members' contributions; employer contributions.
There shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each member
and paid into the fund an amount equal to eight and one-half
percent of his or her monthly salary. Any active member who has
concurrent employment in an additional job or jobs and such
additional employment requires the emergency medical services
officer to be a member of another retirement system which is
administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board pursuant
to article ten-d, chapter five of this code shall contribute to the
fund the sum of eight and one-half percent of his or her monthly
salary earned as an emergency medical services officer as well as
the sum of eight and one-half percent of his or her monthly salary
earned from any additional employment which additional employment
requires the emergency medical services officer to be a member of
another retirement system which is administered by the Consolidated
Public Retirement Board pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of
this code. An additional ten and one-half percent of the monthly
salary of each member shall be paid to the fund by the concurrent
employer by which the member is employed. All required deposits
shall be remitted to the board no later than fifteen days following
the end of the calendar month for which the deposits are required.
If the board upon the recommendation of the board actuary finds
that the benefits provided by this article can be actuarially
funded with a lesser contribution, then the board shall reduce the
required member and employer contributions proportionally.
§16-5V-9. Transfer from Public Employees Retirement System.
(a) The Consolidated Retirement Board shall, within one
hundred eighty days of the effective date of the transfer of an
emergency medical services officer from the Public Employees
Retirement System to the plan, transfer assets from the Public
Employees Retirement System Trust Fund into the West Virginia
Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund.
(b) The amount of assets to be transferred for each
transferring emergency medical services officer shall be computed
as of the first day of January, two thousand eight, using the
first day of July, two thousand seven, actuarial valuation of the
Public Employees Retirement System, and updated with seven and
one-half percent annual interest to the date of the actual asset
transfer. The market value of the assets of the transferring
emergency medical services officer in the Public Employees
Retirement System shall be determined as of the end of the month
preceding the actual transfer. To determine the computation of the
asset share to be transferred the board shall:
(1) Compute the market value of the Public Employees
Retirement System assets as of the first day of July, two thousand
seven actuarial valuation date, under the actuarial valuation
approved by the board;
(2) Compute the actuarial accrued liabilities for all Public
Employees Retirement System retirees, beneficiaries, disabled
retirees and terminated inactive members as of the first day of
July, two thousand seven actuarial valuation date;
(3) Compute the market value of active member assets in the Public Employees Retirement System as of the first day of July, two
thousand seven by reducing the assets value under subdivision one
by the inactive liabilities under subdivision (2) of this
subsection;
(4) Compute the actuarial accrued liability for all active
Public Employees Retirement System members as of the first day of
July, two thousand seven actuarial valuation date approved by the
board;
(5) Compute the funded percentage of the active members'
actuarial accrued liabilities under the Public Employees Retirement
System as of the first day of July, two thousand seven by dividing
the active members' market value of assets under subdivision three
by the active members' actuarial accrued liabilities under
subdivision (4) of this subsection;
(6) Compute the actuarial accrued liabilities under the Public
Employees Retirement System as of the first day of July, two
thousand seven for active emergency medical services officers
transferring to the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System;
(7) Determine the assets to be transferred from the Public
Employees Retirement System to the Emergency Medical Services
Retirement System by multiplying the active members' funded
percentage determined under subdivision (5) of this subsection by
the transferring active members' actuarial accrued liabilities
under the Public Employees Retirement System under subdivision (6)
of this subsection and adjusting such asset transfer amount by
interest at seven and five-tenths percent for the period from the calculation date of the first day of July, two thousand seven
through the first day of the month in which the asset transfer is
to be completed.
(c) Once an Emergency Medical Services Officer has elected to
transfer from the Public Employees Retirement System, transfer of
that amount as calculated in accordance with the provisions of
subsection (b) of this section by the Public Employees Retirement
System shall operate as a complete bar to any further liability to
the Public Employees Retirement System, and constitutes an
agreement whereby the transferring emergency medical services
officer forever indemnifies and holds harmless the Public Employees
Retirement System from providing him or her any form of retirement
benefit whatsoever until such time as that emergency medical
services officer obtains other employment which would make him or
her eligible to reenter the Public Employees Retirement System with
no credit whatsoever for the amounts transferred to the Emergency
Medical Services Retirement System.
(d) Eligible emergency medical services officers that transfer
from plans other than the Public Employees Retirement System shall
have service recognized under this plan through the purchase of the
service through payment by the member of sixty percent of the
actuarial accrued liabilities which would result if the service is
fully credited under the Emergency Medical Services Retirement
System. The purchase of the service must begin within twelve
months of the effective date and full payment must be made within
sixty months by either equal monthly or a one time lump sum payment.
§16-5V-10. Notice requirements; test case.
(a) Each county commission or political subdivision shall
prepare a written notice to be delivered to each emergency medical
services officer employed prior to the first day of July, two
thousand seven. This notice shall clearly and accurately explain
the benefits, financial implications and consequences to an
emergency medical services officer of electing to participate in
the retirement plan created in this article, including the
consequences and financial implications in regard to the benefits
under the Public Employees Insurance Plan as set forth in this code
for those emergency medical services officers employed by a county
commission or political subdivision which participates in that
insurance plan. This notice shall be distributed to each emergency
medical services officer and the county or political subdivision
shall obtain a signed receipt from each emergency medical services
officer acknowledging that the emergency medical services officer
was provided a copy of the notice required in this subsection. If
an emergency medical services officer makes the election provided
in section six of this article, he or she shall be considered to
have made a voluntary, informed decision in regard to the election
to participate in the retirement system created in this article.
(b) Nothing in this section may be construed to alter, affect
or change any of the rights and benefits of any emergency medical
services officer who has insurance coverage under article sixteen,
chapter five of this code as a result of being a spouse or dependant of a participant who is the primary insured under article
sixteen, chapter five of this code.
(c) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to
affect or pertain to any life insurance coverage under article
sixteen, chapter five of this code.
§16-5V-11. Retirement; commencement of benefits.
(a) Except for duty disability retirement, no member may
retire before the first day of January, two thousand eleven.
(b) A member may retire and commence to receive retirement
income payments on the first day of the calendar month following
written application for his or her voluntary petition for
retirement coincident with or next following the later of the date
the member ceases employment, or the date the member attains early
or normal retirement age, in an amount as provided under this
article:
Provided, That retirement income payments under this plan
are subject to the provisions of this article. Upon receipt of the
petition, the board shall promptly provide the member with an
explanation of his or her optional forms of retirement benefits and
upon receipt of properly executed forms from the member, the board
shall process member's request for and commence payments as soon as
administratively feasible.
§16-5V-12. Federal law maximum benefit limitations.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article or state
law, the board shall administer the retirement system in compliance
with the limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code
and regulations under that section to the extent applicable to governmental plans so that no annuity or other benefit provided
under this system shall exceed those limitations. The extent to
which any annuity or other benefit payable under this retirement
system shall be reduced as compared with the extent to which an
annuity, contributions or other benefits under any other defined
benefit plans or defined contribution plans required to be taken
into consideration under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code
shall be reduced, shall be determined by the board in a manner that
maximizes the aggregate benefits payable to the member. If the
reduction is under this retirement system, the board shall advise
affected members of any additional limitation on the annuities
required by this section.
§16-5V-13. Federal law minimum required distributions.
The requirements of this section apply to any distribution of
a member's or beneficiary's interest and take precedence over any
inconsistent provisions of this plan. This section applies to plan
years beginning after the thirty-first day of December, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-six. Notwithstanding anything in the
plan to the contrary, the payment of benefits under this article
shall be determined and made in accordance with Section 401(a)(9)
of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations. For this
purpose, the following provisions apply:
(a) The payment of benefits under the plan to any member shall
be distributed to him or her not later than the required beginning
date, or be distributed to him or her commencing not later than the
required beginning date, in accordance with regulations prescribed under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, over the life
of the member or over the lives of the member and his or her
beneficiary or over a period not extending beyond the life
expectancy of the member and his or her beneficiary.
(b) If a member dies after distribution to him or her has
commenced pursuant to this section but before his or her entire
interest in the plan has been distributed, then the remaining
portion of that interest shall be distributed at least as rapidly
as under the method of distribution being used at the date of his
or her death.
(c) If a member dies before distribution to him or her has
commenced, then his or her entire interest in the plan shall be
distributed by the thirty-first day of December of the calendar
year containing the fifth anniversary of the member's death, except
as follows:
(1) If a member's interest is payable to a beneficiary,
distributions may be made over the life of that beneficiary or over
a period certain not greater than the life expectancy of the
beneficiary, commencing on or before the thirty-first of December
of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in
which the member died; or
(2) If the member's beneficiary is the surviving spouse, the
date distributions are required to begin shall be no later than the
later of:
(A) The thirty-first day of December of the calendar year in
which the member would have attained age seventy and one-half; or
(B) The earlier of: (i) The thirty-first day of December of
the calendar year following the calendar year in which the member
died; or (ii) the thirty-first day of December of the calendar year
following the calendar year in which the spouse died.
§16-5V-14. Direct rollovers.
(a) This section applies to distributions made on or after the
first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three.
Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary that
would otherwise limit a distributee's election under this plan, a
distributee may elect, at the time and in the manner prescribed by
the board, to have any portion of an eligible rollover distribution
that is equal to at least five hundred dollars paid directly to an
eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee in a direct
rollover. For purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Eligible rollover distribution" means any distribution of
all or any portion of the balance to the credit of the distributee,
except that an eligible rollover distribution does not include any
of the following: (A) Any distribution that is one of a series of
substantially equal periodic payments not less frequently than
annually made for the life or life expectancy of the distributee or
the joint lives or the joint life expectancies of the distributee
and the distributee's designated beneficiary, or for a specified
period of ten years or more; (B) any distribution to the extent
such distribution is required under Section 401(a)(9) of the
Internal Revenue Code; (C) the portion of any distribution that is not includable in gross income determined without regard to the
exclusion for net unrealized appreciation with respect to employer
securities; (D) any hardship distribution described in Section
401(k) (2) (B) (i) (iv) of the Internal Revenue Code; and (E) any
other distribution or distributions reasonably expected to total
less than two hundred dollars during a year.
(2) "Eligible retirement plan" means an individual retirement
account described in Section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code,
an individual retirement annuity described in Section 408(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code, an annuity plan described in Section 403(a)
of the Internal Revenue Code or a qualified plan described in
Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code that accepts the
distributee's eligible rollover distribution:
Provided, That in
the case of an eligible rollover distribution to the surviving
spouse, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement
account or individual retirement annuity.
(3) "Distributee" means an employee or former employee. In
addition, the employee's or former employee's surviving spouse and
the employee's or former employee's spouse or former spouse who is
the alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as
defined in Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect
to governmental plans, are distributees with regard to the interest
of the spouse or former spouse.
(4) "Direct rollover" means a payment by the plan to the
eligible retirement plan.
§16-5V-14a. Rollovers and transfers to purchase service credit or
repay withdrawn contributions.
(a) This section applies to rollovers and transfers as
specified in this section made on or after the first day of
January, two thousand eight. Notwithstanding any provision of this
article to the contrary that would otherwise prohibit or limit
rollovers and plan transfers to this system, the plan shall accept
the following rollovers and plan transfers on behalf of a member
solely for the purpose of purchasing permissive service credit, in
whole or in part, as otherwise provided in this article or for the
repayment of withdrawn or refunded contributions, in whole and in
part, with respect to a previous forfeiture of service credit as
otherwise provided in this article: (A) One or more rollovers
within the meaning of Section 408(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code from an individual retirement account described in Section
408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code or from an individual
retirement annuity described in Section 408(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code; (B) one or more rollovers described in Section 402(c)
of the Internal Revenue Code from a retirement plan that is
qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code or from
a plan described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(C) one or more rollovers described in Section 457(e)(16) of the
Internal Revenue Code from a governmental plan described in Section
457 of the Internal Revenue Code; or (D) direct trustee-to-trustee
transfers or rollovers from a plan that is qualified under Section
401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, from a plan described in
Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code or from a governmental plan described in Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code:
Provided, That any rollovers or transfers pursuant to this section
shall be accepted by the system only if made in cash or other asset
permitted by the board and only in accordance with such policies,
practices and procedures established by the board from time to
time. For purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Permissive service credit" means service credit which is
permitted to be purchased under the terms of the retirement system
by voluntary contributions in an amount which does not exceed the
amount necessary to fund the benefit attributable to the period of
service for which the service credit is being purchased, all as
defined in Section 415(n)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) "Repayment of withdrawn or refunded contributions" means
the payment into the retirement system of the funds required
pursuant to this article for the reinstatement of service credit
previously forfeited on account of any refund or withdrawal of
contributions permitted in this article, as set forth in Section
415(k)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(b) Nothing in this section may be construed as permitting
rollovers or transfers into this system or any other system
administered by the retirement board other than as specified in
this section and no rollover or transfer shall be accepted into the
system in an amount greater than the amount required for the
purchase of permissive service credit or repayment of withdrawn or
refunded contributions.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as permitting
the purchase of service credit or repayment of withdrawn or
refunded contributions except as otherwise permitted in this
article.
§16-5V-15. Retirement credited service through member's use, as
option, of accrued annual or sick leave days.
Any member accruing annual leave or sick leave days may, after
the effective date of this section, elect to use the days at the
time of retirement to acquire additional credited service in this
retirement system:
Provided, That the accrued annual or sick leave
may not be used to purchase health insurance under the Public
Employees Insurance Agency until the member reaches the age of
fifty-five. The days shall be applied on the basis of two workdays'
credit granted for each one day of accrued annual or sick leave
days, with each month of retirement service credit to equal twenty
workdays and with any remainder of ten workdays or more to
constitute a full month of additional credit and any remainder of
less than ten workdays to be dropped and not used, notwithstanding
any provisions of the code to the contrary. The credited service
shall be allowed and not considered to controvert the requirement
of no more than twelve months' credited service in any year's
period.
§16-5V-16. Retirement benefits.
This section provides for the adjustment of a member's accrued
benefit to reflect the difference in age, in years and months, between the member's annuity starting date and the date the member
attains normal retirement age. This age adjustment shall be made
based upon the normal form of benefit and shall be the actuarial
equivalent of the accrued benefit at the member's normal retirement
age. The member shall receive the age adjusted retirement income
in the normal form or in an actuarial equivalent amount in an
optional form as provided under this chapter. The first day of the
calendar month following the month of birth shall be used in lieu
of any birth date that does not fall on the first day of a calendar
month.
(a)
Normal retirement. -- A member whose annuity starting date
is the date the member attains normal retirement age, is entitled
to his or her accrued benefit without adjustment for age at
commencement. To the extent that a member's starting date is later
than his or her normal retirement age, the amount of that member's
retirement income benefit shall be adjusted as provided in
subsection (c) of this section.
(b)
Early retirement. -- A member who ceases covered
employment and has attained early retirement age while in covered
employment may elect in writing by completion of an application for
retirement required by and submitted to the board to receive
retirement income payments commencing on the first day of the month
coincident with or following the date the member ceases covered
employment and submits the proper application to the board.
"Normal retirement age" for such a member is the first day of the
calendar month coincident with or next following the month in which the member attains the age of fifty years. If the member's annuity
starting date is prior to the date the member attains normal
retirement age, his or her accrued benefit is reduced to the
actuarial equivalent benefit amount based on the years and months
by which his or her annuity starting date precedes the date he or
she attains normal retirement age.á If the member's annuity
starting date is later than the date the member attains the age of
fifty years, the accrued benefit is adjusted as provided in
subsection (c) of this section.
(c)
Late retirement. -- A member whose annuity starting date
is later than the date the member attains normal retirement age
shall receive retirement income payments in the normal form which
is the benefit to which he or she is entitled according to his or
her accrued benefit based on his or her final average salary and
credited service at the time of his or her actual retirement and
following the completion of an application for retirement as
required by the board.
(d) Retirement benefits shall be paid monthly in an amount
equal to one twelfth of the retirement income payments elected and
at those times established by the board. Notwithstanding any other
provision of the plan, a member who is married on the annuity
starting date will receive his or her retirement income payments in
the form of a sixty-six and two-thirds percent joint and survivor
annuity with his or her spouse unless prior to the annuity starting
date the spouse waives the form of benefit.
§16-5V-17. Annuity options.
Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not after that
date, a member may elect to receive retirement income payments in
the normal form, or the actuarial equivalent of the normal form
from the following options:
(a)
Option A-- Contingent joint and survivor annuity. -- A
life annuity payable during the joint lifetime of the member and
his or her beneficiary who must be a natural person with an
insurable interest in the member's life. Upon the death of the
member, the benefit shall continue as a life annuity to the
beneficiary in an amount equal to fifty percent, sixty-six and
two-thirds percent, seventy-five percent or one hundred percent of
the amount paid while both were living as selected by the member.
If the beneficiary dies first, the monthly amount of benefits may
not be reduced, but shall be paid at the amount that was in effect
before the death of the beneficiary. If the retiring member is
married, the spouse shall sign a waiver of benefit rights if the
beneficiary is to be other than the spouse.
(b)
Option B -- Ten years certain and life annuity. -- A life
annuity payable during the member's lifetime but in any event for
a minimum of ten years. If the member dies before the expiration
of ten years, the remaining payments shall be made to a designated
beneficiary, if any, or otherwise to the member's estate.
§16-5V-18. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or
resignation; deferred retirement; forfeitures.
(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not eligible to receive disability benefits under this article is, by
written request filed with the board, entitled to receive from the
fund the member's accumulated contributions. Except as provided in
subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal the member shall
forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be a member.
(b) Any member who withdraws accumulated contributions from
either this plan or the Public Employees Retirement System and
thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment may not receive
any credited service for the prior covered employment unless
following his or her return to covered employment, the member re-
deposits in the fund the amount of the accumulated contributions
withdrawn from previous covered employment, together with interest
on the accumulated contributions at the rate determined by the
board from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon
repayment he or she shall receive the same credit on account of his
or her former covered employment as if no refund had been made.
The repayment shall be made in a lump sum within sixty months of
the emergency medical services officer's reemployment or if later,
within sixty months of the effective date of this article.
(c) Every member who completes sixty months of covered
employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to
either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in accordance
with this section, or to choose not to withdraw his or her
accumulated contribution and to receive retirement income payments
upon attaining early or normal retirement age.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, forfeitures under the plan may not be applied to increase the
benefits any member would otherwise receive under the plan.
§16-5V-19. Awards and benefits for disability -- Duty related.
(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article
and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally
disabled by injury, illness or disease; and (2) the disability is
a result of an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar
to the services required of members; or (3) the disability was
incurred while performing emergency medical services functions
during either scheduled work hours or at any other time; and (4) in
the opinion of two physicians after medical examination, one of
whom shall be named by the board, the member is by reason of the
disability unable to perform adequately the duties required of an
emergency medical services officer, is entitled to receive and
shall be paid from the fund in monthly installments during the
lifetime of the member, or if sooner until the member attains
normal retirement age or until the disability sooner terminates,
the compensation under this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, the member shall
receive ninety percent of his or her average monthly compensation
for the twelve-month period preceding the member's disability, or
the shorter period if the member has not worked twelve months.
(c) If the member remains totally disabled until attaining
sixty-five years of age, the member shall then receive the
retirement benefit provided in sections sixteen and seventeen of
article.
§16-5V-20. Same -- Due to other causes.
(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article
and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally
disabled from any cause other than those set forth in section
nineteen of this article and not due to vicious habits,
intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part; and (2) in
the opinion of two physicians after medical examination, one of
whom shall be named by the board, he or she is by reason of the
disability unable to perform adequately the duties required of an
emergency medical services officer, is entitled to receive and
shall be paid from the fund in monthly installments during the
lifetime of the member, or if sooner until the member attains
normal retirement age or until the disability sooner terminates the
compensation set forth in, either subsection (b) or (c) of this
section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, he or she shall receive
sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her average monthly
compensation for the twelve-month period preceding the disability,
or the shorter period, if the member has not worked twelve months.
(c) If the member remains totally disabled until attaining
sixty years of age, then the member shall receive the retirement
benefit provided in sections sixteen and seventeen of this article.
(d) The board shall propose legislative rules for promulgation
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code concerning member disability payments so
as to ensure that the payments do not exceed one hundred percent of the average current salary for the position last held by the
member.
§16-5V-21. Same -- Physical examinations; termination of
disability.
The board may require any member who has applied for or is
receiving disability benefits under this article to submit to a
physical examination, mental examination or both, by a physician or
physicians selected or approved by the board and may cause all
costs incident to the examination and approved by the board to be
paid from the fund. The costs may include hospital, laboratory, X
ray, medical and physicians' fees. A report of the findings of any
physician shall be submitted in writing to the board for its
consideration. If, from the report, independent information, or
from the report and any hearing on the report, the board is of the
opinion and finds that: (1) The member has become reemployed as an
emergency medical services officer; (2) a physician who has
examined the member has found that considering the opportunities
for emergency medical services in West Virginia, the member could
be so employed as an emergency medical services officer; or (3)
other facts exist to demonstrate that the member is no longer
totally disabled, then the disability benefits shall cease.
Benefits shall cease once the member has been found to be no longer
totally disabled:
Provided, That the board shall require annual
recertification.
§16-5V-22. Prior disability.
Any emergency medical services officer who became totally
disabled as a result of illness or injury incurred in the line of
duty prior to the effective date of this article may be a member of
the plan at his or her election and is entitled to disability,
death and retirement benefits under this article in lieu of any
other disability, death or retirement benefits provided solely in
conjunction with a retirement system of this state or his or her
county of employment:
Provided, That the emergency medical
services officer would have been eligible for disability under
section nineteen of this article had that section been in effect at
the time of the disability. The amounts of the benefits shall be
determined as if the disability first commenced after the effective
date of this article with monthly compensation equal to that
average monthly compensation which the member was receiving in the
plan year prior to the initial disability. For the purposes of
this section, benefits paid pursuant to chapter twenty-three of
this code are not death or retirement benefits provided solely in
conjunction with a retirement system of this state or county of
this state.
§16-5V-23. Awards and benefits to surviving spouse -- When member
dies in performance of duty, etc.
(a) The surviving spouse of any member who, after the
effective date of this article while in covered employment, has
died or dies by reason of injury, illness or disease resulting from
an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the
service required of members, while the member was or is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as an emergency medical
services officer, or the survivor spouse of a member who dies from
any cause while receiving benefits pursuant to section nineteen of
this article, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the
fund benefits as determined in subsection (b) of this section: To
the surviving spouse annually, in equal monthly installments during
his or her lifetime an amount equal to the greater of: (1) Two
thirds of the annual compensation received in the preceding
twelve-month period by the deceased member; or (2) if the member
dies after his or her early or normal retirement age, the monthly
amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired
the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent
joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant,
and then died.
(b) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this
section, section twenty-five and section twenty-six of this article
are in lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for
the spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other
state retirement system based upon the member's covered employment.
§16-5V-24. Same -- When member dies from nonservice-connected
causes.
(a) If a member who has been a member for at least ten years,
while in covered employment after the effective date of this
article, has died or dies from any cause other than those specified
in section twenty-three of this article and not due to vicious
habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly installments to the
surviving spouse during his or her lifetime, a sum equal to the
greater of: (1) One half of the annual compensation received in the
preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased member; or
(2) if the member dies after his or her early or normal retirement
age, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had
the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one
hundred percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the
joint annuitant, and then died. Where the member is receiving
disability benefits under this article at the time of his or her
death, the most recent monthly compensation determined under
section twenty-two of this article shall be substituted for the
annual compensation in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(b) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this
section, or other sections of this article are in lieu of receipt
of any other benefits under this article for the spouse or any
other person or under the provisions of any other state retirement
system based upon the member's covered employment.
§16-5V-25. Additional death benefits and scholarships --
Dependent children.
(a) In addition to the spouse death benefits in this article,
the surviving spouse is entitled to receive and there shall be paid
to the spouse one hundred dollars monthly for each dependent child.
(b) If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving
spouse, the fund shall pay monthly to each dependent child a sum
equal to one hundred percent of the spouse's entitlement under this article divided by the number of dependant children. If there is
neither a surviving spouse nor a dependent child, the fund shall
pay in equal monthly installments to the dependent parents of the
deceased member during their joint lifetimes a sum equal to the
amount which a surviving spouse, without children, would have
received:
Provided, That when there is only one dependent parent
surviving, that parent is entitled to receive during his or her
lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would
have been entitled to receive.
(c) Any person qualifying as a dependent child under this, in
addition to any other benefits due under this or other sections of
this article, is entitled to receive a scholarship to be applied to
the career development education of that person. This sum, up to
but not exceeding six thousand dollars per year, shall be paid from
the fund to any university or college in this State or to any trade
or vocational school or other entity in this State approved by the
board, to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books,
fees or other costs incurred in a course of study at any of these
institutions so long as the recipient makes application to the
board on an approved form and under such rules as the board may
provide, and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the
institution or the board. The board may propose legislative rules
for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code which define age requirements, physical
and mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement
methods, institutional qualifications and other requirements as necessary and not inconsistent with this section.
§16-5V-26. Burial benefit.
Any member who dies as a result of any service related illness
or injury after the effective date is entitled to a lump sum burial
benefit of five thousand dollars. If the member is married, the
burial benefit shall be paid to the member's spouse. If the member
is not married, the burial benefit shall be paid to the member's
estate for the purposes of paying burial expenses, settling the
member's final affairs, or both.
§16-5V-27. Double death benefits prohibited.
A surviving spouse is not entitled to receive simultaneous
death benefits under this article as a result of the death of two
or more members to whom the spouse was married. Any spouse who
becomes eligible for a subsequent death benefit under this article
while receiving a death benefit under this article shall receive
the higher benefit, but not both.
§16-5V-28.
Right to benefits not subject to execution, etc.;
assignments prohibited; deductions for group
insurance; setoffs for fraud; exception for certain
domestic relations orders; benefits exempt from
taxes.
The right of a person to any benefit provided for in this
article shall not be subject to execution, attachment, garnishment,
the operation of bankruptcy or insolvency laws, or other process
whatsoever, nor shall any assignment thereof be enforceable in any court except that the benefits or contributions under this system
shall be subject to "qualified domestic relations orders" as that
term is defined in Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code as
applicable to governmental plans:
Provided, That should a member
be covered by a group insurance or prepayment plan participated in
by a participating public employer, and should he or she be
permitted to, and elect to, continue such coverage as a retirant,
he or she may authorize the board of trustees to have deducted from
his or her annuity the payments required of him or her to continue
coverage under such group insurance or prepayment plan:
Provided,
however, That a participating public employer shall have the right
of setoff for any claim arising from embezzlement by, or fraud of,
a member, retirant or beneficiary. The assets of the retirement
system are hereby exempt from state, county and municipal taxes.
§16-5V-29. Fraud; penalties; and repayment.
Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or who
falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the retirement
system in any attempt to defraud that system is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a
fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, by confinement in jail not
to exceed one year, or by both fine and confinement. Any increased
benefit received by any person as a result of the falsification or
fraud shall be returned to the fund upon demand by the board.
§16-5V-30. Credit toward retirement for member's prior military
service; credit toward retirement when member has joined armed forces in time of armed conflict;
qualified military service.
(a) Any member who has previously served on active military
duty is entitled to receive additional years of service for the
purpose of determining his or her years of credited service for a
period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five years,
subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from
theáarmed forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate documentation
or evidence his or her period of active military duty; and
(3) That he or she is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system for his or her active military duty.
(b) In addition, any member who while in covered employment
was commissioned, enlisted or inducted into the armed forces of the
United States or, being a member of the reserve officers' corps,
was called to active duty in the armed forces between the first day
of September, one thousand nine hundred forty, and the close of
hostilities in World War II, or between the twenty-seventh day of
June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and the close of the armed
conflict in Korea on the twenty-seventh day of July, one thousand
nine hundred fifty-three, between the first day of August, one
thousand nine hundred sixty-four, and the close of the armed
conflict in Vietnam, or during any other period of armed conflict
by the United States whether sanctioned by a declaration of war by
Congress or by executive or other order of the President, is entitled to and shall receive credited service, for a period equal
to the full time that he or she has or, pursuant to that
commission, enlistment, induction or call, shall have served with
the armed forces subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the
armed forces;
(2) That within ninety days after honorable discharge from the
armed forces, he or she presented himself or herself to the county
commission or other political subdivision and offered to resume
service as an emergency medical services officer; and
(3) That he or she has made no voluntary act, whether by
reenlistment, waiver of discharge, acceptance of commission or
otherwise, to extend or participate in extension of the period of
service with the armed forces beyond the period of service for
which he or she was originally commissioned, enlisted, inducted or
called.
(c) The total amount of service allowable under subsections
(a) and (b) of this section may not exceed five years.
(d) Any service credit allowed under this section may be
credited one time only for each emergency medical services officer,
regardless of any changes in job title or responsibilities.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
contrary, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect
to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with
Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this
section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Retirement Board
is authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions
relating to this section and, pursuant to the authority granted to
the board in section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code,
may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and
service credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
§16-5V-31. How a county commission or political subdivision
becomes a participating public employer.
Any county commission or political subdivision employing
emergency medical services officers may by a three-fifths vote of
its governing body, or by a majority vote of its electors, elect to
become a participating public employer and thereby include its
emergency medical services officers in the membership of the plan.
The clerk or secretary of each such county commission or political
subdivision electing to become a participating public employer
shall certify the determination of the county commission or
political subdivision to the Consolidated Public Retirement Board
within ten days from and after the vote of the governing body or
the canvass of votes upon such action. Once a county commission or
political subdivision elects to participate in the plan, the action
is final and it may not, at a later date, elect to terminate its
participation in the plan.
§§16-5V-32. Effective date; report to Joint Committee on
Government and Finance; special starting date for
benefits.
(a) The provisions of this article become effective the first
day of January, two thousand eight:
Provided, That no payout of
any benefits may be made to any person prior to the first day of
January, two thousand eleven:
Provided,
however, That members who
retired due to a disability may begin receiving the benefits at the
rate and in the amount specified in this article, from this fund
after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight:
Provided
further, That until the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight
those members who retired due to a disability may draw benefits
from this fund at the rate and in the amount set forth in section
twenty-five, article ten, chapter five of this code.
(b) During the eighteen-month period before the payout of
benefits begins, the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
shall cause an interim study or studies to be conducted on
potential effects of the implementation of this retirement system,
including, but not limited to, potential funding mechanisms to
provide health insurance coverage for retirees in the fifty to
fifty-five age group:
Provided, That after the effective date of
this provision, the Director of the Public Employees Insurance
Agency shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance
with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code governing the funding of health insurance coverage for
retirees under the plan provided in this article who are in the
fifty to fifty-five year age group, which rule may be filed as an emergency rule:
Provided,
however, That any rule filed as an
emergency rule pursuant to this subsection shall be refiled at the
earliest opportunity as a legislative rule for review and
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§16-5V-33. Limitation of county liability.
No county which has timely met all of its obligations under
this article is liable for any payments or contributions to the
emergency medical services retirement plan which are owed to the
plan by another county or counties.
§16-5V-34. Benefits not forfeited if system terminates.
If the retirement system is terminated or contributions are
completely discontinued, the rights of all members to benefits
accrued or contributions made to the date of the termination or
discontinuance, to the extent then funded, are not forfeited.