Senate Bill No. 415
(By Senator Foster, Wells, Unger and Minard)
____________
[Introduced March 2, 2009; referred to the Committee on Military;
then to the Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §5-10-15 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §15-2A-19 of said code;
to amend and reenact §18-7A-17 of said code; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-7A-17a;
to amend and reenact §18-7B-8a and §18-7B-11 of said code; and
to amend and reenact §51-9-4 and §51-9-6 of said code, all
relating to providing up to twenty-four months of military
service credit for the time served in active military duty to
any qualified member of the West Virginia Public Employees
Retirement Act, the West Virginia State Police Retirement
System, the State Teachers Retirement System, the Teachers'
Defined Contribution Retirement System and the Retirement
System for Judges hired for the first time on or after July 1,
2009, or for any qualified member who is not vested on June
30, 2009.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §15-2A-19 of said code be amended
and reenacted; that §18-7A-17 of said code be amended and
reenacted; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section,
designated §18-7A-17a; that §18-7B-8a and §18-7B-11 of said code be
amended and reenacted; and that §51-9-4 and §51-9-6 of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS OF AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS;
MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-15. Military service credit; qualified military service.
(a)
(1) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this
state who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States
during times of war, conflict and danger. It is the intent of this
section to confer military service credit
upon persons who are
eligible at any time for public employees retirement benefits for
any time served in active military duty in the Armed Forces of the
United States
when the duty was during any period of compulsory
military service or during a period of armed conflict, as defined
in this section upon members who are eligible for public employees
retirement benefits whether or not he or she was a public employee
at the time of entering the military service.
(2) In addition to any benefit provided by federal law, any
member of the retirement system who has previously served in or
enters the active service of the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of compulsory military service or during a period
of armed conflict shall receive credited service for the time spent
in the Armed Forces of the United States, not to exceed five years
if the member:
(A) Has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces; and
(B) Substantiates by appropriate documentation or evidence his
or her active military service and entry into military service
during any period of compulsory military service or during periods
of armed conflict.
(3) Any member of the retirement system who enters the active
service of the Armed Forces of the United States during any period
of compulsory military service or during a period of armed conflict
shall receive the credit provided by this section regardless of
whether he or she was a public employee at the time of entering the
military service.
(4) If a member of the Public Employees Retirement System
enters the active service of the United States and serves during
any period of compulsory military service or during any period of
armed conflict, during the period of the armed service and until
the member's return to the employ of a participating public
employer, the member's contributions to the retirement system is
suspended and any credit balance remaining in the member's deposit
fund shall be accumulated at regular interest: Provided, That
notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary, if
an employee of a participating political subdivision serving in the
military service during any period of compulsory military service or armed conflict has accumulated credited service prior to the
last entry into military service, in an amount that, added to the
time in active military service while an employee equals nine or
more years, and the member is unable to resume employment with a
participating employer upon completion of duty due to death during
or as a result of active service, all time spent in active military
service, up to and including a total of five years, is considered
to be credited service and death benefits are vested in the member:
Provided, however, That the active service during the time the
member is an employee must be as a result of an order or call to
duty, and not as a result of volunteering for assignment or
volunteering to extend the time in service beyond the time required
by order or call.
(5) No member may receive duplicate credit for service for a
period of compulsory military service which falls under a period of
armed conflict.
(6) In any case of doubt as to the period of service to be
credited a member under the provisions of this section, the board
of trustees have final power to determine the period.
(7) The Board may consider a petition by any member whose tour
of duty, in a territory that would reasonably be considered hostile
and dangerous, was extended beyond the period in which an armed
conflict was officially recognized, if that tour of duty commenced
during a period of armed conflict, and the member was assigned to
duty stations within the hostile territory throughout the period
for which service credit is being sought. The Board has the authority to evaluate the facts and circumstances peculiar to the
petition, and rule on whether granting service credit for the
extended tour of duty is consistent with the objectives of this
article. In that determination, the board may grant full credit for
the period under petition subject to the limitations otherwise
applicable, or to grant credit for any part of the period as the
board considers appropriate, or to deny credit altogether.
(8) The Board of Trustees may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Period of armed conflict" means the Spanish-American War,
the Mexican border period, World War I, World War II, the Korean
conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War and any other
period of armed conflict by the United States, including, but not
limited to, those periods sanctioned by a declaration of war by the
United States Congress or by executive or other order of the
President.
(2) "Spanish-American War" means the period beginning on the
twenty-first day of April, one thousand eight hundred ninety-eight,
and ending on the fourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred
two, and includes the Philippine Insurrection, the Boxer Rebellion,
and in the case of a veteran who served with the United States
Military forces engaged in hostilities in the Moro Province, means the period beginning on the twenty-first day of April, one thousand
eight hundred ninety-eight, and ending on the fifteenth day of
July, one thousand nine hundred three.
(3) "The Mexican border period" means the period beginning on
the ninth day of May, one thousand nine hundred sixteen, and ending
on the fifth day of April, one thousand nine hundred seventeen, in
the case of a veteran who during the period served in Mexico, on
its borders or in the waters adjacent to it.
(4) "World War I" means the period beginning on the sixth day
of April, one thousand nine hundred seventeen, and ending on the
eleventh day of November, one thousand nine hundred eighteen, and
in the case of a veteran who served with the United States Military
forces in Russia, means the period beginning on the sixth day of
April, one thousand nine hundred seventeen, and ending on the first
day of April, one thousand nine hundred twenty.
(5) "World War II" means the period beginning on the seventh
day of December, one thousand nine hundred forty-one, and ending on
the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
forty-six.
(6) "Korean conflict" means the period beginning on the
twenty-seventh day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and
ending on the thirty-first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred fifty-five.
(7) "The Vietnam era" means the period beginning on the
twenty-eighth day of February, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one,
and ending on the seventh day of May, one thousand nine hundred seventy-five, in the case of a veteran who served in the Republic
of Vietnam during that period; and the fifth day of August, one
thousand nine hundred sixty-four, and ending on the seventh day of
May, one thousand nine hundred seventy-five, in all other cases.
(8) "Persian Gulf War" means the period beginning on the
second day of August, one thousand nine hundred ninety, and ending
on the eleventh day of April, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one.
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force or
Marine Corps. Such term does not include regularly required
training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component
or National Guard unless the member can substantiate that he or she
was called into the active military service of the United States.
(2) "Actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount" means the
purchase annuity rate multiplied by the purchase accrued benefit.
The purchase annuity rate is the actuarial lump sum annuity factor
calculated on a monthly basis based on the following actuarial
assumptions: interest rate of seven and a half percent; mortality
of the 1971 group annuity mortality table, fifty percent blended
male and female rates, applied on a unisex basis to all members; if
purchase age is under age sixty, a deferred annuity factor with
payments commencing at age sixty; and if purchase age is sixty or
over, an immediate annuity factor with payments starting at the
purchase age. The purchase accrued benefit is two percent times
the purchase military service times the purchase average monthly
salary. The purchase military service is the amount of military service being purchased by the employee as a fraction of a year up
to a one year maximum. The purchase average monthly salary is the
final average monthly salary of the employee at the beginning of
the month which is three months prior to the purchase month as if
the employee terminated employment on that date. The purchase
month is the month in which the employee deposits the actuarial
reserve lump sum purchase amount into the plan trust fund in full
payment of the service being purchased. The purchase age is the
attained age of the employee in years and completed months as of
the first day of the purchase month.
(3) "Compulsory military service" means service during the
period of time in which the federal Selective Service Act was in
effect.
(4) "Korean conflict" means the period beginning on June 27,
1950, and ending on January 31, 1955.
(5) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the
calendar month.
(6) "Operation Noble Eagle" means the period beginning on
September 11, 2001, and ending on June 30, 2009.
(7) "Period of armed conflict" means World War I, World War
II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, and
Operation Noble Eagle.
(8) "Persian Gulf War" means the period beginning on August 2,
1990, and ending on April 11, 1991.
(9) "Selective Service Act" means the period beginning on September 16, 1940, and ending on July 1, 1973.
(10) "Vested" means five or more years of contributory service
for which contributions have been made and remain on deposit. Any
withdrawn contributions that have been reinstated in full by June
30, 2009 shall apply toward vesting.
(11) "The Vietnam era" means the period beginning on February
28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975, in the case of a veteran who
served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period; and August 5,
1964, and ending on May 7, 1975, in all other cases.
(12) "World War I" means the period beginning on April 6,
1917, and ending on November 11, 1918, and in the case of a veteran
who served with the United States Military forces in Russia, means
the period beginning on April 6, 1917, and April 1, 1920.
(13) "World War II" means the period beginning on December 7,
1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.
(C) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
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. No military service
credit may be used in more than one retirement system administered
by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board and once used in any
system, may not be used again in any other system. The 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 of this chapter, may
promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service
credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(c) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214; and
(3) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
governmental retirement system, except those benefits provided by
federal law, for his or her active military duty.
(d) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year; and may not
grant any member duplicate credit for service for a period of
compulsory military service which falls under a period of armed
conflict.
(e) For any member hired for the first time prior to July 1,
2009 and who is vested in the Public Employees Retirement System on
June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive the greater of:
(1) Up to sixty months of service for any time served in
active military duty during any period of compulsory military
service or during any period of armed conflict; or
(2) Up to twenty-four months of service for any time served in
active military duty: Provided, That any employee may purchase an additional twelve months of service for any time served in active
military duty that otherwise has not been credited by paying the
actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within three years from
the effective date of this section: Provided, however, That any
vested member not employed on the effective date of this section
may only purchase an additional twelve months of service for any
time served in active military duty that otherwise has not been
credited upon his or her initial reemployment after the effective
date of this section by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum
purchase amount after one year of reemployment, but within three
years from initial reemployment:
(f) Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the
contrary, if an employee of a participating political subdivision
serving in the military service during any period of compulsory
military service or armed conflict has accumulated credited service
prior to the last entry into military service, in an amount that,
added to the time in active military service while an employee
equals nine or more years, and the member is unable to resume
employment with a participating employer upon completion of duty
due to death during or as a result of active service, all time
spent in active military service, up to and including a total of
five years, is considered to be credited service and death benefits
are vested in the member: Provided, That the active military
service during the time the member is an employee must be as a
result of an order or call to duty, and not as a result of
volunteering for assignment or volunteering to extend the time in service beyond the time required by order or call.
(g) For any member hired for the first time on or after July
1, 2009, or for any member who is not vested on June 30, 2009, he
or she shall receive up to twenty-four months of service for any
time served in active military duty: Provided, That any employee
may purchase an additional twelve months of service for any time
served in active military duty that otherwise has not been credited
by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within
three years after becoming vested.
(
h) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(i) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
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.
(j) The provisions of section twenty-two-h of this article are
not applicable to the amendments made to this section during the
2009 regular session.
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§15-2A-19. 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
hired for the first time prior to July 1, 2009,
and who have twenty years of service credit in the police
retirement system on June 30, 2009, and who has previously served
on active military duty is entitled to receive additional credited
service for the purpose of determining the amount of retirement
award under the provisions of this article for a period equal to
the active military duty not to exceed
five years, subject to the
following sixty months of service, in accordance with subsection
(e) below.
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the
Armed Forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate documentation
or evidence his or her period of active military duty;
(3) That he or she is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system for his or her active military duty; and
(4) That, except with respect to disability retirement pay
awarded under this article, he or she has actually served with the
agency for twenty years exclusive of his or her active military
duty.
(b) In addition, any person who, while an employee of the
agency, 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 September 1, 1940, and the close of hostilities in World War II, or between June 27, 1950, and the close of the armed
conflict in Korea on July 27, 1953, between August 1, 1964, 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 credit on the
minimum period of service required by law for retirement pay from
the service of the agency, or its predecessor agency, 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
superintendent and offered to resume service as an active member of
the agency; 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 military service credit allowable
under this section may not exceed five years for any member of the
agency. For any member hired for the first time on or after July 1, 2009, or for any member who does not have twenty years of
service credit in the State Police Retirement System, on June 30,
2009, he or she shall receive up to twenty-four months of service
for any time served in active military duty, in accordance with the
provisions of subsection (e) below: Provided, That any employee
may purchase an additional twelve months of service for any time
served in active military duty that otherwise has not been credited
by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within
three years after becoming vested.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force or
Marine Corps. Such term does not include regularly required
training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component
or National Guard unless the member can substantiate that he or she
was called into the active military service of the United States.
(2) "Actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount" means the
purchase annuity rate multiplied by the purchase accrued benefit.
The purchase annuity rate is the actuarial lump sum annuity factor
calculated on a monthly basis based on the following actuarial
assumptions: Interest rate of seven point five percent; mortality
of the 1983 group annuity mortality table, male rates, applied on
a unisex basis to all members; if purchase age is under age fifty,
a deferred annuity factor with payments commencing at age fifty;
and if purchase age is fifty or over, an immediate annuity factor with payments starting at the purchase age. The purchase accrued
benefit is two and three fourths percent times the purchase
military service times the purchase average monthly salary. The
purchase military service is the amount of military service being
purchased by the employee as a fraction of a year up to a one year
maximum. The purchase average monthly salary is the final average
monthly salary of the employee at the beginning of the month which
is three months prior to the purchase month as if the employee
terminated employment on that date. The purchase month is the
month in which the employee deposits the actuarial reserve lump sum
purchase amount into the plan trust fund in full payment of the
service being purchased. The purchase age is the attained age of
the employee in years and completed months as of the first day of
the purchase month.
(3) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the
calendar month.
(e) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214; and
(3) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
governmental retirement system, except those benefits provided by federal law, for his or her active military duty.
(4) That, except with respect to disability retirement pay
awarded under this article, he or she has actually served with the
agency for twenty years exclusive of his or her active military
duty.
(f) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year.
(g) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(d) (h) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
section, 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 board shall
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.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-17. Statement and computation of teachers' service
.
(a) Under rules adopted by the retirement board, each teacher shall file a detailed statement of his or her length of service as
a teacher for which he or she claims credit. The Retirement Board
shall determine what part of a year is the equivalent of a year of
service. In computing the service, however, it shall credit no
period of more than a month's duration during which a member was
absent without pay, nor shall it credit for more than one year of
service performed in any calendar year.
(b) For the purpose of this article, the retirement board
shall grant prior service credit to new entrants and other members
of the retirement system for service in any of the Armed Forces of
the United States in any period of national emergency within which
a federal Selective Service Act was in effect. For purposes of this
section, "Armed Forces" includes Women's Army Corps, women's
appointed volunteers for emergency service, Army Nurse Corps,
SPARS, Women's Reserve and other similar units officially parts of
the military service of the United States. The military service is
considered equivalent to public school teaching, and the salary
equivalent for each year of that service is the actual salary of
the member as a teacher for his or her first year of teaching after
discharge from military service. Prior service credit for military
service shall not exceed ten years for any one member, nor shall it
exceed twenty-five percent of total service at the time of
retirement. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
subsection, 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 retirement 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. No military service credit may be used in more than
one retirement system administered by the Consolidated Public
Retirement Board.
(c) (b) For service as a teacher in the employment of the
federal government, or a state or territory of the United States,
or a governmental subdivision of that state or territory, the
retirement board shall grant credit to the member
: Provided, That
the member shall pay to the system double the amount he or she
contributed during the first full year of current employment, times
the number of years for which credit is granted, plus interest at
a rate to be determined by the retirement board. The interest
shall be deposited in the reserve fund and service credit granted
at the time of retirement shall not exceed the lesser of ten years
or fifty percent of the member's total service as a teacher in West
Virginia. Any transfer of out-of-state service, as provided in
this article, shall not be used to establish eligibility for a
retirement allowance and the retirement board shall grant credit
for the transferred service as additional service only
: Provided,
however, That a transfer of out-of-state service is prohibited if the service is used to obtain a retirement benefit from another
retirement system
: Provided further, That salaries paid to members
for service prior to entrance into the retirement system shall not
be used to compute the average final salary of the member under the
retirement system.
(d) (c) Service credit for members or retired members shall
not be denied on the basis of minimum income rules promulgated by
the Teachers' Retirement Board
: Provided, That the member or
retired member shall pay to the system the amount he or she would
have contributed during the year or years of public school service
for which credit was denied as a result of the minimum income rules
of the Teachers Retirement Board.
(e) (d) No members shall be considered absent from service
while serving as a member or employee of the Legislature of the
State of West Virginia during any duly constituted session of that
body or while serving as an elected member of a county commission
during any duly constituted session of that body.
(f) (e) No member shall be considered absent from service as
a teacher while serving as an officer with a statewide professional
teaching association, or who has served in that capacity, and no
retired teacher, who served in that capacity while a member, shall
be considered to have been absent from service as a teacher by
reason of that service
: Provided, That the period of service
credit granted for that service shall not exceed ten years
:
Provided, however, That a member or retired teacher who is serving
or has served as an officer of a statewide professional teaching association shall make deposits to the Teachers Retirement Board,
for the time of any absence, in an amount double the amount which
he or she would have contributed in his or her regular assignment
for a like period of time.
(g) (f) The Teachers Retirement Board shall grant service
credit to any former or present member of the West Virginia Public
Employees Retirement System who has been a contributing member for
more than three years, for service previously credited by the
Public Employees Retirement System and:
(1) Shall require the transfer of the member's contributions
to the Teachers Retirement System; or
(2) shall require a repayment of the amount withdrawn any time
prior to the member's retirement
: Provided, That there shall be
added by the member to the amounts transferred or repaid under this
subsection an amount which shall be sufficient to equal the
contributions he or she would have made had the member been under
the Teachers Retirement System during the period of his or her
membership in the Public Employees Retirement System plus interest
at a rate to be determined by the board compounded annually from
the date of withdrawal to the date of payment. The interest paid
shall be deposited in the reserve fund.
(h) (g) For service as a teacher in an elementary or secondary
parochial school, located within this state and fully accredited by
the West Virginia Department of Education, the retirement board
shall grant credit to the member
: Provided, That the member shall
pay to the system double the amount contributed during the first full year of current employment, times the number of years for
which credit is granted, plus interest at a rate to be determined
by the retirement board. The interest shall be deposited in the
reserve fund and service granted at the time of retirement shall
not exceed the lesser of ten years or fifty percent of the member's
total service as a teacher in the West Virginia public school
system. Any transfer of parochial school service, as provided in
this section, may not be used to establish eligibility for a
retirement allowance and the board shall grant credit for the
transfer as additional service only
: Provided, however, That a
transfer of parochial school service is prohibited if the service
is used to obtain a retirement benefit from another retirement
system.
(i) (h) Active members who previously worked in CETA
(Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) may receive service
credit for time served in that capacity
: Provided, That in order
to receive service credit under the provisions of this subsection
the following conditions must be met:
(1) The member must have moved from temporary employment with
the participating employer to permanent full-time employment with
the participating employer within one hundred twenty days following
the termination of the member's CETA employment;
(2) The Board must receive evidence that establishes to a
reasonable degree of certainty as determined by the board that the
member previously worked in CETA; and
(3) The member shall pay to the board an amount equal to the employer and employee contribution plus interest at the amount set
by the board for the amount of service credit sought pursuant to
this subsection
: Provided, however, That the maximum service
credit that may be obtained under the provisions of this subsection
is two years
: Provided further, That a member must apply and pay
for the service credit allowed under this subsection and provide
all necessary documentation by March 31, 2003
: And provided
further, That the board shall exercise due diligence to notify
affected employees of the provisions of this subsection.
(j) (i) If a member is not eligible for prior service credit
or pension as provided in this article, then his or her prior
service shall not be considered a part of his or her total service.
(k) (j) A member who withdrew from membership may regain his
or her former membership rights as specified in section thirteen of
this article only in case he or she has served two years since his
or her last withdrawal.
(l) (k) Subject to the provisions of subsections (a) through
(l) (k), inclusive, of this section, the board shall verify as soon
as practicable the statements of service submitted. The Retirement
Board shall issue prior service certificates to all persons
eligible for the certificates under the provisions of this article.
The certificates shall state the length of the prior service
credit, but in no case shall the prior service credit exceed forty
years.
(m) (l) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the
contrary, when a member is or has been elected to serve as a member of the Legislature, and the proper discharge of his or her duties
of public office require that member to be absent from his or her
teaching or administrative duties, the time served in discharge of
his or her duties of the legislative office are credited as time
served for purposes of computing service credit
: Provided, That
the board may not require any additional contributions from that
member in order for the board to credit him or her with the
contributing service credit earned while discharging official
legislative duties:
Provided, however, That nothing in this
section may be construed to relieve the employer from making the
employer contribution at the member's regular salary rate or rate
of pay from that employer on the contributing service credit earned
while the member is discharging his or her official legislative
duties. These employer payments shall commence as of June 1, 2000
:
Provided further, That any member to which the provisions of this
subsection apply may elect to pay to the board an amount equal to
what his or her contribution would have been for those periods of
time he or she was serving in the Legislature. The periods of time
upon which the member paid his or her contribution shall then be
included for purposes of determining his or her final average
salary as well as for determining years of service
: And provided
further, That a member using the provisions of this subsection is
not required to pay interest on any contributions he or she may
decide to make.
(n) (m) The Teachers Retirement Board shall grant service
credit to any former member of the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System who has been a contributing member for more
than three years, for service previously credited by the State
Police Death, Disability and Retirement System; and:
(1) Shall require the transfer of the member's contributions
to the Teachers Retirement System; or
(2) shall require a repayment of the amount withdrawn any time
prior to the member's retirement
: Provided, That the member shall
add to the amounts transferred or repaid under this paragraph an
amount which is sufficient to equal the contributions he or she
would have made had the member been under the Teachers Retirement
System during the period of his or her membership in the State
Police Death, Disability and Retirement System plus interest at a
rate to be determined by the board compounded annually from the
date of withdrawal to the date of payment. The interest paid shall
be deposited in the reserve fund.
§18-7A-17a. Qualified military service for retirement credit.
(a) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this state
who have served in the active military duty of the Armed Forces of
the United States. It is the intent of this section to confer
military service credit for time served in active military duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States upon members who are eligible
for teachers' retirement benefits whether he or she was a member of
the Teachers Retirement System at the time of entering the military
service.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force or
Marine Corps. Such term does not include regularly required
training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component
or National Guard unless the member can substantiate that he or she
was called into the active military service of the United States.
(2) "Actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount" means the
purchase annuity rate multiplied by the purchase accrued benefit.
The purchase annuity rate is the actuarial lump sum annuity factor
calculated on a monthly basis based on the following actuarial
assumptions: interest rate of seven point five percent; mortality
of the 1983 group annuity mortality table, blended thirty percent
male and seventy percent female rates, applied on a unisex basis to
all members; if purchase age is under age sixty, a deferred annuity
factor with payments commencing at age sixty; and if purchase age
is sixty or over, an immediate annuity factor with payments
starting at the purchase age. The purchase accrued benefit is two
percent times the purchase military service times the purchase
average monthly salary. The purchase military service is the
amount of military service being purchased by the employee as a
fraction of a year up to a one year maximum. The purchase average
monthly salary is the final average monthly salary of the employee
at the beginning of the month which is three months prior to the
purchase month as if the employee terminated employment on that
date. The purchase month is the month in which the employee
deposits the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount into the plan trust fund in full payment of the service being purchased.
The purchase age is the attained age of the employee in years and
completed months as of the first day of the purchase month.
(3) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the
calendar month.
(4) "Selective Service Act" means the period beginning on
September 16, 1940, and ending on July 1, 1973.
(5) "Vested" means five or more years of contributory service
for which contributions have been made and remain on deposit. Any
withdrawn contributions that have been reinstated in full by June
30, 2009 shall apply toward vesting.
(c) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active
duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214; and
(3) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system, except those benefits provided by federal law,
for his or her active military duty.
(d) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year.
(e) For any member hired for the first time prior to July 1,
2009, and who is vested in the Teachers Retirement System on June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive the greater of:
(1) Up to one hundred and twenty months of service, not to
exceed twenty-five percent of total service at the time of
retirement, for any time served in active military duty during the
period in which the Selective Service Act was in effect; or
(2) Up to twenty-four months of service for any time served in
active military duty:
Provided, That any employee may purchase an
additional twelve months of service for any time served in active
military duty that otherwise has not been credited by paying the
actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within three years from
the effective date of this section:
Provided, however, That any
vested member not employed on the effective date of this section
may only purchase an additional twelve months of service for any
time served in active military duty that otherwise has not been
credited upon his or her initial reemployment after the effective
date of this section by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum
purchase amount after one year of reemployment, but within three
years from initial reemployment.
(f) For any member hired for the first time on or after July
1, 2009, or for any member who is not vested on June 30, 2009, he
or she shall receive up to twenty-four months of service for any
time served in active military duty:
Provided, That any employee
may purchase an additional twelve months of service for any time
served in active military duty that otherwise has not been credited
by paying the actuarial reserve lump sum purchase amount within
three years after becoming vested.
(g) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(h) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
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.
(i) The provisions of section twenty-eight-e of this article
are not applicable to the amendments made to this section during
the 2009 regular session.
ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS' DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7B-8a. Qualified military service.
(a) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this state
who have served in the active military duty of the Armed Forces of
the United States. It is the intent of this section to confer
military service credit for time served in active military duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States upon members who are eligible
for distribution from the member's annuity account whether or not
he or she was a member of the Teachers Defined Contribution
Retirement System at the time of entering the military service.
(b) A member shall be awarded, upon termination, an additional
twenty-four months of employment service which shall be used solely
to determine the distribution of the employer's contributions and any earnings thereon, upon satisfactory showing to the board that
the member has completed at least two years of active military duty
and has been honorably discharged from active military duty:
Provided, That the term "active military duty" means full-time duty
in the active military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air
Force or Marine Corps. Such term does not include regularly
required training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve
component or National Guard unless the member can substantiate that
he or she was called into the active military service of the United
States. The honorable discharge and the active military duty must
be substantiated by a federal form DD-214.
(c) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to
qualified military service will 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 retirement 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.
(d) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of this section.
§18-7B-11. Termination of membership.
(a) Any member whose employment with a participating employer
terminates after the completion of six complete years of employment
service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and
receive a distribution from the member's annuity account, in an
amount equal to the member's contribution plus one third of the
employer contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose
employment with a participating employer terminates after the
completion of nine complete years of employment service is eligible
to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution
from the member's annuity account, in an amount equal to the
member's contribution plus two thirds of the employer's
contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose
employment with a participating employer terminates after the
completion of twelve complete years of employment service is
eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a
distribution of all funds contributed and accumulated in his or her
annuity account. Any member whose employment with a participating
employer terminates prior to the completion of six complete years
of employment service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity
account and receive a distribution from the member's annuity
account, in an amount equal to the member's contribution plus any
earnings thereon
: Provided, That on the death or permanent, total
disability of any member, that member is eligible to terminate his
or her annuity account and receive all funds contributed to or accumulated in his or her annuity account:
Provided, however, That
upon satisfactory showing to the board that the member has
completed at least twenty-four months of active military duty,
pursuant to section eight-a of this article, the member, upon
termination, shall be awarded an additional twenty-four months of
employment service which shall be used solely to determine the
distribution of the employer's contributions and any earnings
thereon. Any member whose employment with a participating employer
terminates after the completion of four complete years of
employment service and who has at least twenty-four months of
active military duty is eligible to terminate his or her annuity
account and receive a distribution from the member's annuity
account, in an amount equal to the member's contribution plus one
third of the employer contributions and any earnings thereon. Any
member whose employment with a participating employer terminates
after the completion of seven complete years of employment service
and who has at least twenty-four months of active military duty is
eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a
distribution from the member's annuity account, in an amount equal
to the member's contribution plus two thirds of the employer's
contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose
employment with a participating employer terminates after the
completion of ten complete years of employment service and who has
at least twenty-four months of active military duty is eligible to
terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution of
all funds contributed and accumulated in his or her annuity account. Any member whose employment with a participating employer
terminates prior to the completion of four complete years of
employment service and who has at least twenty-four months of
active military service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity
account and receive a distribution from the member's annuity
account, in an amount equal to the member's contribution plus any
earnings thereon.
(b) (1) Upon termination of employment, regardless of whether
the member has taken a distribution of all or a portion of his or
her vested account, the remaining balance, if any, in the member's
employer account that is not vested shall be remitted and paid into
a suspension account to be administered by the board. The Board
shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding the
distribution of any balance in the special account created by this
section
: Provided, That any funds in the account shall be used
solely for the purpose of reducing employer contributions in future
years.
(2) Any account balances remitted to the suspension account
herein shall be maintained by the board in the suspension account
in the name of the terminated employee for a period of five years
following the member's termination of employment. For each
terminated employee at the culmination of the five-year period, the
board shall certify in writing to each contributing employer the
amount of the account balance plus earnings thereon attributable to
each separate contributing employer's previously terminated employee's account which has been irrevocably forfeited due to the
elapse of a five-year period since termination pursuant to section
sixteen of this article.
(c) Upon certification to the several contributing employers
of the aggregate account balances plus earnings thereon which have
been irrevocably forfeited pursuant to this section, the several
contributing employers shall be permitted in the next succeeding
fiscal year or years to reduce their total aggregate contribution
requirements pursuant to section seventeen of this article, for the
then current fiscal year by an amount equal to the aggregate
amounts irrevocably forfeited and certified as such to each
contributing employer
: Provided, That should the participating
employer no longer be contributing to the Defined Contribution
System, any funds in the account shall be paid directly to the
employer.
(d) Upon the use of the amounts irrevocably forfeited to any
contributing employer as a reduction in the then current fiscal
year contribution obligation and upon notification provided by the
several contributing employers to the board of their intention to
use irrevocably forfeited amounts, the board shall direct the
distribution of the irrevocably forfeited amounts from the
suspension account to be deposited on behalf of the contributing
employer to the member annuity accounts of its then current
employees pursuant to section seventeen of this article
: Provided,
That notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary,
when a member is or has been elected to serve as a member of the Legislature, and the proper discharge of his or her duties of
public office requires that member to be absent from his or her
teaching, nonteaching or administrative duties, the time served in
discharge of his or her duties of the legislative office are
credited as time served for purposes of computing service credit,
regardless when this time was served
: Provided, however, That the
board may not require any additional contributions from that member
in order for the board to credit him or her with the contributing
service credit earned while discharging official legislative
duties
: Provided further, That nothing herein may be construed to
relieve the employer from making the employer contribution at the
member's regular salary rate or rate of pay from that employer on
the contributing service credit earned while the member is
discharging his or her official legislative duties. These employer
payments shall commence as of July 1, 2003
: And provided further,
That any member to which the provisions of this subsection apply
may elect to pay to the board an amount equal to what his or her
contribution would have been for those periods of time he or she
was serving in the Legislature.
CHAPTER 51. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 9. RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES.
§51-9-4. Required percentage contributions from salaries; any
termination of required contributions prior to actual
retirement disallowed; leased employees; military
service credit; maximum allowable and qualified
military service; qualifiable prosecutorial service.
(a) Every person who is now serving or shall hereafter serve
as a judge of any court of record of this state shall pay into the
Judges' Retirement Fund six percent of the salary received by such
person out of the State Treasury
: Provided, That when a judge
becomes eligible to receive benefits from such trust fund by actual
retirement, no further payment by him or her shall be required,
since such employee contribution, in an equal treatment sense,
ceases to be required in the other retirement systems of the state,
also, only after actual retirement
: Provided, however, That on and
after January 1, 1995, every person who is then serving or shall
thereafter serve as a judge of any court of record in this state
shall pay into the Judges' Retirement Fund nine percent of the
salary received by that person
: Provided further, That consistent
with the salary increase granted to judges of courts of record
during the 2005 regular legislative session and to changes
effectuated in judicial retirement by provisions enacted during the
third extraordinary legislative session of 2005, on and after July
1, 2005, every person who is then serving or shall thereafter serve
as a judge of any court of record in this state shall pay into the
Judges' Retirement Fund ten and one-half percent of the salary
received by that person. Any prior occurrence or practice to the
contrary, in any way allowing discontinuance of required employee
contributions prior to actual retirement under this retirement
system, is rejected as erroneous and contrary to legislative intent
and as violative of required equal treatment and is hereby
nullified and discontinued fully, with the State Auditor to require such contribution in every instance hereafter, except where no
contributions are required to be made under any of the provisions
of this article.
(b) An individual who is a leased employee shall not be
eligible to participate in the system. For purposes of this
system, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs
services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement
with an employee leasing organization or other similar
organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an
individual as a leased employee, the board has the final power to
decide the question.
(c) In drawing warrants for the salary checks of judges, the
State Auditor shall deduct from the amount of each such salary
check six percent thereof, which amount so deducted shall be
credited by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board to the trust
fund
: Provided, That on or after January 1, 1995, the amount so
deducted and credited shall be nine percent of each such salary
check
: Provided, however, That consistent with the salary increase
granted to judges of courts of record during the 2005 regular
legislative session and to changes effectuated in judicial
retirement by provisions enacted during the third extraordinary
legislative session of 2005, on or after July 1, 2005, the amount
so deducted and credited shall be ten and one-half percent of each
such salary check.
(d) Any judge seeking to qualify military service to be
claimed as credited service, in allowable aggregate maximum amount up to five years, shall be entitled to be awarded the same without
any required payment in respect thereof to the Judges' Retirement
Fund.
(d) The Legislature recognizes the men and women of this state
who have served in the active military duty of the Armed Forces of
the United States. It is the intent of this section to confer
military service credit for time served in active military duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States upon members who are eligible
for judges' retirement benefits whether he or she was a member of
the judges' retirement system at the time of entering the military
service.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Active military duty" means full-time duty in the active
military service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force or
Marine Corps. Such term does not include regularly required
training or other duty performed by a member of a reserve component
or National Guard unless the member can substantiate that he or she
was called into the active military service of the United States.
(2) "Month of service" means any month in which the member
served in active military duty for at least one half of the
calendar month.
(f) Members who are eligible to receive credited service for
periods of active military duty must substantiate to the retirement
board:
(1) That the member has served one or more periods of active duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214;
(2) That the member has been honorably discharged from active
military duty as substantiated by a federal form DD-214; and
(3) That the member is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system, except those benefits provided by federal law,
for his or her active military duty.
(g) The retirement board may not credit any member with more
than twelve months of service in any calendar year.
(h) For any member elected or appointed for the first time
prior to July 1, 2009, and who is eligible for an annuity benefit
on June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive up to sixty months of
service, for any time served in active military duty.
(i) For any member elected or appointed for the first time on
or after July 1, 2009, or for any member who is not eligible for an
annuity benefit on June 30, 2009, he or she shall receive up to
twenty-four months of service for any time served in active
military duty.
(j) The retirement board may propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the provisions of
this section.
(e) (k) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
section, 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 may promulgate rules relating to
contributions, benefits and service credit pursuant to the
authority granted to the retirement board in section one, article
ten-d, chapter five of this code to comply with Section 414(u) of
the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) (l) Any judge holding office as such on the effective
date of the amendments to this article adopted by the Legislature
at its regular session in the year 1987 who seeks to qualify
service as a prosecuting attorney as credited service, which
service credit must have been earned prior to the year 1987, shall
be required to pay into the Judges' Retirement Fund nine percent of
the annual salary which was actually received by such person as
prosecuting attorney during the time such prosecutorial service was
rendered prior to the year 1987 and for which credited service is
being sought, together with applicable interest. No judge whose
term of office shall commence after the effective date of such
amendments to this article shall be eligible to claim any credit
for service rendered as a prosecuting attorney as eligible service
for retirement benefits under this article, nor shall any time
served as a prosecutor after the year 1988 be considered as
eligible service for any purposes of this article.
§51-9-6. Eligibility for and payment of benefits.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in sections five, six-d,
twelve and thirteen of this article, and subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, any person who is now serving,
or who shall hereafter serve, as a judge of any court of record of
this state and shall have served as such judge for a period of not
less than sixteen full years and shall have reached the age of
sixty-five years, or who has served as judge of such court or of
that court and other courts of record of the state for a period of
sixteen full years or more (whether continuously or not and whether
said service be entirely before or after this article became
effective, or partly before and partly after said date, and whether
or not said judge shall be in office on the date he or she shall
become eligible to benefits hereunder) and shall have reached the
age of sixty-five years, or who is now serving, or who shall
hereafter serve, as a judge of any court of record of this state
and shall have served as such judge for a period of not less than
twenty-four full years, regardless of age, shall, upon a
determination and certification of his or her eligibility as
provided in section nine hereof, be paid from the fund annual
retirement benefits, so long as he or she shall live, in an amount
equal to seventy-five percent of the annual salary of the office
from which he or she has retired based upon such salary of such
office and as such salary may be changed from time to time during
the period of his or her retirement and the amount of his or her
retirement benefits shall be based upon and be equal to
seventy-five percent of the highest annual salary of such office
for any one calendar year during the period of his or her
retirement and shall be payable in monthly installments
: Provided, That such retirement benefits shall be paid only after such judge
has resigned as such or, for any reason other than his or her
impeachment, his or her service as such has ended
: Provided,
however, That every such person seeking to retire and to receive
the annual retirement benefits provided by this subsection must
have served a minimum of twelve years as a sitting judge of any
such court of record
: Provided further, That every individual who
is appointed or elected for the first time as judge of a court of
record of this state after July 1, 2005, who subsequently seeks to
retire and to receive the annual retirement benefits provided by
this subsection must have served a minimum of fourteen years as a
sitting judge of any court of record.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article with
the exception of sections twelve-a and twelve-b, any person who is
now serving or who shall hereafter serve as a judge of any court of
record of this state and who shall have accumulated sixteen years
or more of credited service, at least twelve years of which is as
a sitting judge of a court of record, and who has attained the age
of sixty-two years or more but less than the age of sixty-five
years, may elect to retire from his or her office and to receive
the pension to which he or she would otherwise be entitled to
receive at age sixty-five, but with an actuarial reduction of
pension benefit to be established as a reduced annuity receivable
throughout retirement
: Provided, That every individual who is
appointed or elected for the first time as judge of a court of
record of this state after July 1, 2005, who subsequently seeks to retire and to receive the annual retirement benefits provided by
this subsection must have served a minimum of fourteen years as a
sitting judge of any court of record. The reduced percentage (less
than seventy-five percent) actuarially computed, determined and
established at time of retirement in respect of this reduced
pension benefit shall also continue and be applicable to any
subsequent new annual salary set for the office from which such
judge has retired and as such salary may be changed from time to
time during the period of his or her retirement.
(c) In determining eligibility for the benefits provided by
this section,
all active military duty full-time duty (including
leaves and furloughs) in the Armed Forces of the United States
shall be eligible for qualification as credited military service
for the purposes of
section four, article nine, of this chapter of
the code and shall apply toward eligibility in the judges'
retirement system. this article by any judge with twelve or more
years actual service as a sitting judge of a court of record, such
awardable military service to not exceed five years: Provided,
That in determining eligibility for the benefits provided by this
section for every individual who is appointed or elected for the
first time as judge of a court of record of this state after the
first day of July, two thousand five, active full-time duty
(including leaves and furloughs) in the Armed Forces of the United
States qualifies as credited service for the purposes of this
article for any judge with fourteen or more years actual service as
a sitting judge of a court of record of this state, the awardable military service not to exceed five years.
(d) If a judge of a court of record who is presently sitting
as such on the effective date of the amendments to this section
enacted by the Legislature at its regular session held in the year
1987 and who has served for a period of not less than twelve full
years and has made payments into the Judges' Retirement Fund as
provided in this article for each month during which he or she
served as judge, following the effective date of this section, any
portion of time which he or she had served as prosecuting attorney
in any county in this state shall qualify as years of service, if
such judge shall pay those sums required to be paid pursuant to the
provisions of section four of this article
: Provided, That any
term of office as prosecuting attorney, or part thereof, commencing
after December 31, 1988, shall not hereafter in any way qualify as
eligible years of service under this retirement system. For
purposes of this article, eligible service as a "prosecuting
attorney" or as a "prosecutor" does not include any service as an
assistant prosecuting attorney. The amendment to this subsection
during the third extraordinary session in the year 2005 is not for
the purpose of changing existing law but is intended to clarify the
intent of the Legislature as to existing law regarding eligibility
for benefits for service as a prosecuting attorney since its
initial enactment and this clarification shall be applied
retrospectively to the effective date of this section and any
predecessor acts in which service as a prosecuting attorney was
initially determined by statute to qualify as eligible years of service under the retirement system provided by this article.
(e) Any retirement benefit accruing under the provisions of
this section shall not be paid if otherwise barred under the
provisions of article ten-a, chapter five of this code.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article,
forfeitures under the system shall not be applied to increase the
benefits any member would otherwise receive under the system.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide up to twenty-four
months of military service credit for time served in active
military duty to any qualified member of the West Virginia Public
Employees Retirement Act, the West Virginia State Police Retirement
System, the State Teachers Retirement System, the Teachers' Defined
Contribution Retirement System and the Retirement System for Judges
hired for the first time on or after July 1, 2009, or for any
qualified member who is not vested on June 30, 2009.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§18-7A-17a is new, therefore, underscoring and strike-throughs
have been omitted.