Senate Bill No. 718
(By Senator Unger)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact
§15-2A-6,
§15-2A-9, §15-2A-10
and
§15-2A-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all
relating to the West Virginia State Police Retirement System;
lowering the normal retirement age; and eliminating any reduction
in the benefit of a State Police officer who is disabled on the
job.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2A-6, §15-2A-9, §15-2A-10 and §15-2A-12 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§15-2A-6. Retirement; commencement of benefits.
(a) A member may retire with full benefits upon attaining the age
of fifty-five fifty and completing twenty twenty-five or more years of service
or attaining the age of fifty-two and completing
twenty years or more of service, by lodging with the Consolidated
Public Retirement Board his or her voluntary petition in writing
for retirement. A member who is less than age
fifty-five fifty
may retire upon completing
twenty twenty-five years or more of
service:
Provided, That he or she will receive a reduced benefit
that is of equal actuarial value to the benefit the member would
have received if the member deferred commencement of his or her
accrued retirement benefit to the age of fifty-five.
(b) When the Retirement Board retires a member with full benefits
under the provisions of this section, the Board, by order in
writing, shall make a determination that the member is entitled
to receive an annuity equal to two and three-fourths percent of
his or her final average salary multiplied by the number of
years, and fraction of a year, of his or her service in the
department at the time of retirement. The member's annuity shall
begin the first day of the calendar month following the month in
which the member's application for the annuity is filed with the
board on or after his or her attaining age and service
requirements, and termination of employment.
(c) In no event may the provisions of section thirteen, article
sixteen, chapter five be applied in determining eligibility to
retire with either a deferred or immediate commencement of
benefit.
§15-2A-9. Awards and benefits for disability -- Incurred in
performance of duty.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a member of the
department who has not yet entered retirement status on the basis
of age and service and who becomes partially disabled by injury,
illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard
inherent in or peculiar to the services required of members of
the department and incurred pursuant to or while the member was
engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of
the department shall, if, in the opinion of the retirement board,
he or she is, by reason of such cause, unable to perform
adequately the duties required of him or her as a member of the
department, but is able to engage in other gainful employment in
a field other than law enforcement, be retired from active
service by the board. The member thereafter is entitled to
receive annually and there shall be paid to the member from the
fund in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the
member, or until the member attains the age of fifty-five or
until the disability sooner terminates, one or the other of two
amounts, whichever is greater:
(1) An amount equal to six tenths of the base salary received in
the preceding twelve-month employment period: Provided, That if
the member had not been employed with the department for twelve
months prior to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit;
or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
Upon attaining age fifty-five fifty, the member shall receive the
benefit provided in section six of this article
if it is a higher
benefit than the benefit the member is receiving under the
disability provisions set out above,
as it would apply to his or
her final average salary based on earnings from the department
through the day immediately preceding his or her disability. The
recalculation of benefit upon a member attaining age fifty-five
fifty shall be considered to be a retirement under the provisions
of section six of this article, for purposes of determining the
amount of annual annuity adjustment and for all other purposes of
this article. A benefit received by a member based on a
disability as set out above may not be reduced during the
lifetime of the member: Provided, That a member who is partially
disabled under this article may not, while in receipt of benefits
for partial disability, be employed as a law-enforcement officer:
Provided however, That a member retired on a partial disability
under this article may serve as an elected sheriff or appointed
chief of police in the state without a loss of disability
retirement benefits so long as such elected or appointed position
is shown to the satisfaction of the board, to require the
performance of administrative duties and functions only, as opposed to the full range of duties of a law-enforcement officer.
(b) Any member who has not yet entered retirement status on the
basis of age and service and who becomes physically or mentally
disabled by injury, illness or disease on a probable permanent
basis resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in
or peculiar to the services required of members of the department
and incurred pursuant to or while the member was or is engaged in
the performance of his or her duties as a member of the
department to the extent that the member is incapacitated ever to
engage in any gainful employment, the member is entitled to
receive annually, and there shall be paid to the member from the
fund in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the
member or until the disability sooner terminates, an amount equal
to the amount of the base salary received by the member in the
preceding twelve-month employment period.
(c) The superintendent of the department may expend moneys from
funds appropriated for the department in payment of medical,
surgical, laboratory, X ray, hospital, ambulance and dental
expenses and fees, and reasonable costs and expenses incurred in
the purchase of artificial limbs and other approved appliances
which may be reasonably necessary for any member of the
department who is temporarily, permanently or totally disabled by
injury, illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk
or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service required of members of the department and incurred pursuant to or while the
member was or shall be engaged in the performance of duties as a
member of the department. Whenever the superintendent determines
that any disabled member is ineligible to receive any of the
aforesaid benefits at public expense, the superintendent shall,
at the request of the disabled member, refer the matter to the
board for hearing and final decision. In no case will the
compensation rendered to health care providers for medical and
hospital services exceed the then current rate schedule in use by
the Bureau of Employment Programs, Workers' Compensation
Division.
§15-2A-10. Same -- Due to other causes.
(a) If any member while in active service of the State Police
department becomes partially or totally disabled on a probable
permanent basis to the extent that the member cannot adequately
perform the duties required of a member of the department from
any cause other than those set forth in the preceding section and
not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on
his or her part, the member shall be retired by the board. There
shall be paid annually to the member from the fund in equal
monthly installments, commencing on the date the member is
retired and continuing during the lifetime of the member; or
until the member attains the age of fifty-five fifty-two; while
in status of retirement an amount equal to one half the base salary received by the member in the preceding twelve-month
period:
Provided, That if the member had not been employed with
the department for twelve months prior to the disability, the
amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of
determining the benefit.
(b) Upon attaining age fifty-five fifty, the member shall receive
the benefit provided in section six of this article as it would
apply to his or her final average salary based on earnings from
the department through the day immediately preceding his or her
disability. The recalculation of benefit upon a member attaining
age fifty-five fifty shall be considered to be a retirement under
the provisions of section six of this article, for purposes of
determining the amount of annual annuity adjustment and for all
other purposes of this article.
§15-2A-12. Awards and benefits to dependents of member - when
member dies in performance of duty, etc.; dependent child
scholarship and amount.
The surviving spouse, the dependent child or children or
dependent parent or parents of any member who has lost or shall
lose his or her life 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
engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the department, or the survivor of a member who dies from any
cause after having been retired pursuant to the provisions of
section nine of this article, is entitled to receive and shall be
paid from the fund benefits as follows: To the surviving spouse
annually, in equal monthly installments during his or her
lifetime, one or the other of two amounts, which shall become
immediately available and which shall be the greater of:
(1) An amount equal to nine tenths of the base salary received in
the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased
member: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with
the department for twelve months prior to his or her death, the
amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of
determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of ten thousand dollars.
In addition thereto, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive
and there shall be paid to the person one hundred fifty dollars
monthly for each dependent child or children. If the surviving
spouse dies or if there is no surviving spouse, there shall be
paid monthly to each dependent child or children from the Fund a
sum equal to one third of the surviving spouse's entitlement. If
there is no surviving spouse and no dependent child or children,
there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from
the fund 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 but 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.
Any person qualifying as a surviving dependent child under this
section, 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 seven thousand
five hundred forty-five thousand dollars, 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 rules provided by the
board, and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the
institution or the board. The board may by appropriate rules
define age requirements, physical and mental requirements,
scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods, institutional
qualifications and other requirements as necessary and not
inconsistent with this section.
Awards and benefits for a surviving spouse or dependents of a member received under any section or any of the provisions of
this retirement system are in lieu of receipt of any benefits for
these persons under the provisions of any other state retirement
system. Receipt of benefits under any other state retirement
system is in lieu of any right to receive any benefits under this
retirement system, so that only a single receipt of state
retirement benefits occurs.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the levels of benefits
provided by operation of this section from the effective date of
the enactment of this section during the regular session of the
Legislature, two thousand five, be the same levels of benefits as
provided by this section as amended and reenacted during the
fourth extraordinary session of the Legislature, two thousand
six. Accordingly, the effective date of the operation of this
section as amended and reenacted during the fourth extraordinary
session of the Legislature, two thousand six, is expressly made
retrospective to the ninth day of April, two thousand six.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to lower the normal retirement
age for State Police officers and eliminate any reduction in the
benefit of a State Police officer who is disabled on the job.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the
present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.