Senate Bill No. 124
(By Senator Browning)
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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-7A-14b of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing the time
for a member of the State Teachers Retirement System to make
contributions for credited service during periods of temporary
total disability under workers' compensation; and providing
retroactive period of additional two years.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-7A-14b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-14b. Members' option to make contributions for periods of
temporary total disability.
Any member who was absent from work while receiving temporary
total disability benefits pursuant to the provisions of chapter
twenty-three of this code as a result of a compensable injury received in the course of and as a result of his or her employment
with the covered employer, may purchase credited service for that
time period or those time periods the member was absent from work
as a result of a compensable injury and receiving temporary total
disability benefits:
Provided, That the member returned to work
with his or her covered employer within one year following the
cessation of temporary total disability benefits. The member
desiring to purchase such credited service may do so only by lump
sum payment from personal funds within
two three years of the end
of the disability period for which credit is sought to be
purchased:
Provided, however, That in order to purchase such
service credit, the member shall pay to the board his or her
regular contribution and an equal amount that represents the
employer's contribution, based on the salary the member was
receiving immediately prior to having sustained such compensable
injury:
Provided further, That the member purchasing service
credit under the provisions of this section may not be charged
interest. The maximum number of years of service credit that may
be purchased under this section shall not exceed two:
And provided
further, That each year purchased under this section shall count as
a year of experience for purposes of the increment set forth in
section two or section eight-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of
this code, as applicable:
And provided further, That retroactive,
only from the effective date of the amendment to this section, the member purchasing service credit under the provisions of this
section has five years from the end of the disability period for
which credit is sought to be purchased. Thereafter a member has
only three years from the end of the disability period to purchase
credit.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the time for a
member of the State Teachers Retirement System to make retirement
contributions for credited service, during periods of temporary
total disability with a workers' compensation injury, from two
years to three years. It also provides for additional retroactive
period of two years from effective date of amendment.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.