FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 03, 2026
Time Requested: 02:19 PM |
| Agency: |
Municipal Pensions Oversight Board |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 3562 |
Introduced |
SB717 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Municipalities; Retirement |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
Special Revenue
Sources of Revenue:
Special Fund
Legislation creates:
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The provisions of this bill would have zero cost to the State of West Virginia.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2027
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The provisions of this bill would have zero cost to the State of West Virginia and would generate zero new revenue.
Memorandum
While the changes contemplated in this bill would not result in a cost to the state, it could result in an increased cost to the 53 municipal Policemen's and Firemen's Pension and Relief Funds.
Under the proposed legislation, a member who at the time of Line of Duty (LOD) disability is under the age of 50 and has more than 20 years of service could, upon attaining regular retirement age at age 50, petition the pension board to begin receiving the retirement pension benefit in place of the disability pension benefit. The retirement benefit would first be eligible for cost-of-living adjustments upon the 1st of July following the second anniversary of the commencement of the retirement benefit (age 50).
The aggregated impacts for all 53 plans of the estimated proposed plan change are shown below.
~Valuation Metric~ ~Percentage Increase/(Decrease)~
Actuarial Accrued Liability (AAL) <0.05%
Normal Cost (NC) <0.25%
Funded Status (0.02%)
The results above are based primarily on the impact to active members who could at some point in the future be eligible for LOD-disability benefits if they sustain such a disability.
§8-22-20(h) states, "...impacts on the funding deficiency due to plan changes shall be amortized over closed five year periods." Based on the above analysis findings, the total change to the AAL which would need to be amortized in accordance with §8-22-20(d) would be an estimated $190,000, divided among the 53 plans based on plan size. Further, the increase to the normal cost of all plans would be approximately $54,000 annually, divided among the 53 plans based on plan size. On average, the increased cost to plan due to the increase in the AAL and normal cost would be approximately $4,600 per year for five years.
Of the 122 members receiving LOD disability pension benefits in the July 1, 2024 valuation, only 15 members had more than 20 years of service and were less than age 50 at disability. The average number of years of service for this group of 15 members is 22 years. Of the 15 members in that population, only 4 were granted a disability after the earliest date that a LOD disability pension would be eligible to change to a standard pension provided for in this bill, July 1, 2015.
The provision added to §8-22-24(d) regarding non-line-of-duty disabilities would have no effect on the actuarial liability or normal cost of the pension an relief funds. The assumptions used by the MPOB's contracted actuary in their valuations includes the idea that members receiving a pension from a disability incurred not in the line of duty would not be working after age 65.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Matthew Pauley, CFO
Email Address: matthew.d.pauley@wv.gov