H. B. 4035
(By Delegates Stalnaker, Browning, Williams,
Hall, Duke and Manchin)
[Introduced January 17, 2006; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5-10-27 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to removing the ability of a
member to choose a beneficiary who has an insurable interest
to receive an annuity and allowing a member or former member
to choose to have the preretirement death benefit paid in a
lump sum amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she
chooses.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10-27 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-27. Preretirement death annuities.
(a) In the event any member who has ten or more years of
credited service or any former member with ten or more years of
credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant
to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies without leaving a surviving spouse; but (2) leaves surviving him or her a child who
is financially dependent on the member by virtue of a permanent
mental or physical disability upon evidence satisfactory to the
board; and (3) has named the disabled child as sole beneficiary, the
disabled child shall immediately receive an annuity computed in the
same manner in all respects as if the member had: (1) Retired the
day preceding the date of his or her death, notwithstanding that he
or she might not have attained age sixty or sixty-two years, as the
case may be; (2) elected option A provided
for in section twenty-
four of this article; and (3) nominated his or her disabled child
as beneficiary. A member or former member with ten or more years
of credited service, who does not leave surviving him or her a
spouse or a disabled child, may elect to have the preretirement
death benefit paid as a return of accumulated contributions in a
lump sum amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she
chooses.
(b) In the event any member who has ten or more years of
credited service, or any former member with ten or more years of
credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant
to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies; and (2) leaves a
surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall immediately receive an
annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the
the
member had: (1) Retired the day preceding the date of his or her
death, notwithstanding that he or she might not have attained age sixty or sixty-two years, as the case may be; (2) elected option A
provided in section twenty-four of this article; and (3) nominated
his or her surviving spouse as beneficiary. However, the surviving
spouse shall have the right to waive the annuity provided for in
this section:
Provided, That he or she executes a valid and
notarized waiver on a form provided by the board and that the member
or former member attests to the waiver. If the waiver is presented
to and accepted by the Board, the member or former member, may:
nominate a beneficiary who has an insurable interest in the member's
or former member's life. As an alternative to annuity option A, the
member or former member may elect to have the preretirement death
benefit paid as a return of accumulated contributions in a lump sum
amount to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses in the
event a waiver, as provided in this section, has been presented to
and accepted by the Board (1) Elect to have the preretirement death
benefit paid in a lump sum amount, rather than annuity option A
provided in section twenty-four of this article, as a return of
accumulated contributions to any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or
she chooses; or (2) may name his or her surviving child who is
financially dependent on the member by virtue of a permanent mental
or physical disability as his or her sole beneficiary to receive an
annuity computed in the same manner in all respects as if the member
had:(1) Retired the day preceding the date of his or her death,
notwithstanding that he or she might not have attained age sixty or sixty-two as the case may be;(2) elected Option A provided in
section twenty-four of this article; and (3) nominated his or her
disabled child as beneficiary.
(c) In the event any member who has ten or more years of
credited service or any former member with ten or more years of
credited service and who is entitled to a deferred annuity, pursuant
to section twenty-one of this article: (1) Dies without leaving
surviving him or her a spouse; but (2) leaves surviving him or her
an infant child or children; and (3) does not have a beneficiary
nominated as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the infant
child or children are entitled to an annuity to be calculated as
follows: The annuity reserve shall be calculated as though the
member had retired as of the date of his or her decease and elected
a straight life annuity and the amount of the annuity reserve shall
be paid in equal monthly installments to the member's infant child
or children until the child or children attain age twenty-one or
sooner marry or become emancipated; however, in no event shall any
child or children receive more than two hundred fifty dollars per
month each. The annuity payments shall be computed as of the date
of the death of the member and the amount of the annuity shall
remain constant during the period of payment. The annual amount of
the annuities payable by this section shall not exceed sixty percent
of the deceased member's final average salary.
(d) In the event any member or former member does not have ten or more years of credited service, no preretirement death annuity
may be authorized, owed or awarded under this section.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to: (1) Remove the ability
of a member to choose a beneficiary who has an insurable interest,
other than his or her spouse or disabled dependent child, to receive
an annuity; and (2) allow a member or former member to choose to
have the preretirement death benefit paid in a lump sum amount to
any beneficiary or beneficiaries he or she chooses.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added
.