H. B. 2106
(By Delegates Proudfoot and Heck
)
[Introduced February 14, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-three, article
seven-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
crediting deceased teacher's surviving spouse with
accumulated sick leave.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-three, article seven-a, chapter eighteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-23. Withdrawal and death benefits.
Benefits upon withdrawal from service prior to retirement under the provisions of this article shall be as follows:
(a) A contributor who withdraws from service for any cause
other than death or retirement shall, upon application, be paid
his or her accumulated contributions plus refund interest up to
the end of the fiscal year preceding the year in which
application is made, but in no event shall may interest be paid
beyond the end of five years following the year in which the last
contribution was made: Provided, That such the contributor, at
the time of application, is then no longer under contract, verbal
or otherwise, to serve as a teacher;
(b) If a contributor with fewer than five years of
established service does not apply for the refund of his or her
accumulated contributions within five years from the year in
which he or she quits service, then his or her accumulated
contributions plus refund interest, up to and including the fifth
year, shall be returned to such the member or to his or her legal
representative; or
(c) If such the contributor has completed twenty years of
total service, he or she may elect to receive at retirement age
an annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article:
Provided, That if such the contributor has completed at least
five, but fewer than twenty years of total service in this state,
he or she may elect to receive at age sixty-two, an annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article. The contributor
must shall notify the retirement board in writing concerning such
the election. If such the contributor has completed fewer than
five years of service in this state, he shall be or she is
subject to the provisions as outlined in subsections subsection
(a) or (b) above.
Benefits upon the death of a contributor prior to retirement
under the provisions of this article shall be paid as follows:
(1) If the contributor was at least fifty years old, and if
his or her total service as a teacher was at least twenty-five
years at the time of his or her death, then: (A) The surviving
spouse of the deceased, provided said the spouse is designated as
the sole refund beneficiary, shall be is eligible for an annuity
which shall be computed as though the deceased were actually a
retired teacher at the time of death, and had selected a
survivorship option which pays such the spouse the same monthly
amount which would have been received by the deceased; and (B)
the surviving spouse of the deceased is eligible for the
increased retirement benefits option provided for in subsection
(e), section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this
code; or
(2) If the facts do not permit payment under the preceding
paragraph (1), then the following sum shall be paid to the refund
beneficiary of the contributor: His or her accumulated contributions with refund interest up to the year of his or her
death plus the amount of his or her accumulated contributions.
The latter sum shall emanate from the employers accumulation
fund.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to credit the surviving
spouse with a deceased teacher's accumulated sick leave.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.