COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2415
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Jenkins, Heck,
Ashley, Varner, Pettit and Staton)
(Originating in the Committee on Pensions and Retirement)
[March 25, 1997]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article ten-d, chapter
five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one; and to amend chapter seven of said code by
adding thereto a new article, designated article fourteen-d,
all relating to retirement, death and disability benefits
for deputy sheriffs; providing that the consolidated
retirement board administer the new retirement system;
providing definitions for the article; creating the deputy
sheriff's retirement system; stating that the article is to
be liberally construed; allowing the board to promulgate
rules for the administration of the fund; establishing
membership qualifications; creating a trust fund for
investment of contributions; establishing member and
employer contribution amount; providing for transfer of
assets; establishing value of assets for transfer;
establishing for the commencement of benefits; establishing
benefits for normal, early and late retirement; establishing annuity options; providing for refunds to members upon
certain conditions; providing for disability retirements;
allowing deputies with a prior disability to become member
of plan; providing a benefit adjustment for disability
retirees; benefits for surviving spouses; benefits for
dependents; establishing death benefits; prohibiting double
benefits; authorizing loans to members; authorizing
sheriff's to become member of plan; establishing fraudulent
practices and criminal penalties therefor; and providing
military service credits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article ten-d, chapter five of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that chapter seven of said code be
amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article
fourteen-d, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD
OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,
OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 10D. CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD.
§5-10D-1. Consolidated public retirement board created; transition; members; vacancies.
(a) There is hereby
created continued a consolidated public
retirement board to administer all public retirement plans in
this state. It shall administer the public employees retirement system established in article ten of this chapter; the teachers
retirement system established in article seven-a, chapter
eighteen of this code; the teachers' defined contribution
retirement system created by article seven-b, chapter eighteen of
this code; the death, disability and retirement fund of the
department of public safety created by article two, chapter
fifteen of this code;
the death, disability and retirement fund
for deputy sheriffs created by article fourteen-d, chapter seven
of this code; and the judges' retirement system created under
article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code.
(b) The consolidated public retirement board shall begin
administration of the systems listed in subsection (a) of this
section on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one:
Provided, That the board shall begin administration
of:
(1) The teachers' defined contribution retirement system
established in article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code on
the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one;
and (2) the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy
sheriffs established in article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this
code on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- seven. Prior to that date the existing entities which administer
the system shall cooperate with the board in the orderly
transition of all duties, responsibilities, records and other
materials in their possession.
(c) The membership of the consolidated public retirement
board consists of:
(1) The governor or his or her designee;
(2) The state treasurer or his or her designee;
(3) The state auditor or his or her designee;
(4) The secretary of the department of administration or his
or her designee;
(5) Four residents of the state, who are not members,
retirants or beneficiaries of any of the public retirement
systems, to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and
consent of the Senate; and
(6) A member, annuitant or retirant of the public employees
retirement system who is or was a state employee; a member,
annuitant or retirant of the public employees retirement system
who is not or was not a state employee; a member, annuitant or
retirant of the teachers retirement system; a member, annuitant
or retirant of the department of public safety death, disability
and retirement fund;
a member, annuitant or retirant of the
deputy sheriff's death, disability and retirement fund; and a
member, annuitant or retirant of the teachers' defined
contribution retirement system, all to be appointed by the
governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(d) The appointed members of the board shall serve five-year
terms.
Of the members initially appointed, three shall be
appointed for two-year terms; three shall be appointed for three- year terms; and three shall be appointed for five-year terms.
Thereafter, all members shall serve full five-year terms. A
member appointed pursuant to subdivision (5), subsection (c) of this section ceases to be a member of the board if he or she
ceases to be a member of the represented system. If a vacancy
occurs in the appointed membership, the governor, within sixty
days, shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired
term. No more than five appointees shall be of the same
political party.
(e) The consolidated public retirement board shall have all
the powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the
public employees retirement system established pursuant to
article ten, of this chapter; the teachers retirement system
established pursuant to article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this
code; the teachers' defined contribution system established
pursuant to article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code; the
death, disability and retirement fund of the department of public
safety created pursuant to article two, chapter fifteen of this
code;
the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy
sheriffs created pursuant to article fourteen-d, chapter seven of
this code; and the judges' retirement system created pursuant to
article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code and their
appropriate governing boards. The consolidated public retirement
board may propose for promulgation all rules necessary to
effectuate its powers, duties and responsibilities pursuant to
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code:
Provided,
That the board may adopt any or all of the rules, previously
promulgated, of a retirement system which it administers.
(f) Effective on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, the consolidated public retirement board
shall, within two business days of receipt, transfer all funds
received by the consolidated public retirement board for the
benefit of the retirement systems within the consolidated pension
plan as defined in section three-c, article six-b, chapter forty- four of this code, including, but not limited to, all employer
and employee contributions, to the West Virginia trust fund:
Provided, That the employer and employee contributions of the
teachers' defined contribution system, established in section
three, article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code, and
voluntary deferred compensation funds invested by the West
Virginia consolidated public retirement board pursuant to section
five, article ten-b of this chapter,
shall may not be transferred
to the West Virginia trust fund.
(g) The consolidated public retirement board shall be a
trustee for all public retirement plans, except with regard to
the investment of funds:
Provided, That the consolidated public
retirement board shall be a trustee with regard to the
investments of the teachers' defined contribution system, and
voluntary deferred compensation funds invested pursuant to
section five, article ten-b of this chapter.
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 14D. DEPUTY SHERIFF RETIREMENT ACT.
§7-14D-1. Short title.
This article is known and may be cited as the "West Virginia
Deputy Sheriff Retirement System Act".
§7-14D-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:
(a) "Accrued benefit" means on behalf of any member two and
one-half percent of the member's final average salary multiplied
by the member's years of credited service. A member's accrued
benefit may not exceed the limits of section 415 of the Internal
Revenue Code which provisions are incorporated by reference.
(b) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts
deducted from the compensation of a member, or paid on his or her
behalf pursuant to article ten-c, chapter five of this code,
either pursuant to section seven of this article or section
twenty-nine, article ten, chapter five, of this code as a result
of covered employment together with regular interest thereon.
(c) "Active military duty" means full-time active duty with
any branch of the armed forces of the United States, including
service with the national guard or reserve military forces when
the member has been called to active full-time duty and has
received no compensation during the period of such duty from any
board on other than the armed forces.
(d) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value
computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates
as the consolidated public retirement board may adopt from time
to time.
(e) "Annual compensation" means the wages paid to the member
during covered employment within the meaning of section 3401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code but determined without regard to any
rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based upon
the nature or location of employment or services performed during
the plan year plus amounts excluded under section 414(h)(2) of
the Internal Revenue Code and less reimbursements or other
expense allowances, cash or noncash fringe benefits or both,
deferred compensation and welfare benefits. Annual compensation
for determining benefits during any determination period may not
exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars as adjusted for cost
of living in accordance with section 401(a)(17)(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
(f) "Annual leave service" as follows: A member at the
cessation of his or her covered employment may elect to convert
unused sick or annual leave, or both, to additional service for
purposes of calculating their accrued benefit. Each unused day
shall be treated as 1/130 of a year and shall be expressed as
annual leave service in whole years or fractions thereof, or
both.
(g) "Annuity starting date" means the first day of the first
period for which an amount is received as an annuity by reason of
retirement.
(h) "Base salary" means a member's cash compensation
exclusive of overtime from covered employment during the last
twelve months of employment. Until a member has worked twelve
months, annualized base salary is used as base salary.
(i) "Board" means the consolidated public retirement board created pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(j) "County commission" has the meaning ascribed to it in
section one, article one, chapter seven of this code.
(k) "Covered employment" means either: (1) Employment as a
deputy sheriff and the active performance of the duties required
thereof; or (2) the period of time which active duties are not
performed but disability benefits are received under section
thirteen or fourteen of this article.
(l) "Credited service" means the sum of a member's years of
service, military service, disability service and annual leave
service.
(m) "Deputy sheriff" means an individual employed as a
county law-enforcement deputy sheriff in this state and as
defined by section two, article fourteen, chapter seven of this
code.
(n) "Dependent child" means:
(1) An unmarried person under age eighteen who is either:
(A) A natural child of the member;
(B) A legally adopted child of the member;
(C) A child who at the time of the member's death was living
with the member while the member was an adopting parent during
any period of probation; or
(D) A stepchild of the member residing in the member's
household at the time of the member's death.
(2) Any unmarried child under age twenty-three: (A) Who is
enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university; (B) who was claimed as a dependent by the member for
federal income tax purposes at the time of member's death; and
(C) whose relationship with the member is described in paragraph
(1), subparagraph (A), (B) or (C) of this subsection.
(o) "Dependent parent" means the father or mother of the
member who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal
income tax purposes at the time of the member's death.
(p) "Disability service" means service received by a member,
expressed in whole years, fractions thereof or both, equal to one
half of the whole years, fractions thereof, or both, during which
time a member receives disability benefits under section thirteen
or fourteen of this article.
(q) "Early retirement age" means age forty or over and
completion of twenty years of service.
(r) "Effective date" means the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-seven.
(s) "Final average salary" means the average of the highest
annual compensation received for covered employment by the member
during any five consecutive plan years within the member's last
ten years of service. If the member did not have annual
compensation for the five full plan years preceding the member's
attainment of normal retirement age and during that period the
member received disability benefits under section thirteen or
fourteen of this article then "final average salary" means the
average of the monthly salary deemed paid to the member during
that period as determined under section seventeen of this article multiplied by twelve.
(t) "Fund" means the West Virginia deputy sheriff retirement
fund created pursuant to section six of this article.
(u) "Hour of service" means:
(1) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during which time active duties
are performed. These hours will be credited to the member for
the plan year in which the duties are performed; and
(2) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during a plan year but where no
duties are performed due to vacation, holiday, illness,
incapacity including disability, layoff, jury duty, military
duty, leave of absence, or any combination thereof, and without
regard to whether the employment relationship has terminated.
Hours under this paragraph will be calculated and credited
pursuant to section 2530.200b-2 of the federal department of
labor regulations which are incorporated herein by reference. A
member will not be credited with any hours of service for any
period of time he or she is receiving benefits under section
thirteen or fourteen of this article; and
(3) Each hour for which back pay is either awarded or
agreed to be paid by the employing county commission,
irrespective of mitigation of damages. The same hours of service
will not be credited both under paragraph (1) or (2) of this
subsection, and under this paragraph. Hours under this paragraph
will be credited to the member for the plan year or years to which the award or agreement pertains, rather than the plan year
in which the award, agreement or payment is made.
(v) "Member" means a deputy sheriff first hired as such
after the effective date of this article, as defined in
subsection (r) of this section, or a deputy sheriff first hired
prior to the effective date and who elects to become a member
pursuant to section five of this article. A member shall remain
a member until the benefits to which he or she is entitled under
this article are paid or forfeited.
(w)"Monthly salary" means the portion of a member's annual
compensation which is paid to him or her per month.
(x)"Normal form" means a monthly annuity which is one
twelfth of the amount of the member's accrued benefit which is
payable for the member's life. If the member dies before the sum
of the payments he or she receives equals his or her accumulated
contributions on the annuity starting date, the named beneficiary
shall receive in one lump sum the difference between the
accumulated contributions at the annuity starting date and the
total of the retirement income payments made to the member.
(y) "Normal retirement age" means the first to occur of the
following:
(1) Attainment of age fifty years and the completion of
twenty or more years of service;
(2) While still in covered employment, attainment of at
least age fifty years, and when the sum of current age plus years
of service equals or exceeds seventy years;
(3) While still in covered employment, attainment of at
least age sixty years, and completion of five years of service;
and
(4) Attainment of age sixty-two years and completion of five
or more years of service.
(z) "Partially disabled" means a member's inability to
engage in the duties of deputy sheriff by reason of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected
to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last
for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. A member
may be deemed partially disabled for the purposes of this article
and maintain the ability to engage in other gainful employment
which exists within the state but which ability would not enable
him or her to earn an amount at least equal to two thirds of the
annual compensation earned by all active members of this plan
during the plan year ending as of the most recent thirtieth day
of June, as of which plan data has been assembled and used for
the actuarial valuation of the plan.
(aa) "Public employees retirement system" means the West
Virginia public employee's retirement system created by article
ten, chapter five of this code.
(bb) "Plan" means the West Virginia deputy sheriff death,
disability and retirement plan established by this article.
(cc) "Plan year" means the twelve month period commencing on
the first day of July and ending the following thirtieth day of
June of any designated year.
(dd) "Regular interest" means such rate or rates of interest
per annum, compounded annually, as the board shall from time to
time adopt.
(ee) "Retirement income payments" means the annual
retirement income payments payable under the plan.
(ff) "Spouse" means the person to whom the member is legally
married on the annuity starting date.
(gg) "Surviving spouse" means the person to whom the member
was legally married at the time of the member's death and who
survived the member.
(hh) "Totally disabled" means a member's inability to engage
in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically
determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to
result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for
a continuous period of not less than twelve months.
For purposes of this subsection:
(1) A member is totally disabled only if his or her physical
or mental impairment or impairments is of such severity that he
or she is not only unable to perform his or her previous work as
a deputy sheriff but also cannot, considering his or her age,
education and work experience, engage in any other kind of
substantial gainful employment which exists in the state
regardless of whether: (A) Such work exists in the immediate
area in which the member lives; (B) whether a specific job
vacancy exists; or (C) whether the member would be hired if he or
she applied for work.
(2) "Physical or mental impairment" is an impairment that
results from an anatomical, physiological, or psychological
abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical
and laboratory diagnostic techniques.
A member's receipt of social security disability benefits
creates a rebuttable presumption that the member is totally
disabled for purposes of this plan. Substantial gainful
employment rebuts the presumption of total disability.
(ii) "Year of service". A member shall, except in his or
her first and last years of covered employment, be credited with
year of service credit based upon the hours of service performed
as covered employment and credited to the member during the plan
year based upon the following schedule:
Hours of ServiceYear of Service Credited
Less than 5000
500 to 999 1/3
1,000 to 1,4992/3
1,500 or more1
During a member's first and last years of covered
employment, the member shall be credited with one twelfth of a
year of service for each month during the plan year in which the
member is credited with an hour of service. A member is not
entitled to credit for years of service for any time period
during which he or she received disability payments under
section thirteen or fourteen of this article. Except as
specifically excluded, years of service include covered employment prior to the effective date.
Years of service which are credited to a member prior to his
or her receipt of accumulated contributions upon termination of
employment pursuant to section twelve of this article or section
thirty, article ten, chapter five of this code, shall be
disregarded for all purposes under this plan unless the member
repays the accumulated contributions with interest pursuant to
section twelve of this article or had prior to the effective date
made the repayment pursuant to section eighteen, article ten,
chapter five of this code.
§7-14D-3. Creation and administration of West Virginia deputy
sheriff retirement system.
There is hereby created the West Virginia deputy sheriff
retirement system. The purpose of this system is to provide for
the orderly retirement of deputy sheriffs who become
superannuated because of age or permanent disability and to
provide certain survivor death benefits. The retirement system
constitutes a body corporate. All business of the system shall
be transacted in the name of the West Virginia deputy sheriff
retirement system.
§7-14D-4. Article to be liberally construed; supplements federal
social security.
The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed
so as to provide a general retirement system for deputy sheriffs
eligible to retire under the provisions of this plan. Nothing in
this article may be construed to permit a county to substitute this plan for federal social security now in force in West
Virginia.
The board shall administer the plan in accordance with its
terms and may construe the terms and determine all questions
arising in connection with the administration, interpretation and
application of the plan. The board may sue and be sued, contract
and be contracted with and conduct all the business of the system
in the name of the plan. The board may propose rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, that it deems necessary to
carry out the provisions of the plan. The board may employ such
persons as it deems necessary or desirable to administer the
plan. The board shall administer the plan for the exclusive
benefit of the members and their beneficiaries subject to the
specific provisions of the plan. This plan and the moneys held
in trust hereunder constitute a qualified trust under section 401
of the Internal Revenue Code and shall be administered and
construed as such.
§7-14D-5. Members.
Any deputy sheriff first employed by a county in covered
employment after the effective date of this article shall be a
member of this retirement system and plan and may not qualify for
membership in any other retirement system administered by the
board, so long as he or she remains employed in covered
employment.
Any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the effective date of this article shall within six months of the
effective date notify in writing both the county commission in
the county in which he or she is employed and the board of his or
her desire to become a member of the plan. Any deputy sheriff
who so elects shall cease to be a member or have any credit for
employment in any other retirement system administered by the
board and shall continue to be ineligible so long as the deputy
sheriff remains employed in covered employment. Any deputy
sheriff who does not affirmatively elect to become a member of
the plan shall continue to be eligible for such other retirement
system as is from time to time offered to other county employees
but shall be ineligible for this plan regardless of any
subsequent termination of employment and rehire.
Any deputy sheriff who was employed as a deputy sheriff
prior to the effective date, but not so employed on the effective
date of this article, shall become a member upon rehire as a
deputy sheriff. For purposes of this subsection, the member's
years of service and credited service prior to the effective date
will not be counted for any purposes under this plan unless: (1)
The deputy sheriff has not received the return of his or her
accumulated contributions in the public employees retirement fund
system pursuant to section thirty, article ten, chapter five of
this code; or (2) the accumulated contributions returned to the
member from the public employees retirement system have been
repaid pursuant to section twelve of this article. If the
conditions of subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection are met, all years of the deputy sheriff's covered employment shall be
counted as years of service for the purposes. In connection with
each deputy sheriff receiving credit for prior employment
provided in this subsection, a transfer from public employees
retirement system to this plan shall be made pursuant to the
procedures described in section eight of this article.
Once made, the election made under this section is
irrevocable. All deputy sheriffs first employed after the
effective date and deputy sheriffs electing to become members as
described in this section shall be members as a condition of
employment and shall make the contributions required by section
seven of this article.
§7-14D-6. Creation of fund; investments.
There is hereby created the "West Virginia deputy sheriff
retirement fund" for the benefit of the members of the retirement
system created pursuant to this article and the dependents of any
deceased or retired member of the system.
All moneys paid into and accumulated in the fund, except
such amounts as are designated by the board for payment of
benefits as provided in this article, shall be held in trust and
invested by the state board of investments as provided by law.
§7-14D-7. Members' contributions; employer contributions.
There shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each
member and paid into the fund an amount equal to eight and one- half percent of his or her monthly salary. An additional eleven
and one-half percent of the monthly salary of each member shall be paid to the fund by the county commission of the county in
which the member is employed in covered employment. If the board
finds that the benefits provided by this article can be actually
funded with a lesser contribution, then the board shall reduce
the required member and employer contributions proportionally.
§7-14D-8. Transfer from
public employees retirement system
.
The board of trustees of public employees retirement system
shall within ninety days of the effective date of the transfer of
a deputy from public employees retirement system to the plan
shall, transfer assets from the public employees retirement
system trust fund into the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff trust
fund. The amount of assets to be transferred shall be computed
as of the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- six, using the actuarial valuation assumptions in effect for the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six,
actuarial valuation of public employees retirement system, and
updated with seven and one-half percent annual interest to the
date of the actual asset transfer. Market value of the assets in
public employees retirement system shall be determined as of the
end of the month preceding the actual transfer. The computation
of asset share to be transferred will be determined by the board
as follows:
(a) Compute the market value of the public employees
retirement system assets;
(b) Compute the accrued liability for all public employees
retirement system retirees, beneficiaries, disabled retirees and terminated inactive members;
(c) Reduce the market value of public employees retirement
system assets by the accrued liability determined in subsection
(b) of this section;
(d) Compute the entry age method accrued liability for all
active public employees retirement system members;
(e) Compute the share of accrued liability as determined
pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, that is attributable
to those deputy sheriffs in public employees retirement system
who have elected to transfer to the plan;
(f) Compute the percentage of active's accrued liability
computed to the deputy sheriffs by dividing subsection (e) by
subsection (d) of this section;
(g) Determine the asset share to be transferred from
public
employees retirement system
to the plan by multiplying subsection
(c) times subsection(f) of this section.
§7-14D-9. Retirement; commencement of benefits.
A member may retire and commence to receive retirement
income payments upon attaining early or normal retirement age by
filing with the board his or her voluntary petition in writing
for retirement: Provided, That retirement income payments shall
commence no later than the first day of April following the
member's seventy and one-half year birthday or the cessation of
covered employment, whichever later occurs. Upon receipt of the
petition, The board shall promptly provide the member with an
explanation of his or her optional forms of retirement benefits and upon receipt of properly executed forms from the member, The
board shall process member's request for and commence payments as
soon as administratively feasible.
§7-14D-10. Retirement benefits.
(a) Normal retirement. -- A member who ceases covered
employment, has attained normal retirement age, and whose annuity
starting date is within forty-five days of the later of the two,
shall receive retirement income payments equal to his or her
accrued benefit in the normal form or retirement income payments
in an optional form as provided under section eleven of this
article which is the actuarial equivalent of his or her accrued
benefit in the normal form.
(b) Early retirement. -- A member who ceases covered
employment and has attained early retirement age while in covered
employment may elect to receive retirement income payments
commencing prior to his or her normal retirement age which is the
actuarial equivalent of the member's accrued benefit which would
have been payable at the member's normal retirement age based
upon his or her final average salary and years of credited
service determined at the cessation of his or her covered
employment. Payments will be in the normal form or in an
optional form as allowed in section eleven of this article which
is the actuarial equivalent of the normal form as reduced for
early commencement of benefits.
(c) Late retirement. -- A member whose annuity starting date
is more than forty-five days after the later of his or her attainment of normal retirement age or the cessation of his or
her covered employment shall receive retirement income payments
equal to the accrued benefit in the normal form which is the
actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which he or she would be
entitled had the retirement income payments commenced within
forty-five days of the later of his or her attainment of normal
retirement age or cessation of covered employment.
(d) Retirement benefits shall be paid monthly in an amount
equal to one twelfth of the retirement income payments elected
and at such times as established by the board. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the plan, a member who is married on the
annuity starting date will receive his or her retirement income
payments in the form of a sixty-six and two-thirds percent joint
and survivor annuity with his or her spouse unless prior to the
annuity starting date the spouse waives the form of benefit.
§7-14D-11. Annuity options.
Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not
thereafter, a member may elect to receive retirement income
payments in the normal form, or the actuarial equivalent of the
normal form from the following options:
(a) Option A - Joint and Survivor Annuity. A life annuity
payable during the joint lifetime of the member and his or her
beneficiary who is a natural person with an insurable interest in
the member's life. Upon the death of either the member of his or
her beneficiary, the benefit shall continue as a life annuity to
the survivor in an amount equal to fifty percent, sixty-six and two-thirds percent, seventy-five percent or one hundred percent
of the amount paid while both were living as selected by the
member.
If the retiring member is married, the spouse must sign
a waiver of benefit rights if the beneficiary is to be other than
the spouse.
(b) Option B - Contingent Joint and Survivor Annuity. A
life annuity payable during the joint lifetime of the member and
his or her beneficiary who must be a natural person with an
insurable interest in the member's life. Upon the death of the
member, the benefit shall continue as a life annuity to the
beneficiary in an amount equal to fifty percent, sixty-six and
two-thirds percent, seventy-five percent or one hundred percent
of the amount paid while both were living as selected by the
member. If the beneficiary dies first, the monthly amount of
benefits shall be reduced.
If the retiring member is married,
the spouse must sign a waiver of benefit rights if the
beneficiary is to be other than the spouse.
(c) Option C - Ten Years Certain and Life Annuity. A life
annuity payable during the member's lifetime but in any event for
a minimum of ten years. If the member dies before the expiration
of ten years, the remaining payments will be made to a designated
beneficiary, if any, or otherwise to the member's estate.
(d) Option D - Level Income Annuity. A life annuity payable
monthly in an increased amount "A" from the time of retirement
until the member is social security retirement age, and then a
lesser amount "B" payable for the member's lifetime thereafter, with these amounts computed actuarially to satisfy the following
two conditions:
(1) Actuarial equivalence. The actuarial present value at
the date of retirement of the member's annuity if taken in the
normal form must equal the actuarial present value of the term
life annuity in amount "A" plus the actual present value of the
deferred life annuity in amount "B".
(2) Level income. The amount "A" equals the amount "B" plus
the amount of the member's estimated monthly social security
primary insurance amount that would commence at the date amount
"B" becomes payable. For this calculation, the Primary insurance
amount is estimated when the member applies for retirement, using
social security law then in effect, using assumptions established
by the board.
(e) Option E - Level Income Joint and Survivor Annuity. An
annuity structured under the same methodology as in subsection
(d) of this section, with the term annuity amount "A" payable
until the member's social security retirement age and the amount
"B" payable as a fifty percent, sixty-six and two-thirds percent,
seventy-five percent or one hundred percent joint and survivor
annuity upon the member's attaining social security retirement
age with the members selecting the applicable percentage rate,
if the retiring member is married, the spouse must sign a waiver
of benefit rights if the beneficiary is to be other than the
spouse.
(f) Option F - Increasing Annuity. A life annuity payable in any of the forms described in this section, and subject to the
corresponding conditions, with the amount of monthly payment
increasing at one and one-half percent, two percent or two and
one-half percent compounded annually throughout the life of the
annuity. Annuities taken in this form will be adjusted the
first day of April of each year following the member's annuity
starting date with a prorated increase given on the first day of
April to retirees who have not yet been retired a full year on
that date.
In the case of a member who has elected the options set
forth in subsections (b) and (e) of this section, respectively,
and whose beneficiary dies prior to the member's death, the
member may name an alternative beneficiary. If an alternative
beneficiary is named within eighteen months following the death
of the prior beneficiary, the benefit will be adjusted to be the
actuarial equivalent of the member's normal form of benefit. If
the election is not made until eighteen months after the death of
the prior beneficiary, the amount will be reduced so that it is
only ninety percent of the actuarial equivalent of the member's
normal form of benefit.
§7-14D-12. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or
resignation; deferred retirement.
(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not
eligible to receive disability benefits under this article shall,
by written request filed with the board, be entitled to receive
from the fund the member's accumulated contributions. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal the
member shall forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be
a member.
(b) Any member who withdraws accumulated contributions from
either this plan or public employees retirement system and
thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment shall not
receive any credited service for the prior employment unless
following his or her reenlistment, the member redeposits in the
fund the amount of the accumulated contributions, together with
interest thereon at the rate of seven and one-half percent per
annum from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon
repayment he or she shall receive the same credit on account of
his or her former service as if no refund had been made. The
repayment must be made in a lump sun within sixty months of the
deputy sheriff's reemployment sum or if later, within sixty
months of the effective date of this article.
(c) Every member who completes sixty months of covered
employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to
either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in
accordance with subsection (a) of this section, or to choose not
to withdraw his or her accumulated contribution and to receive
retirement income payments upon attaining early or normal
retirement age.
§7-14D-13. Awards and benefits for disability -- Duty related.
Any member who after the effective date and during covered
employment: (A) Has been or becomes either totally or partially disabled by injury, illness or disease; (B) the disability is a
result of an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar
to the services required of members; (C) the disability was
incurred while performing law enforcement functions during either
scheduled work hours or at any other time; and (D) in the opinion
of the board, the member is by reason of the disability unable to
perform adequately the duties required of a deputy sheriff, is
entitled to receive and will be paid from the fund in monthly
installments during the lifetime of the member, or if sooner
until the member attains normal retirement age or until the
disability sooner terminates, either subsection (a) or (b) of
this section.
(a) If the member is totally disabled, ninety percent of the
member's average monthly compensation, as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article, for the twelve month period
preceding the member's disability, or the shorter period if the
member has not worked twelve months.
(b) If the member is partially disabled, forty-five percent
of the member's average monthly compensation, as adjusted
pursuant to section seventeen of this article, for the
twelve-month period preceding the member's disability, or the
shorter period if the member has not worked twelve months.
If the member remains disabled until attaining normal
retirement age, the member shall then receive the retirement
benefit provided for in sections ten and eleven of this article.
§7-14D-14. Same -- Due to other causes.
(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article
and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally
or partially disabled from any cause other than those set forth
in section thirteen of this article and not due to vicious
habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part;
and (2) in the opinion of the board, he or she is by reason of
the disability unable to perform adequately the duties required
of a deputy sheriff, is entitled to receive and will be paid from
the fund in monthly installments during the lifetime of the
member, or if sooner until the member attains normal retirement
age or until the disability sooner terminates, either (b) or (c)
of this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, eighty percent of his
or her average monthly compensation, as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article, for the twelve-month period
preceding the disability, or the shorter period, if the member
has not worked twelve months.
(c) If the member is partially disabled, forty percent of
his or her average monthly compensation, as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article, for the twelve-month period
preceding the disability, or the shorter period, if the member
has not worked twelve months.
(d) If the member remains disabled until attaining normal
retirement age, then the member shall receive the retirement
benefit provided for in sections ten and eleven of this article.
§7-14D-15.Same -- Physical examinations; termination of disability.
(a) The board may require any member who has applied for
or is receiving disability benefits under this article to submit
to a physical examination, mental examination or both, by a
physician or physicians selected or approved by the board and may
cause all costs incident to the examination and approved by the
Board to be paid from the fund. The costs may include hospital,
laboratory, X ray, medical and physicians' fees. A report of the
findings of any such physician shall be submitted in writing to
the board for its consideration. If, from the report,
independent information, or from the report and any hearing
thereon, the board is of the opinion and finds that: (1) The
member has become reemployed as a law-enforcement officer; (2)
two physicians who have examined the member have found that
considering the opportunities for law enforcement in West
Virginia, the member could be so employed; or (3) other facts
exist to demonstrate that the member is no longer totally
disabled or partially disabled as the case may be, then the
disability benefits shall cease. If the member was totally
disabled and is found to have recovered, the board shall
determine whether the member continues to be partially disabled.
If the board finds that the member is no longer totally disabled
but is partially disabled, then the member shall continue to
receive partial disability benefits in accordance with this
article. Benefits shall cease once the member has been found to
be no longer either totally or partially disabled.
§7-14D-16. Prior disability.
Any deputy sheriff who became totally disabled prior to the
effective date of this article may be a member of the plan at his
or her election and shall be entitled to disability, death and
retirement benefits under this article in lieu of any other
disability, death or retirement benefits provided by the state or
his or her county of employment: Provided, That the deputy would
have been eligible for disability under section thirteen of this
article had that section been effective at the time of the
disability. The amounts of the benefits shall be determined as
if the disability first commenced after the effective date of
this article with monthly compensation equal to that average
monthly compensation which the member was receiving in the plan
year prior to the initial disability as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article.
§7-14D-17. Disability -- Benefit adjustment factor.
(a)For each member who is receiving disability payments
under this article, the board shall annually adjust the monthly
compensation upon which the disability payments are based. The
annual determination date shall be established by the board and
the amount of the adjustment shall be the amount calculated under
subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The amount of the adjustment shall be the lesser of tTwo
percent or the percentage increase in the urban consumer price
index between: (1) The month that precedes the month of
determination date by two months; and (2) the month one year previous to that month (or else the month containing the month of
disablement, if less than one year has passed as of the
determination date).
(c) The annual redetermination of monthly compensation will
affect disability benefits paid to the member during the twelve
months beginning with the first month that follows the
determination date by at least one month, or if shorter, when the
disability payments terminate.
§7-14D-18. Awards and benefits to surviving spouse -- When
member dies in performance of duty, etc.
(a) The surviving spouse of any member who, after the
effective date while in covered employment, has died or dies, 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 or is engaged
in the performance of his or her duties as a deputy sheriff, or
the survivor spouse of a member who dies from any cause while
receiving benefits pursuant to section thirteen of this article,
is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund benefits
as determined in subsection (b) of this section: To the
surviving spouse annually, in equal monthly installments during
his or her lifetime an amount equal to the greater of: (i) Two
thirds of the base salary received in the preceding twelve-month
period by the deceased member; or (ii) if the member dies after
his or her early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount
which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint
and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and
then died. Where the member is receiving disability benefits
under section thirteen of this article at the time of his or her
death, the most recent monthly compensation determined under
section seventeen of this article shall be substituted for base
salary in (i) of this section.
Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section,
section twenty and section twenty-one of this article shall be in
lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the
spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other
state retirement system based upon the member's covered
employment.
§7-14D-19. Same -- When member dies from nonservice-connected
causes.
In any case where a member, while in covered employment
after the effective date, has died or dies from any cause other
than those specified in section eighteen of this article and not
due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his
or her part, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly
installments to the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime,
a sum equal to the greater of: (i) One half of the base salary
received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the
deceased member; or (ii) if the member dies after his or her
early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount which the
spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and
survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then
died. Where the member is receiving disability benefits under
section fourteen of this article at the time of his or her death,
the most recent monthly compensation determined under section
seventeen of this article shall be substituted for base salary in
(i) of this section.
Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section,
section twenty and section twenty-one of this article shall be in
lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the
spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other
state retirement system based upon the member's covered
employment.
§7-14D-20. Additional death benefits and scholarships --
Dependent children.
In addition to the spouse death benefits in sections eighteen
and nineteen of this article, the surviving spouse shall be
entitled to receive and there shall be paid to the spouse one
hundred dollars monthly for each dependent child.
If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving
spouse, the fund shall pay monthly to each dependent child a sum
equal to one fourth of the surviving spouse's entitlement under
either section eighteen or nineteen of this article. If there is
neither a surviving spouse nor a dependent child, the fund shall
pay in equal monthly installments 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 only 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 dependent child under this, 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 ten thousand dollars per year, 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 such
rules as the board may provide, 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.
§17-14D-21. Burial benefit.
Any member who dies while in covered employment after the
effective date is entitled to a lump sum burial benefit of ten
thousand dollars. If the member is married, the burial benefit will be paid to the member's spouse. If the member is not
married, the burial benefit will be paid to the member's estate
for the purposes of paying burial expenses, settling the member's
final affairs, or both. Any unspent balance will be distributed
as a part of the member's estate. If the member is not entitled
to a death benefit under sections nineteen and twenty of this
article, then if greater, the amount payable to the member's
estate shall be his or her accumulated contributions.
§7-14D-22. Double death benefits prohibited.
A surviving spouse is not entitled to receive simultaneous
death benefits under this article as a result of the death of two
or more members to whom the spouse was married. Any spouse who
becomes eligible for a subsequent death benefit under this
article while receiving a death benefit under this article shall
receive the higher benefit, but not both.
§7-14D-23. Loans to members.
A member who is not yet receiving disability or retirement
income benefits from the plan may borrow from the plan an amount
up to one half of his or her accumulated contributions, but not
less than five hundred dollars nor more than eight thousand
dollars. No loan may be made from the plan if the board
determines that such loans constitute more than fifteen percent
of the amortized cost value of the assets of the plan as of the
last day of the preceding plan year. The board may discontinue
such loans any time it determines that cash flow problems might
develop as a result of the loans. Each loan shall be repaid through monthly installments over periods of six through sixty
months and carry interest on the unpaid balance and an annual
effective interest rate that is two hundred basis points higher
than the most recent rate of interest used by the board for
determining actuarial contributions levels. Monthly loan
payments shall be calculated to be as nearly equal as possible
with all but the final payment being an equal amount. An
eligible member may make additional loan payments or pay off the
entire loan balance at any time without incurring any interest
penalty. At the member's option, the monthly loan payment may
include a level premium sufficient to provide declining term
insurance with the plan as beneficiary to repay the loan in full
upon the member's death. If a member declines such insurance and
dies before the loan is repaid, the unpaid balance of the loan
will be deducted from the lump sum insurance benefit payable
under section twenty-one of this article.
A member with an unpaid loan balance who wishes to retire may
have the loan repaid in full by accepting retirement income
payments reduced by deducting from the actuarial reserve for the
accrued benefit the amount of the unpaid balance and then
converting the remaining of the reserve to a monthly pension
payable in the form of the annuity desired by the member.
§7-14D-24. Service as sheriff.
Any member who after the effective date is elected sheriff of
a county in West Virginia may elect to continue as a member in
this plan by paying the amounts required by section seven of this article. Upon such election, service as a sheriff shall be
treated as covered employment and the sheriff is not entitled to
any credit for such service under any other retirement system of
the state.
§7-14D-25. Exemption from taxation, garnishment and other
process.
The moneys in the fund and the right of a member, spouse or
other beneficiary to benefits under this article, to the return
of contributions, or to any retirement, death or disability
payments under the provisions of this article, are hereby exempt
from any state or municipal tax; are not subject to execution,
garnishment, attachment or any other process whatsoever; and are
unassignable except as is provided in this article.
§7-14D-26. Fraud; penalties; and repayment.
Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or who
falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the retirement
system in any attempt to defraud that system is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not
to exceed one thousand dollars, by confinement in the county or
regional jail not to exceed one year, or by both a fine and
confinement. Any increased benefit received by any person as a
result of the above shall be returned to the fund upon demand by
the board.
§7-14D-27. Credit toward retirement for member's prior military
service; credit toward retirement when member has joined armed forces in time of armed conflict.
(a) Any member who has previously served on active military
duty is entitled to receive additional years of service for the
purpose of determining his or her years of credited service for
a period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five
years, subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the
armed forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate
documentation or evidence his or her period of active military
duty; and
(3) That he or she is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system for his or her active military duty.
(b) In addition, any member who while in covered employment
was commissioned, enlisted or inducted into the armed forces of
the United States or, being a member of the reserve officers'
corps, was called to active duty in the armed forces between the
first day of September, one thousand nine hundred forty, and the
close of hostilities in World War II, or between the twenty- seventh day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and the
close of the armed conflict in Korea on the twenty-seventh day of
July, one thousand nine hundred fifty-three, between the first
day of August, one thousand nine hundred sixty-four and the close
of the armed conflict in Vietnam, or during any other period of
armed conflict by the United States whether sanctioned by a
declaration of war by the Congress or by executive or other order
of the president, is entitled to and shall receive credited service, for a period equal to the full time that he or she has
or, pursuant to that commission, enlistment, induction or call,
shall have served with the armed forces subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the
armed forces;
(2) That within ninety days after honorable discharge from
the armed forces, he or she presented himself or herself to the
county commission and offered to resume service as a deputy
sheriff; and
(3) That he or she has made no voluntary act, whether by
reenlistment, waiver of discharge, acceptance of commission or
otherwise, to extend or participate in extension of the period of
service with the armed forces beyond the period of service for
which he or she was originally commissioned, enlisted, inducted
or called.
(c) The total amount of service allowable under subsections
(a) and (b) of this section may not exceed five years.
fiFINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page two, following the enacting clause, by striking out
enacting
clause and
the remainder of the bill inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
"That section one, article ten-d, chapter five of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that chapter seven of said code be
amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article fourteen-d, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD
OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,
OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 10D. CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD.
§5-10D-1. Consolidated public retirement board created; transition; members; vacancies.
(a) There is hereby
created continued a consolidated public
retirement board to administer all public retirement plans in
this state. It shall administer the public employees retirement
system established in article ten of this chapter; the teachers
retirement system established in article seven-a, chapter
eighteen of this code; the teachers' defined contribution
retirement system created by article seven-b, chapter eighteen of
this code; the death, disability and retirement fund of the
department of public safety created by article two, chapter
fifteen of this code;
the death, disability and retirement fund
for deputy sheriffs created by article fourteen-d, chapter seven
of this code; and the judges' retirement system created under
article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code.
(b) The consolidated public retirement board shall begin
administration of the systems listed in subsection (a) of this
section on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one:
Provided, That the board shall begin administration
of:
(1) The teachers' defined contribution retirement system established in article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code on
the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one;
and (2) the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy
sheriffs established in article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this
code on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- seven. Prior to that date the existing entities which administer
the system shall cooperate with the board in the orderly
transition of all duties, responsibilities, records and other
materials in their possession.
(c) The membership of the consolidated public retirement
board consists of:
(1) The governor or his or her designee;
(2) The state treasurer or his or her designee;
(3) The state auditor or his or her designee;
(4) The secretary of the department of administration or his
or her designee;
(5) Four residents of the state, who are not members,
retirants or beneficiaries of any of the public retirement
systems, to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and
consent of the Senate; and
(6) A member, annuitant or retirant of the public employees
retirement system who is or was a state employee; a member,
annuitant or retirant of the public employees retirement system
who is not or was not a state employee; a member, annuitant or
retirant of the teachers retirement system; a member, annuitant
or retirant of the department of public safety death, disability and retirement fund;
a member, annuitant or retirant of the
deputy sheriff's death, disability and retirement fund; and a
member, annuitant or retirant of the teachers' defined
contribution retirement system, all to be appointed by the
governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(d) The appointed members of the board shall serve five-year
terms.
Of the members initially appointed, three shall be
appointed for two-year terms; three shall be appointed for three- year terms; and three shall be appointed for five-year terms.
Thereafter, all members shall serve full five-year terms. A
member appointed pursuant to subdivision (5), subsection (c) of
this section ceases to be a member of the board if he or she
ceases to be a member of the represented system. If a vacancy
occurs in the appointed membership, the governor, within sixty
days, shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired
term. No more than five appointees shall be of the same
political party.
(e) The consolidated public retirement board shall have all
the powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the
public employees retirement system established pursuant to
article ten, of this chapter; the teachers retirement system
established pursuant to article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this
code; the teachers' defined contribution system established
pursuant to article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code; the
death, disability and retirement fund of the department of public
safety created pursuant to article two, chapter fifteen of this code;
the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy
sheriffs created pursuant to article fourteen-d, chapter seven of
this code; and the judges' retirement system created pursuant to
article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code and their
appropriate governing boards. The consolidated public retirement
board may propose for promulgation all rules necessary to
effectuate its powers, duties and responsibilities pursuant to
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code:
Provided,
That the board may adopt any or all of the rules, previously
promulgated, of a retirement system which it administers.
(f) Effective on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six, the consolidated public retirement board
shall, within two business days of receipt, transfer all funds
received by the consolidated public retirement board for the
benefit of the retirement systems within the consolidated pension
plan as defined in section three-c, article six-b, chapter forty- four of this code, including, but not limited to, all employer
and employee contributions, to the West Virginia trust fund:
Provided, That the employer and employee contributions of the
teachers' defined contribution system, established in section
three, article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code, and
voluntary deferred compensation funds invested by the West
Virginia consolidated public retirement board pursuant to section
five, article ten-b of this chapter,
shall may not be transferred
to the West Virginia trust fund.
(g) The consolidated public retirement board shall be a trustee for all public retirement plans, except with regard to
the investment of funds:
Provided, That the consolidated public
retirement board shall be a trustee with regard to the
investments of the teachers' defined contribution system, and
voluntary deferred compensation funds invested pursuant to
section five, article ten-b of this chapter.
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 14D. DEPUTY SHERIFF RETIREMENT ACT.
§7-14D-1. Short title.
This article is known and may be cited as the "West Virginia
Deputy Sheriff Retirement System Act".
§7-14D-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:
(a) "Accrued benefit" means on behalf of any member two and
one-half percent of the member's final average salary multiplied
by the member's years of credited service. A member's accrued
benefit may not exceed the limits of section 415 of the Internal
Revenue Code which provisions are incorporated by reference.
(b) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts
deducted from the compensation of a member, or paid on his or her
behalf pursuant to article ten-c, chapter five of this code,
either pursuant to section seven of this article or section
twenty-nine, article ten, chapter five, of this code as a result
of covered employment together with regular interest thereon.
(c) "Active military duty" means full-time active duty with any branch of the armed forces of the United States, including
service with the national guard or reserve military forces when
the member has been called to active full-time duty and has
received no compensation during the period of such duty from any
board on other than the armed forces.
(d) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value
computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates
as the consolidated public retirement board may adopt from time
to time.
(e) "Annual compensation" means the wages paid to the member
during covered employment within the meaning of section 3401(a)
of the Internal Revenue Code but determined without regard to any
rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based upon
the nature or location of employment or services performed during
the plan year plus amounts excluded under section 414(h)(2) of
the Internal Revenue Code and less reimbursements or other
expense allowances, cash or noncash fringe benefits or both,
deferred compensation and welfare benefits. Annual compensation
for determining benefits during any determination period may not
exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars as adjusted for cost
of living in accordance with section 401(a)(17)(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
(f) "Annual leave service" as follows: A member at the
cessation of his or her covered employment may elect to convert
unused sick or annual leave, or both, to additional service for
purposes of calculating their accrued benefit. Each unused day shall be treated as 1/130 of a year and shall be expressed as
annual leave service in whole years or fractions thereof, or
both.
(g) "Annuity starting date" means the first day of the first
period for which an amount is received as an annuity by reason of
retirement.
(h) "Base salary" means a member's cash compensation
exclusive of overtime from covered employment during the last
twelve months of employment. Until a member has worked twelve
months, annualized base salary is used as base salary.
(i) "Board" means the consolidated public retirement board
created pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(j) "County commission" has the meaning ascribed to it in
section one, article one, chapter seven of this code.
(k) "Covered employment" means either: (1) Employment as a
deputy sheriff and the active performance of the duties required
thereof; or (2) the period of time which active duties are not
performed but disability benefits are received under section
thirteen or fourteen of this article.
(l) "Credited service" means the sum of a member's years of
service, military service, disability service and annual leave
service.
(m) "Deputy sheriff" means an individual employed as a
county law-enforcement deputy sheriff in this state and as
defined by section two, article fourteen, chapter seven of this
code.
(n) "Dependent child" means:
(1) An unmarried person under age eighteen who is either:
(A) A natural child of the member;
(B) A legally adopted child of the member;
(C) A child who at the time of the member's death was living
with the member while the member was an adopting parent during
any period of probation; or
(D) A stepchild of the member residing in the member's
household at the time of the member's death.
(2) Any unmarried child under age twenty-three: (A) Who is
enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or
university; (B) who was claimed as a dependent by the member for
federal income tax purposes at the time of member's death; and
(C) whose relationship with the member is described in paragraph
(1), subparagraph (A), (B) or (C) of this subsection.
(o) "Dependent parent" means the father or mother of the
member who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal
income tax purposes at the time of the member's death.
(p) "Disability service" means service received by a member,
expressed in whole years, fractions thereof or both, equal to one
half of the whole years, fractions thereof, or both, during which
time a member receives disability benefits under section thirteen
or fourteen of this article.
(q) "Early retirement age" means age forty or over and
completion of twenty years of service.
(r) "Effective date" means the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven.
(s) "Final average salary" means the average of the highest
annual compensation received for covered employment by the member
during any five consecutive plan years within the member's last
ten years of service. If the member did not have annual
compensation for the five full plan years preceding the member's
attainment of normal retirement age and during that period the
member received disability benefits under section thirteen or
fourteen of this article then "final average salary" means the
average of the monthly salary deemed paid to the member during
that period as determined under section seventeen of this article
multiplied by twelve.
(t) "Fund" means the West Virginia deputy sheriff retirement
fund created pursuant to section six of this article.
(u) "Hour of service" means:
(1) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during which time active duties
are performed. These hours will be credited to the member for
the plan year in which the duties are performed; and
(2) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to
payment for covered employment during a plan year but where no
duties are performed due to vacation, holiday, illness,
incapacity including disability, layoff, jury duty, military
duty, leave of absence, or any combination thereof, and without
regard to whether the employment relationship has terminated.
Hours under this paragraph will be calculated and credited pursuant to section 2530.200b-2 of the federal department of
labor regulations which are incorporated herein by reference. A
member will not be credited with any hours of service for any
period of time he or she is receiving benefits under section
thirteen or fourteen of this article; and
(3) Each hour for which back pay is either awarded or
agreed to be paid by the employing county commission,
irrespective of mitigation of damages. The same hours of service
will not be credited both under paragraph (1) or (2) of this
subsection, and under this paragraph. Hours under this paragraph
will be credited to the member for the plan year or years to
which the award or agreement pertains, rather than the plan year
in which the award, agreement or payment is made.
(v) "Member" means a deputy sheriff first hired as such
after the effective date of this article, as defined in
subsection (r) of this section, or a deputy sheriff first hired
prior to the effective date and who elects to become a member
pursuant to section five of this article. A member shall remain
a member until the benefits to which he or she is entitled under
this article are paid or forfeited.
(w)"Monthly salary" means the portion of a member's annual
compensation which is paid to him or her per month.
(x)"Normal form" means a monthly annuity which is one
twelfth of the amount of the member's accrued benefit which is
payable for the member's life. If the member dies before the sum
of the payments he or she receives equals his or her accumulated contributions on the annuity starting date, the named beneficiary
shall receive in one lump sum the difference between the
accumulated contributions at the annuity starting date and the
total of the retirement income payments made to the member.
(y) "Normal retirement age" means the first to occur of the
following:
(1) Attainment of age fifty years and the completion of
twenty or more years of service;
(2) While still in covered employment, attainment of at
least age fifty years, and when the sum of current age plus years
of service equals or exceeds seventy years;
(3) While still in covered employment, attainment of at
least age sixty years, and completion of five years of service;
and
(4) Attainment of age sixty-two years and completion of five
or more years of service.
(z) "Partially disabled" means a member's inability to
engage in the duties of deputy sheriff by reason of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected
to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last
for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. A member
may be deemed partially disabled for the purposes of this article
and maintain the ability to engage in other gainful employment
which exists within the state but which ability would not enable
him or her to earn an amount at least equal to two thirds of the
annual compensation earned by all active members of this plan during the plan year ending as of the most recent thirtieth day
of June, as of which plan data has been assembled and used for
the actuarial valuation of the plan.
(aa) "Public employees retirement system" means the West
Virginia public employee's retirement system created by article
ten, chapter five of this code.
(bb) "Plan" means the West Virginia deputy sheriff death,
disability and retirement plan established by this article.
(cc) "Plan year" means the twelve month period commencing on
the first day of July and ending the following thirtieth day of
June of any designated year.
(dd) "Regular interest" means such rate or rates of interest
per annum, compounded annually, as the board shall from time to
time adopt.
(ee) "Retirement income payments" means the annual
retirement income payments payable under the plan.
(ff) "Spouse" means the person to whom the member is legally
married on the annuity starting date.
(gg) "Surviving spouse" means the person to whom the member
was legally married at the time of the member's death and who
survived the member.
(hh) "Totally disabled" means a member's inability to engage
in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically
determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to
result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for
a continuous period of not less than twelve months.
For purposes of this subsection:
(1) A member is totally disabled only if his or her physical
or mental impairment or impairments is of such severity that he
or she is not only unable to perform his or her previous work as
a deputy sheriff but also cannot, considering his or her age,
education and work experience, engage in any other kind of
substantial gainful employment which exists in the state
regardless of whether: (A) Such work exists in the immediate
area in which the member lives; (B) whether a specific job
vacancy exists; or (C) whether the member would be hired if he or
she applied for work.
(2) "Physical or mental impairment" is an impairment that
results from an anatomical, physiological, or psychological
abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical
and laboratory diagnostic techniques.
A member's receipt of social security disability benefits
creates a rebuttable presumption that the member is totally
disabled for purposes of this plan. Substantial gainful
employment rebuts the presumption of total disability.
(ii) "Year of service". A member shall, except in his or
her first and last years of covered employment, be credited with
year of service credit based upon the hours of service performed
as covered employment and credited to the member during the plan
year based upon the following schedule:
Hours of ServiceYear of Service Credited
Less than 5000
500 to 999 1/3
1,000 to 1,4992/3
1,500 or more1
During a member's first and last years of covered
employment, the member shall be credited with one twelfth of a
year of service for each month during the plan year in which the
member is credited with an hour of service. A member is not
entitled to credit for years of service for any time period
during which he or she received disability payments under
section thirteen or fourteen of this article. Except as
specifically excluded, years of service include covered
employment prior to the effective date.
Years of service which are credited to a member prior to his
or her receipt of accumulated contributions upon termination of
employment pursuant to section twelve of this article or section
thirty, article ten, chapter five of this code, shall be
disregarded for all purposes under this plan unless the member
repays the accumulated contributions with interest pursuant to
section twelve of this article or had prior to the effective date
made the repayment pursuant to section eighteen, article ten,
chapter five of this code.
§7-14D-3. Creation and administration of West Virginia deputy
sheriff retirement system.
There is hereby created the West Virginia deputy sheriff
retirement system. The purpose of this system is to provide for
the orderly retirement of deputy sheriffs who become superannuated because of age or permanent disability and to
provide certain survivor death benefits. The retirement system
constitutes a body corporate. All business of the system shall
be transacted in the name of the West Virginia deputy sheriff
retirement system.
§7-14D-4. Article to be liberally construed; supplements federal
social security.
The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed
so as to provide a general retirement system for deputy sheriffs
eligible to retire under the provisions of this plan. Nothing in
this article may be construed to permit a county to substitute
this plan for federal social security now in force in West
Virginia.
The board shall administer the plan in accordance with its
terms and may construe the terms and determine all questions
arising in connection with the administration, interpretation and
application of the plan. The board may sue and be sued, contract
and be contracted with and conduct all the business of the system
in the name of the plan. The board may propose rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, that it deems necessary to
carry out the provisions of the plan. The board may employ such
persons as it deems necessary or desirable to administer the
plan. The board shall administer the plan for the exclusive
benefit of the members and their beneficiaries subject to the
specific provisions of the plan. This plan and the moneys held in trust hereunder constitute a qualified trust under section 401
of the Internal Revenue Code and shall be administered and
construed as such.
§7-14D-5. Members.
Any deputy sheriff first employed by a county in covered
employment after the effective date of this article shall be a
member of this retirement system and plan and may not qualify for
membership in any other retirement system administered by the
board, so long as he or she remains employed in covered
employment.
Any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the
effective date of this article shall within six months of the
effective date notify in writing both the county commission in
the county in which he or she is employed and the board of his or
her desire to become a member of the plan. Any deputy sheriff
who so elects shall cease to be a member or have any credit for
employment in any other retirement system administered by the
board and shall continue to be ineligible so long as the deputy
sheriff remains employed in covered employment. Any deputy
sheriff who does not affirmatively elect to become a member of
the plan shall continue to be eligible for such other retirement
system as is from time to time offered to other county employees
but shall be ineligible for this plan regardless of any
subsequent termination of employment and rehire.
Any deputy sheriff who was employed as a deputy sheriff
prior to the effective date, but not so employed on the effective date of this article, shall become a member upon rehire as a
deputy sheriff. For purposes of this subsection, the member's
years of service and credited service prior to the effective date
will not be counted for any purposes under this plan unless: (1)
The deputy sheriff has not received the return of his or her
accumulated contributions in the public employees retirement fund
system pursuant to section thirty, article ten, chapter five of
this code; or (2) the accumulated contributions returned to the
member from the public employees retirement system have been
repaid pursuant to section twelve of this article. If the
conditions of subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection are met,
all years of the deputy sheriff's covered employment shall be
counted as years of service for the purposes. In connection with
each deputy sheriff receiving credit for prior employment
provided in this subsection, a transfer from public employees
retirement system to this plan shall be made pursuant to the
procedures described in section eight of this article.
Once made, the election made under this section is
irrevocable. All deputy sheriffs first employed after the
effective date and deputy sheriffs electing to become members as
described in this section shall be members as a condition of
employment and shall make the contributions required by section
seven of this article.
§7-14D-6. Creation of fund; investments.
There is hereby created the "West Virginia deputy sheriff
retirement fund" for the benefit of the members of the retirement system created pursuant to this article and the dependents of any
deceased or retired member of the system.
All moneys paid into and accumulated in the fund, except
such amounts as are designated by the board for payment of
benefits as provided in this article, shall be held in trust and
invested as provided by law by the West Virginia trust fund,
established pursuant to article six-b, chapter forty-four of this
code.
§7-14D-7. Members' contributions; employer contributions.
There shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each
member and paid into the fund an amount equal to eight and one- half percent of his or her monthly salary. An additional eleven
and one-half percent of the monthly salary of each member shall
be paid to the fund by the county commission of the county in
which the member is employed in covered employment. If the board
finds that the benefits provided by this article can be actually
funded with a lesser contribution, then the board shall reduce
the required member and employer contributions proportionally.
§7-14D-8. Transfer from public employees retirement system.
The board of trustees of public employees retirement system
shall within ninety days of the effective date of the transfer of
a deputy from public employees retirement system to the plan
shall, transfer assets from the public employees retirement
system trust fund into the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff trust
fund. The amount of assets to be transferred shall be computed
as of the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, using the actuarial valuation assumptions in effect for the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six,
actuarial valuation of public employees retirement system, and
updated with seven and one-half percent annual interest to the
date of the actual asset transfer. Market value of the assets in
public employees retirement system shall be determined as of the
end of the month preceding the actual transfer. The computation
of asset share to be transferred will be determined by the board
as follows:
(a) Compute the market value of the public employees
retirement system assets;
(b) Compute the accrued liability for all public employees
retirement system retirees, beneficiaries, disabled retirees and
terminated inactive members;
(c) Reduce the market value of public employees retirement
system assets by the accrued liability determined in subsection
(b) of this section;
(d) Compute the entry age method accrued liability for all
active public employees retirement system members;
(e) Compute the share of accrued liability as determined
pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, that is attributable
to those deputy sheriffs in public employees retirement system
who have elected to transfer to the plan;
(f) Compute the percentage of active's accrued liability
computed to the deputy sheriffs by dividing subsection (e) by
subsection (d) of this section;
(g) Determine the asset share to be transferred from public
employees retirement system to the plan by multiplying subsection
(c) times subsection(f) of this section.
§7-14D-9. Retirement; commencement of benefits.
A member may retire and commence to receive retirement
income payments upon attaining early or normal retirement age by
filing with the board his or her voluntary petition in writing
for retirement:
Provided, That retirement income payments shall
commence no later than the first day of April following the
member's seventy and one-half year birthday or the cessation of
covered employment, whichever later occurs. Upon receipt of the
petition, The board shall promptly provide the member with an
explanation of his or her optional forms of retirement benefits
and upon receipt of properly executed forms from the member, The
board shall process member's request for and commence payments as
soon as administratively feasible.
§7-14D-10. Retirement benefits.
(a)
Normal retirement. -- A member who ceases covered
employment, has attained normal retirement age, and whose annuity
starting date is within forty-five days of the later of the two,
shall receive retirement income payments equal to his or her
accrued benefit in the normal form or retirement income payments
in an optional form as provided under section eleven of this
article which is the actuarial equivalent of his or her accrued
benefit in the normal form.
(b)
Early retirement. -- A member who ceases covered employment and has attained early retirement age while in covered
employment may elect to receive retirement income payments
commencing prior to his or her normal retirement age which is the
actuarial equivalent of the member's accrued benefit which would
have been payable at the member's normal retirement age based
upon his or her final average salary and years of credited
service determined at the cessation of his or her covered
employment. Payments will be in the normal form or in an
optional form as allowed in section eleven of this article which
is the actuarial equivalent of the normal form as reduced for
early commencement of benefits.
(c)
Late retirement. -- A member whose annuity starting date
is more than forty-five days after the later of his or her
attainment of normal retirement age or the cessation of his or
her covered employment shall receive retirement income payments
equal to the accrued benefit in the normal form which is the
actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which he or she would be
entitled had the retirement income payments commenced within
forty-five days of the later of his or her attainment of normal
retirement age or cessation of covered employment.
(d) Retirement benefits shall be paid monthly in an amount
equal to one twelfth of the retirement income payments elected
and at such times as established by the board. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the plan, a member who is married on the
annuity starting date will receive his or her retirement income
payments in the form of a sixty-six and two-thirds percent joint and survivor annuity with his or her spouse unless prior to the
annuity starting date the spouse waives the form of benefit.
§7-14D-11. Annuity options.
Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not
thereafter, a member may elect to receive retirement income
payments in the normal form, or the actuarial equivalent of the
normal form from the following options:
(a) Option A - Joint and Survivor Annuity. A life annuity
payable during the joint lifetime of the member and his or her
beneficiary who is a natural person with an insurable interest in
the member's life. Upon the death of either the member of his or
her beneficiary, the benefit shall continue as a life annuity to
the survivor in an amount equal to fifty percent, sixty-six and
two-thirds percent, seventy-five percent or one hundred percent
of the amount paid while both were living as selected by the
member. If the retiring member is married, the spouse must sign
a waiver of benefit rights if the beneficiary is to be other than
the spouse.
(b) Option B - Contingent Joint and Survivor Annuity. A
life annuity payable during the joint lifetime of the member and
his or her beneficiary who must be a natural person with an
insurable interest in the member's life. Upon the death of the
member, the benefit shall continue as a life annuity to the
beneficiary in an amount equal to fifty percent, sixty-six and
two-thirds percent, seventy-five percent or one hundred percent
of the amount paid while both were living as selected by the member. If the beneficiary dies first, the monthly amount of
benefits shall be reduced. If the retiring member is married,
the spouse must sign a waiver of benefit rights if the
beneficiary is to be other than the spouse.
(c) Option C - Ten Years Certain and Life Annuity. A life
annuity payable during the member's lifetime but in any event for
a minimum of ten years. If the member dies before the expiration
of ten years, the remaining payments will be made to a designated
beneficiary, if any, or otherwise to the member's estate.
(d) Option D - Level Income Annuity. A life annuity payable
monthly in an increased amount "A" from the time of retirement
until the member is social security retirement age, and then a
lesser amount "B" payable for the member's lifetime thereafter,
with these amounts computed actuarially to satisfy the following
two conditions:
(1) Actuarial equivalence. The actuarial present value at
the date of retirement of the member's annuity if taken in the
normal form must equal the actuarial present value of the term
life annuity in amount "A" plus the actual present value of the
deferred life annuity in amount "B".
(2) Level income. The amount "A" equals the amount "B" plus
the amount of the member's estimated monthly social security
primary insurance amount that would commence at the date amount
"B" becomes payable. For this calculation, the Primary insurance
amount is estimated when the member applies for retirement, using
social security law then in effect, using assumptions established by the board.
(e) Option E - Level Income Joint and Survivor Annuity. An
annuity structured under the same methodology as in subsection
(d) of this section, with the term annuity amount "A" payable
until the member's social security retirement age and the amount
"B" payable as a fifty percent, sixty-six and two-thirds percent,
seventy-five percent or one hundred percent joint and survivor
annuity upon the member's attaining social security retirement
age with the members selecting the applicable percentage rate,
if the retiring member is married, the spouse must sign a waiver
of benefit rights if the beneficiary is to be other than the
spouse.
(f) Option F - Increasing Annuity. A life annuity payable
in any of the forms described in this section, and subject to the
corresponding conditions, with the amount of monthly payment
increasing at one and one-half percent, two percent or two and
one-half percent compounded annually throughout the life of the
annuity. Annuities taken in this form will be adjusted the
first day of April of each year following the member's annuity
starting date with a prorated increase given on the first day of
April to retirees who have not yet been retired a full year on
that date.
In the case of a member who has elected the options set
forth in subsections (b) and (e) of this section, respectively,
and whose beneficiary dies prior to the member's death, the
member may name an alternative beneficiary. If an alternative beneficiary is named within eighteen months following the death
of the prior beneficiary, the benefit will be adjusted to be the
actuarial equivalent of the member's normal form of benefit. If
the election is not made until eighteen months after the death of
the prior beneficiary, the amount will be reduced so that it is
only ninety percent of the actuarial equivalent of the member's
normal form of benefit.
§7-14D-12. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or
resignation; deferred retirement.
(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not
eligible to receive disability benefits under this article shall,
by written request filed with the board, be entitled to receive
from the fund the member's accumulated contributions. Except as
provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal the
member shall forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be
a member.
(b) Any member who withdraws accumulated contributions from
either this plan or public employees retirement system and
thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment shall not
receive any credited service for the prior employment unless
following his or her reenlistment, the member redeposits in the
fund the amount of the accumulated contributions, together with
interest thereon at the rate of seven and one-half percent per
annum from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon
repayment he or she shall receive the same credit on account of
his or her former service as if no refund had been made. The repayment must be made in a lump sun within sixty months of the
deputy sheriff's reemployment sum or if later, within sixty
months of the effective date of this article.
(c) Every member who completes sixty months of covered
employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to
either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in
accordance with subsection (a) of this section, or to choose not
to withdraw his or her accumulated contribution and to receive
retirement income payments upon attaining early or normal
retirement age.
§7-14D-13. Awards and benefits for disability -- Duty related.
Any member who after the effective date and during covered
employment: (A) Has been or becomes either totally or partially
disabled by injury, illness or disease; (B) the disability is a
result of an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar
to the services required of members; (C) the disability was
incurred while performing law enforcement functions during either
scheduled work hours or at any other time; and (D) in the opinion
of the board, the member is by reason of the disability unable to
perform adequately the duties required of a deputy sheriff, is
entitled to receive and will be paid from the fund in monthly
installments during the lifetime of the member, or if sooner
until the member attains normal retirement age or until the
disability sooner terminates, either subsection (a) or (b) of
this section.
(a) If the member is totally disabled, ninety percent of the member's average monthly compensation, as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article, for the twelve month period
preceding the member's disability, or the shorter period if the
member has not worked twelve months.
(b) If the member is partially disabled, forty-five percent
of the member's average monthly compensation, as adjusted
pursuant to section seventeen of this article, for the
twelve-month period preceding the member's disability, or the
shorter period if the member has not worked twelve months.
If the member remains disabled until attaining normal
retirement age, the member shall then receive the retirement
benefit provided for in sections ten and eleven of this article.
§7-14D-14. Same -- Due to other causes.
(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article
and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally
or partially disabled from any cause other than those set forth
in section thirteen of this article and not due to vicious
habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part;
and (2) in the opinion of the board, he or she is by reason of
the disability unable to perform adequately the duties required
of a deputy sheriff, is entitled to receive and will be paid from
the fund in monthly installments during the lifetime of the
member, or if sooner until the member attains normal retirement
age or until the disability sooner terminates, either (b) or (c)
of this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, eighty percent of his or her average monthly compensation, as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article, for the twelve-month period
preceding the disability, or the shorter period, if the member
has not worked twelve months.
(c) If the member is partially disabled, forty percent of
his or her average monthly compensation, as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article, for the twelve-month period
preceding the disability, or the shorter period, if the member
has not worked twelve months.
(d) If the member remains disabled until attaining normal
retirement age, then the member shall receive the retirement
benefit provided for in sections ten and eleven of this article.
§7-14D-15.Same -- Physical examinations; termination of
disability.
(a) The board may require any member who has applied for
or is receiving disability benefits under this article to submit
to a physical examination, mental examination or both, by a
physician or physicians selected or approved by the board and may
cause all costs incident to the examination and approved by the
Board to be paid from the fund. The costs may include hospital,
laboratory, X ray, medical and physicians' fees. A report of the
findings of any such physician shall be submitted in writing to
the board for its consideration. If, from the report,
independent information, or from the report and any hearing
thereon, the board is of the opinion and finds that: (1) The
member has become reemployed as a law-enforcement officer; (2) two physicians who have examined the member have found that
considering the opportunities for law enforcement in West
Virginia, the member could be so employed; or (3) other facts
exist to demonstrate that the member is no longer totally
disabled or partially disabled as the case may be, then the
disability benefits shall cease. If the member was totally
disabled and is found to have recovered, the board shall
determine whether the member continues to be partially disabled.
If the board finds that the member is no longer totally disabled
but is partially disabled, then the member shall continue to
receive partial disability benefits in accordance with this
article. Benefits shall cease once the member has been found to
be no longer either totally or partially disabled.
§7-14D-16. Prior disability.
Any deputy sheriff who became totally disabled prior to the
effective date of this article may be a member of the plan at his
or her election and shall be entitled to disability, death and
retirement benefits under this article in lieu of any other
disability, death or retirement benefits provided by the state or
his or her county of employment:
Provided, That the deputy would
have been eligible for disability under section thirteen of this
article had that section been effective at the time of the
disability. The amounts of the benefits shall be determined as
if the disability first commenced after the effective date of
this article with monthly compensation equal to that average
monthly compensation which the member was receiving in the plan year prior to the initial disability as adjusted pursuant to
section seventeen of this article.
§7-14D-17. Disability -- Benefit adjustment factor.
(a)For each member who is receiving disability payments
under this article, the board shall annually adjust the monthly
compensation upon which the disability payments are based. The
annual determination date shall be established by the board and
the amount of the adjustment shall be the amount calculated under
subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The amount of the adjustment shall be the lesser of two
percent or the percentage increase in the urban consumer price
index between: (1) The month that precedes the month of
determination date by two months; and (2) the month one year
previous to that month (or else the month containing the month of
disablement, if less than one year has passed as of the
determination date).
(c) The annual redetermination of monthly compensation will
affect disability benefits paid to the member during the twelve
months beginning with the first month that follows the
determination date by at least one month, or if shorter, when the
disability payments terminate.
§7-14D-18. Awards and benefits to surviving spouse -- When
member dies in performance of duty, etc.
(a) The surviving spouse of any member who, after the
effective date while in covered employment, has died or dies, 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 or is engaged
in the performance of his or her duties as a deputy sheriff, or
the survivor spouse of a member who dies from any cause while
receiving benefits pursuant to section thirteen of this article,
is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund benefits
as determined in subsection (b) of this section: To the
surviving spouse annually, in equal monthly installments during
his or her lifetime an amount equal to the greater of: (i) Two
thirds of the base salary received in the preceding twelve-month
period by the deceased member; or (ii) if the member dies after
his or her early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount
which the spouse would have received had the member retired the
day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint
and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and
then died. Where the member is receiving disability benefits
under section thirteen of this article at the time of his or her
death, the most recent monthly compensation determined under
section seventeen of this article shall be substituted for base
salary in (i) of this section.
Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section,
section twenty and section twenty-one of this article shall be in
lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the
spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other
state retirement system based upon the member's covered
employment.
§7-14D-19. Same -- When member dies from nonservice-connected
causes.
In any case where a member, while in covered employment
after the effective date, has died or dies from any cause other
than those specified in section eighteen of this article and not
due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his
or her part, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly
installments to the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime,
a sum equal to the greater of: (i) One half of the base salary
received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the
deceased member; or (ii) if the member dies after his or her
early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount which the
spouse would have received had the member retired the day before
his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and
survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then
died. Where the member is receiving disability benefits under
section fourteen of this article at the time of his or her death,
the most recent monthly compensation determined under section
seventeen of this article shall be substituted for base salary in
(i) of this section.
Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section,
section twenty and section twenty-one of this article shall be in
lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the
spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other
state retirement system based upon the member's covered
employment.
§7-14D-20. Additional death benefits and scholarships --
Dependent children.
In addition to the spouse death benefits in sections eighteen
and nineteen of this article, the surviving spouse shall be
entitled to receive and there shall be paid to the spouse one
hundred dollars monthly for each dependent child.
If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving
spouse, the fund shall pay monthly to each dependent child a sum
equal to one fourth of the surviving spouse's entitlement under
either section eighteen or nineteen of this article. If there is
neither a surviving spouse nor a dependent child, the fund shall
pay in equal monthly installments 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 only 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 dependent child under this, 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 ten thousand dollars per year, 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 such
rules as the board may provide, 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.
§17-14D-21. Burial benefit.
Any member who dies while in covered employment after the
effective date is entitled to a lump sum burial benefit of ten
thousand dollars. If the member is married, the burial benefit
will be paid to the member's spouse. If the member is not
married, the burial benefit will be paid to the member's estate
for the purposes of paying burial expenses, settling the member's
final affairs, or both. Any unspent balance will be distributed
as a part of the member's estate. If the member is not entitled
to a death benefit under sections nineteen and twenty of this
article, then if greater, the amount payable to the member's
estate shall be his or her accumulated contributions.
§7-14D-22. Double death benefits prohibited.
A surviving spouse is not entitled to receive simultaneous
death benefits under this article as a result of the death of two
or more members to whom the spouse was married. Any spouse who
becomes eligible for a subsequent death benefit under this article while receiving a death benefit under this article shall
receive the higher benefit, but not both.
§7-14D-23. Loans to members.
A member who is not yet receiving disability or retirement
income benefits from the plan may borrow from the plan an amount
up to one half of his or her accumulated contributions, but not
less than five hundred dollars nor more than eight thousand
dollars. No loan may be made from the plan if the board
determines that such loans constitute more than fifteen percent
of the amortized cost value of the assets of the plan as of the
last day of the preceding plan year. The board may discontinue
such loans any time it determines that cash flow problems might
develop as a result of the loans. Each loan shall be repaid
through monthly installments over periods of six through sixty
months and carry interest on the unpaid balance and an annual
effective interest rate that is two hundred basis points higher
than the most recent rate of interest used by the board for
determining actuarial contributions levels. Monthly loan
payments shall be calculated to be as nearly equal as possible
with all but the final payment being an equal amount. An
eligible member may make additional loan payments or pay off the
entire loan balance at any time without incurring any interest
penalty. At the member's option, the monthly loan payment may
include a level premium sufficient to provide declining term
insurance with the plan as beneficiary to repay the loan in full
upon the member's death. If a member declines such insurance and dies before the loan is repaid, the unpaid balance of the loan
will be deducted from the lump sum insurance benefit payable
under section twenty-one of this article.
A member with an unpaid loan balance who wishes to retire may
have the loan repaid in full by accepting retirement income
payments reduced by deducting from the actuarial reserve for the
accrued benefit the amount of the unpaid balance and then
converting the remaining of the reserve to a monthly pension
payable in the form of the annuity desired by the member.
§7-14D-24. Service as sheriff.
Any member who after the effective date is elected sheriff of
a county in West Virginia may elect to continue as a member in
this plan by paying the amounts required by section seven of this
article. Upon such election, service as a sheriff shall be
treated as covered employment and the sheriff is not entitled to
any credit for such service under any other retirement system of
the state.
§7-14D-25. Exemption from taxation, garnishment and other
process.
The moneys in the fund and the right of a member, spouse or
other beneficiary to benefits under this article, to the return
of contributions, or to any retirement, death or disability
payments under the provisions of this article, are hereby exempt
from any state or municipal tax; are not subject to execution,
garnishment, attachment or any other process whatsoever; and are
unassignable except as is provided in this article.
§7-14D-26. Fraud; penalties; and repayment.
Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or who
falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the retirement
system in any attempt to defraud that system is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not
to exceed one thousand dollars, by confinement in the county or
regional jail not to exceed one year, or by both a fine and
confinement. Any increased benefit received by any person as a
result of the above shall be returned to the fund upon demand by
the board.
§7-14D-27. Credit toward retirement for member's prior military
service; credit toward retirement when member has joined armed forces in time of armed conflict.
(a) Any member who has previously served on active military
duty is entitled to receive additional years of service for the
purpose of determining his or her years of credited service for
a period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five
years, subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the
armed forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate
documentation or evidence his or her period of active military
duty; and
(3) That he or she is receiving no benefits from any other
retirement system for his or her active military duty.
(b) In addition, any member who while in covered employment was commissioned, enlisted or inducted into the armed forces of
the United States or, being a member of the reserve officers'
corps, was called to active duty in the armed forces between the
first day of September, one thousand nine hundred forty, and the
close of hostilities in World War II, or between the twenty- seventh day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and the
close of the armed conflict in Korea on the twenty-seventh day of
July, one thousand nine hundred fifty-three, between the first
day of August, one thousand nine hundred sixty-four and the close
of the armed conflict in Vietnam, or during any other period of
armed conflict by the United States whether sanctioned by a
declaration of war by the Congress or by executive or other order
of the president, is entitled to and shall receive credited
service, for a period equal to the full time that he or she has
or, pursuant to that commission, enlistment, induction or call,
shall have served with the armed forces subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the
armed forces;
(2) That within ninety days after honorable discharge from
the armed forces, he or she presented himself or herself to the
county commission and offered to resume service as a deputy
sheriff; and
(3) That he or she has made no voluntary act, whether by
reenlistment, waiver of discharge, acceptance of commission or
otherwise, to extend or participate in extension of the period of
service with the armed forces beyond the period of service for which he or she was originally commissioned, enlisted, inducted
or called.
(c) The total amount of service allowable under subsections
(a) and (b) of this section may not exceed five years.
§7-14D-28. Special effective date and implementation.
(a) The provisions of sections one through twenty-seven of
this article shall not become effective until the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight. Prior to that
date, the Legislature shall undertake a study of the actuarial
implications of implementation of the "Deputy Sheriff Retirement
Act" as set forth in this article. Particularly, the study shall
review the adequacy of the employer and employee contributions to
meet the benefit obligations established by the act.
Furthermore, the study shall determine the impact, if any, on the
public employees retirement system as a result of the transfer of
assets from that system to the deputy sheriff retirement fund.
(b) In anticipation of the implementation of the deputy
sheriff retirement act, a deputy sheriff may transfer an amount
equal to four percent of his or her monthly salary to a special
account in the state treasury known as the "Deputy Sheriff Escrow
Account" which is hereby created. The fund shall be an interest
bearing account. There shall be no permissible expenditures from
the fund. Upon the effective date of the deputy sheriff
retirement system, any moneys in the fund shall be transferred to
the "West Virginia deputy sheriff retirement fund" created
pursuant to section six of this article. In the event that the "West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement System Act" does not
become effective on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, the moneys in the fund plus accumulated
interest shall be refunded to the deputy sheriffs who made
contributions to the fund in an amount equal to the amount of his
or her contribution, plus interest.
And,
byBy amending the title of the bill to read as follows:
HB2415 SUB H FIN AMT 4/3
The Committee on Finance moves to amend the title of the
bill to read as follows:
H. B. 2415--"A BILL to amend and reenact section one,
article ten-d, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one; and to amend chapter seven of
said code by adding thereto a new article, designated article
fourteen-d, all relating to retirement, death and disability
benefits for deputy sheriffs; providing that the consolidated
retirement board administer the new retirement system; providing
definitions for the article; creating the deputy sheriff's
retirement system; stating that the article is to be liberally
construed; allowing the board to promulgate rules for the
administration of the fund; establishing membership
qualifications; creating a trust fund for investment of
contributions; establishing member and employer contribution
amount; providing for transfer of assets; establishing value of
assets for transfer; establishing for the commencement of
benefits; establishing benefits for normal, early and late
retirement; establishing annuity options; providing for refunds
to members upon certain conditions; providing for disability retirements; allowing deputies with a prior disability to become
member of plan; providing a benefit adjustment for disability
retirees; benefits for surviving spouses; benefits for
dependents; establishing death benefits; prohibiting double
benefits; authorizing loans to members; authorizing sheriff's to
become member of plan; establishing fraudulent practices and
criminal penalties therefor; and providing military service
credits; providing special effective date; requiring study by the
Legislature; and establishing escrow account for deputy
contributions.""