H. B. 4048
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, (By Request))
[Introduced January 21, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article ten, chapter
five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to the West Virginia public
employees retirement act; and providing that final average
salary includes the last month of earnings for the
calculation of retirement benefits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article ten, chapter five of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases as used in this article,
unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context, have the following meanings:
(1) "State" means the state of West Virginia;
(2) "Retirement system" or "system" means the West Virginia
public employees retirement system created and established by
this article;
(3) "Board of trustees" or "board" means the board of
trustees of the West Virginia public employees retirement system;
(4) "Political subdivision" means the state of West
Virginia, a county, city or town in the state; a school
corporation or corporate unit; any separate corporation or
instrumentality established by one or more counties, cities or
towns, as permitted by law; any corporation or instrumentality
supported in most part by counties, cities or towns; any public
corporation charged by law with the performance of a governmental
function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more
counties, cities or towns:
Provided, That any mental health
agency participating in the public employees retirement system
before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- seven, is considered a political subdivision solely for the
purpose of permitting those employees who are members of the
public employees retirement system to remain members and continue
to participate in the retirement system at their option after the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven;
(5) "Participating public employer" means the state of West
Virginia, any board, commission, department, institution or
spending unit, and includes any agency created by rule of the
supreme court of appeals having full-time employees, which for
the purposes of this article is considered a department of state
government; and any political subdivision in the state which has
elected to cover its employees, as defined in this article, under
the West Virginia public employees retirement system;
(6) "Employee" means any person who serves regularly as an
officer or employee, full time, on a salary basis, whose tenure
is not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in
the service of, and whose compensation is payable, in whole or in
part, by any political subdivision, or an officer or employee
whose compensation is calculated on a daily basis and paid
monthly or on completion of assignment, including technicians and
other personnel employed by the West Virginia national guard
whose compensation, in whole or in part, is paid by the federal
government:
Provided, That members of the state Legislature, the
clerk of the House of Delegates, the clerk of the state Senate,
employees of the state Legislature whose term of employment is
otherwise classified as temporary and who are employed to perform
services required by the Legislature for its regular sessions or
during the interim between regular sessions and who have been or are employed during regular sessions or during the interim
between regular sessions in seven consecutive calendar years, as
certified by the clerk of the house in which the employee served,
members of the legislative body of any political subdivision and
judges of the state court of claims are considered to be
employees, anything contained in this article to the contrary
notwithstanding. In any case of doubt as to who is an employee
within the meaning of this article the board of trustees shall
decide the question;
(7) "Member" means any person who is included in the
membership of the retirement system;
(8) "Retirant" means any member who retires with an annuity
payable by the retirement system;
(9) "Beneficiary" means any person, except a retirant, who
is entitled to, or will be entitled to, an annuity or other
benefit payable by the retirement system;
(10) "Service" means personal service rendered to a
participating public employer by an employee, as defined in this
article, of a participating public employer;
(11) "Prior service" means service rendered prior to the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, to the
extent credited a member as provided in this article;
(12) "Contributing service" means service rendered by a member within this state and for which the member made
contributions to a public retirement system account of this
state, to the extent credited him or her as provided by this
article. This revised definition is retroactive and applicable
to the first day of April, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight, and thereafter;
(13) "Credited service" means the sum of a member's prior
service credit and contributing service credit standing to his or
her credit as provided in this article;
(14) "Compensation" means the remuneration paid a member by
a participating public employer for personal services rendered by
him or her to the participating public employer. In the event a
member's remuneration is not all paid in money, his or her
participating public employer shall fix the value of the portion
of his or her remuneration which is not paid in money;
(15) "Final average salary" means either: (a) The average
of the highest annual compensation received by a member
(including a member of the Legislature who participates in the
retirement system in the year one thousand nine hundred
seventy-one or thereafter) during any period of three consecutive
years of his
or her credited service contained within his or her
ten years of credited service immediately preceding the date his
or her employment with a participating public employer last terminated; or (b) if he or she has less than five years of
credited service, the average of the annual rate of compensation
received by him or her during his or her total years of credited
service; and in determining the annual compensation, under either
(a) or (b) of this subdivision, of a member of the Legislature
who participates in the retirement system as a member of the
Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one or
in any year thereafter, his or her actual legislative
compensation (the total of all compensation paid under sections
two, three, four and five, article two-a, chapter four of this
code) in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one or in any
year thereafter, plus any other compensation he or she receives
in any such year from any other participating public employer
including the state of West Virginia, without any multiple in
excess of one times his or her actual legislative compensation
and other compensation, shall be used:
Provided, That "final
average salary" for any former member of the Legislature or for
any member of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine
hundred seventy-one who, in either event, was a member of the
Legislature on the thirtieth day of November, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-eight, or the thirtieth day of November, one
thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, or the thirtieth day of
November, one thousand nine hundred seventy, or on the thirtieth day of November in any one or more of those three years, and who
participated in the retirement system as a member of the
Legislature in any one or more of those years means: (i) Either
(notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision preceding
this proviso) one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by
eight, plus the highest other compensation the former member or
member received in any one of the three years from any other
participating public employer including the state of West
Virginia; or (ii) "final average salary" determined in accordance
with (a) or (b) of this subdivision, whichever computation shall
produce the higher final average salary (and in determining the
annual compensation under (ii) of this proviso, the legislative
compensation of the former member shall be computed on the basis
of one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by eight, and the
legislative compensation of the member shall be computed on the
basis set forth in the provisions of this subdivision immediately
preceding this proviso or on the basis of one thousand five
hundred dollars multiplied by eight, whichever computation as to
the member produces the higher annual compensation);
"final
average salary" shall include the last month of earnings for the
calculation of retirement benefits;
(16) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all
amounts deducted from the compensations of a member and credited to his or her individual account in the members' deposit fund,
together with regular interest thereon;
(17) "Regular interest" means the rate or rates of interest
per annum, compounded annually, as the board of trustees adopts
from time to time;
(18) "Annuity" means an annual amount payable by the
retirement system throughout the life of a person. All annuities
shall be paid in equal monthly installments, using the upper cent
for any fraction of a cent;
(19) "Annuity reserve" means the present value of all
payments to be made to a retirant or beneficiary of a retirant on
account of any annuity, computed upon the basis of such mortality
and other tables of experience, and regular interest, as the
board of trustees adopts from time to time;
(20) "Retirement" means a member's withdrawal from the
employ of a participating public employer with an annuity payable
by the retirement system; and
(21) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value
computed upon the basis of such mortality table and regular
interest as the board of trustees adopts from time to time.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that the "final
average salary" includes the last month of earnings for the
calculation of retirement benefits for public employees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.