Adopted by House 2-25-2014

HB4555 Boggs HFA 2-25 #1                                    JHJ

    Delegate Boggs moves to amend the bill on page one, following the enacting clause, by striking the enacting section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

    “That §18-7A-17 and §18-7B-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and to amend and reenact §18A-2-2 and §18A-2-6a of said code, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§18-7A-17. Statement and computation of teachers' service; qualified military service.

    (a) Under rules adopted by the retirement board, each teacher and nonteaching member shall file a detailed statement of his or her length of service as a teacher or nonteacher for which he or she claims credit. The Retirement Board shall determine what part of a year is the equivalent of a year of service. In computing the service, however, it shall credit no period of more than a month's duration during which a member was absent without pay, nor shall it credit for more than one year of service performed in any calendar year.

    (b) For the purpose of this article, the retirement board shall grant prior service credit to members of the retirement system who were honorably discharged from active duty service in any of the Armed Forces of the United States in any period of national emergency within which a federal Selective Service Act was in effect. For purposes of this section, "Armed Forces" includes Women's Army Corps, women's appointed volunteers for emergency service, Army Nurse Corps, SPARS, Women's Reserve and other similar units officially parts of the military service of the United States. The military service is considered equivalent to public school teaching, and the salary equivalent for each year of that service is the actual salary of the member as a teacher for his or her first year of teaching after discharge from military service. Prior service credit for military service shall not exceed ten years for any one member, nor shall it exceed twenty-five percent of total service at the time of retirement. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Retirement Board is authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this section and, pursuant to the authority granted to the retirement board in section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code, may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. No military service credit may be used in more than one retirement system administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.

    (c) For service as a teacher in the employment of the federal government, or a state or territory of the United States, or a governmental subdivision of that state or territory, the retirement board shall grant credit to the member: Provided, That the member shall pay to the system twelve percent of that member’s gross salary earned during the first full year of current employment whether a member of the Teachers’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System, times the number of years for which credit is granted, plus interest at a rate to be determined by the retirement board. The interest shall be deposited in the reserve fund and service credit granted at the time of retirement shall not exceed the lesser of ten years or fifty percent of the member's total service as a teacher in West Virginia. Any purchase of out-of-state service, as provided in this article, shall not be used to establish eligibility for a retirement allowance and the retirement board shall grant credit for the purchased service as additional service only: Provided, however, That a purchase of out-of-state service is prohibited if the service is used to obtain a retirement benefit from another retirement system: Provided further, That salaries paid to members for service prior to entrance into the retirement system shall not be used to compute the average final salary of the member under the retirement system.

    (d) No members shall be considered absent from service while serving as a member or employee of the Legislature of the State of West Virginia during any duly constituted session of that body, or while serving as an elected member of a county commission or any other appointed or elected part-time public office during any duly constituted session of that body.

    (e) No member shall be considered absent from service as a teacher or nonteacher while serving as an officer with a statewide professional teaching association, or who has served in that capacity, and no retirant, who served in that capacity while a member, shall be considered to have been absent from service as a teacher by reason of that service: Provided, That the period of service credit granted for that service shall not exceed ten years: Provided, however, That a member or retirant who is serving or has served as an officer of a statewide professional teaching association shall make deposits to the Teachers Retirement System, for the time of any absence, in an amount double the amount which he or she would have contributed in his or her regular assignment for a like period of time.

    (f) The Teachers Retirement System shall grant service credit to any former or present member of the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System who has been a contributing member of the Teachers’ Retirement System for more than three years, for service previously credited by the Public Employees Retirement System upon his or her written request and: (1) Shall require the transfer of the member's Public Employees Retirement System accumulated contributions to the Teachers Retirement System; or (2) shall require a repayment of the amount withdrawn from the Public Employees Retirement System, plus interest at a rate to be determined by the retirement board, compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to the date of payment, any time prior to the member's effective retirement date: Provided, That there shall be added by the member to the amounts transferred or repaid under this subsection an amount which shall be sufficient to equal the contributions he or she would have made had the member been under the Teachers Retirement System during the period of his or her membership in the Public Employees Retirement System. All interest paid or transferred shall be deposited in the reserve fund.

    (g) For service as a teacher in an elementary or secondary parochial school, located within this state and fully accredited by the West Virginia Department of Education, the retirement board shall grant credit to the member: Provided, That the member shall pay to the system twelve percent of that member’s gross salary earned during the first full year of current employment whether a member of the Teachers’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System, times the number of years for which credit is granted, plus interest at a rate to be determined by the retirement board. The interest shall be deposited in the reserve fund and service granted at the time of retirement shall not exceed the lesser of ten years or fifty percent of the member's total service as a teacher in the West Virginia public school system. Any transfer of parochial school service, as provided in this section, may not be used to establish eligibility for a retirement allowance and retirement board shall grant credit for the transfer as additional service only: Provided, however, That a transfer of parochial school service is prohibited if the service is used to obtain a retirement benefit from another retirement system.

    (h) Active members who previously worked in CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) may receive service credit for time served in that capacity: Provided, That in order to receive service credit under the provisions of this subsection the following conditions must be met: (1) The member must have moved from temporary employment with the participating employer to permanent full-time employment with the participating employer within one hundred twenty days following the termination of the member's CETA employment; (2)the retirement board must receive evidence that establishes to a reasonable degree of certainty as determined by the retirement board that the member previously worked in CETA; and (3) the member shall pay to the retirement board an amount equal to the employer and employee contribution plus interest at the amount set by the retirement board for the amount of service credit sought pursuant to this subsection: Provided, however, That the maximum service credit that may be obtained under the provisions of this subsection is two years: Provided further, That a member must apply and pay for the service credit allowed under this subsection and provide all necessary documentation by March 31,2003: And provided further, That the retirement board shall exercise due diligence to notify affected employees of the provisions of this subsection.

    (i) If a member is not eligible for prior service credit or pension as provided in this article, then his or her prior service shall not be considered a part of his or her total service.

    (j) A member who withdrew from membership may regain his or her former membership rights as specified in section thirteen of this article only in case he or she has served two years since his or her last withdrawal.

    (k) Subject to the provisions of subsections (a) through (l), inclusive, of this section, the retirement board shall verify as soon as practicable the statements of service submitted. The retirement board shall issue prior service certificates to all persons eligible for the certificates under the provisions of this article. The certificates shall state the length of the prior service credit, but in no case shall the prior service credit exceed forty years.

    (l) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, when a member is or has been elected to serve as a member of the Legislature or any elected or appointed part-time public office, and the proper discharge of his or her duties of public office require that member to be absent from his or her teaching or administrative duties, the time served in discharge of his or her duties of the legislative office are credited as time served for purposes of computing service credit: Provided, That the retirement board may not require any additional contributions from that member in order for the retirement board to credit him or her with the contributing service credit earned while discharging official legislative duties: Provided, however, That nothing in this section may be construed to relieve the employer from making the employer contribution at the member's regular salary rate or rate of pay from that employer on the contributing service credit earned while the member is discharging his or her official legislative duties. These employer payments shall commence as of June 1,2000: Provided further, That any member to which the provisions of this subsection apply may elect to pay to the retirement board an amount equal to what his or her contribution would have been for those periods of time he or she was serving in the public office Legislature. The periods of time upon which the member paid his or her contribution shall then be included for purposes of determining his or her final average salary as well as for determining years of service: And provided further, That a member using the provisions of this subsection is not required to pay interest on any contributions he or she may decide to make.

    (m) The Teachers Retirement System shall grant service credit to any former member of the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System who has been a contributing member for more than three years, for service previously credited by the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System; and: (1) Shall require the transfer of the member's contributions to the Teachers Retirement System; or (2) shall require a repayment of the amount withdrawn any time prior to the member's retirement: Provided, That the member shall add to the amounts transferred or repaid under this paragraph an amount which is sufficient to equal the contributions he or she would have made had the member been under the Teachers Retirement System during the period of his or her membership in the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement System plus interest at a rate to be determined by the retirement board compounded annually from the date of withdrawal to the date of payment. The interest paid shall be deposited in the reserve fund.

ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS’ DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

§18-7B-11. Termination of membership.

    (a) Any member whose employment with a participating employer terminates after the completion of six complete years of employment service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution from the member’s annuity account, in an amount equal to the member’s contribution plus one third of the employer contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose employment with a participating employer terminates after the completion of nine complete years of employment service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution from the member’s annuity account, in an amount equal to the member’s contribution plus two thirds of the employer’s contributions and any earnings thereon. Any member whose employment with a participating employer terminates after the completion of twelve complete years of employment service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution of all funds contributed and accumulated in his or her annuity account. Any member whose employment with a participating employer terminates prior to the completion of six complete years of employment service is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive a distribution from the member’s annuity account, in an amount equal to the member’s contribution plus any earnings thereon: Provided, That on the death or permanent, total disability of any member, that member is eligible to terminate his or her annuity account and receive all funds contributed to or accumulated in his or her annuity account.

    (b)(1) Upon termination of employment, regardless of whether the member has taken a distribution of all or a portion of his or her vested account, the remaining balance, if any, in the member’s employer account that is not vested shall be remitted and paid into a suspension account to be administered by the board. The Board shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding the distribution of any balance in the special account created by this section: Provided, That any funds in the account shall be used solely for the purpose of reducing employer contributions in future years.

    (2) Any account balances remitted to the suspension account herein shall be maintained by the board in the suspension account in the name of the terminated employee for a period of five years following the member’s termination of employment. For each terminated employee at the culmination of the five-year period, the board shall certify in writing to each contributing employer the amount of the account balance plus earnings thereon attributable to each separate contributing employer’s previously terminated employee’s account which has been irrevocably forfeited due to the elapse of a five-year period since termination pursuant to section sixteen of this article.

    (c) Upon certification to the several contributing employers of the aggregate account balances plus earnings thereon which have been irrevocably forfeited pursuant to this section, the several contributing employers shall be permitted in the next succeeding fiscal year or years to reduce their total aggregate contribution requirements pursuant to section seventeen of this article, for the then current fiscal year by an amount equal to the aggregate amounts irrevocably forfeited and certified as such to each contributing employer: Provided, That should the participating employer no longer be contributing to the Defined Contribution System, any funds in the account shall be paid directly to the employer.

    (d) Upon the use of the amounts irrevocably forfeited to any contributing employer as a reduction in the then current fiscal year contribution obligation and upon notification provided by the several contributing employers to the board of their intention to use irrevocably forfeited amounts, the board shall direct the distribution of the irrevocably forfeited amounts from the suspension account to be deposited on behalf of the contributing employer to the member annuity accounts of its then current employees pursuant to section seventeen of this article: Provided, That notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, when a member is or has been elected to serve as a member of the Legislature, or has been elected or appointed to any other part-time public office, and the proper discharge of his or her duties of public office requires that member to be absent from his or her teaching, nonteaching or administrative duties, the time served in discharge of his or her duties of the legislative office are credited as time served for purposes of computing service credit, regardless when this time was served: Provided, however, That the board may not require any additional contributions from that member in order for the board to credit him or her with the contributing service credit earned while discharging official legislative duties: Provided further, That nothing herein may be construed to relieve the employer from making the employer contribution at the member’s regular salary rate or rate of pay from that employer on the contributing service credit earned while the member is discharging his or her official legislative duties. These employer payments shall commence as of July 1, 2003: And provided further, That any member to which the provisions of this subsection apply may elect to pay to the board an amount equal to what his or her contribution would have been for those periods of time he or she was serving in the Legislature or any other appointed or elected public office.

CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL”