Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB419%20SUB1.htm&yr=2013&sesstype=RS&i=419
Timestamp: 2018-03-18 16:28:47
Document Index: 218341236

Matched Legal Cases: ['§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18', '§18']

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-7A-3, §18-7A-14, §18-7A-17, §18-7A-23, §18-7A-25 and §18-7A-26 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-7A-14c, all relating to the Teachers Retirement System; specifying the time period in which a participating public employer allocates and reports gross salary to the Consolidated Public Retirement Board; defining terms; correction of errors; requiring nonteachers to file a statement with the Retirement Board detailing the length of service being claimed for retirement credit; clarifying that members granted prior service credit for qualified military service must be honorably discharged from active duty; clarifying provisions for purchasing out-of-state service credit for members who transferred from the Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System; providing that a nonteaching member shall not be considered absent from service while serving as an officer with a statewide professional teaching association; requiring that members make written requests to the Retirement Board to receive credit for service previously credited by the Public Employees Retirement System; providing that all interest paid or transferred on service credit from the Public Employees Retirement System be deposited in the reserve fund; providing that an inactive member may elect to receive an annuity at age sixty; providing that the sole primary beneficiary of a member is eligible for an annuity if the contributor was fifty years old with twenty-five years’ service; providing that a refund beneficiary shall receive the contributor’s accumulated contributions up to the plan year of contributor’s death; providing that a refund beneficiary shall be paid the Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System member contributions transferred plus the vested portion of employer contributions and any earnings; providing that an actively contributing member who is at least sixty years of age is eligible for an annuity; providing that any member who has thirty years of total service in the state as a nonteaching member is eligible for an annuity; specifying that anyone who becomes a new member on or after July 1, 2013, must have five or more years of contributory service to qualify for retirement; providing that a nonteaching member who is fifty-five years of age and has served thirty years in the state is eligible for an annuity; clarifying that a nonteaching member is eligible for disability benefits; clarifying the computation of a member’s annuity; providing for the commencement date of disability annuity benefits; and making technical corrections.
That §18-7A-3, §18-7A-14, §18-7A-17, §18-7A-23, §18-7A-25 and §18-7A-26 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-7A-14c, all to read as follows:
(10) "Employer error" means an omission, misrepresentation or violation of relevant provisions of the West Virginia Code this code or of the West Virginia Code of State Regulations Rules or the relevant provisions of both the West Virginia Code and of the West Virginia Code of State Regulations by the participating public employer that has resulted in an underpayment or overpayment of required contributions required. A deliberate act contrary to the provisions of this section by a participating public employer does not constitute employer error.
(26) (25) "Regular interest" means interest at four percent compounded annually, or a higher earnable rate if set forth in the formula established in legislative rules, series seven of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board board’s Rule, Refund, Reinstatement, Retroactive Service, Loan and Employer Error Interest Factors, 162 CSR 7.
(30) (31) "Teacher member" means the following persons, if regularly employed for full-time service: (A) Any person employed for instructional service in the public schools of West Virginia; (B) principals; (C) public school librarians; (D) superintendents of schools and assistant county superintendents of schools; (E) any county school attendance director holding a West Virginia teacher's certificate; (F) the executive director of the retirement board; (G) members of the research, extension, administrative or library staffs of the public schools; (H)(G) the State Superintendent of Schools, heads and assistant heads of the divisions under his or her supervision or any other employee under the state superintendent performing services of an educational nature; (I) (H) employees of the State Board of Education who are performing services of an educational nature; (J) (I) any person employed in a nonteaching capacity by the State Board of Education, any county board of education, the State Department of Education or the State Teachers Retirement Board, if that person was formerly employed as a teacher in the public schools; (K) (J) all classroom teachers, principals and educational administrators in schools under the supervision of the Division of Corrections, the Division of Health or the Division of Human Services; (L) (K) an employee of the State Board of School Finance, if that person was formerly employed as a teacher in the public schools; and (M) (L) any person designated as a 21st Century Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article three, chapter eighteen-a of this code who elects to remain a member of the State Teachers Retirement System provided in this article.
(b) Underpayments: Any error resulting in an underpayment to the retirement system of required contributions may be corrected by the member or retirant remitting the required member contribution and the employer remitting the required employer contribution. Interest shall accumulate in accordance with the board’s Rule, Refund, Reinstatement, Retroactive Service, Loan and Employer Error Interest Factors, 162 CSR 7, concerning retirement board refund, reinstatement, retroactive service, loan and employer error interest factors and any accumulating interest owed on the member and employer contributions resulting from an employer error is the responsibility of the employer. The employer may remit total payment and the member reimburse the employer through payroll deduction over a period equivalent to the time period during which the employer error occurred. If the correction of an error involving an underpayment of required contributions to the retirement system will result in increased payments to a retirant, including increases to payments already made, any adjustments shall be made only after the retirement board receives full payment of all required member and employer contributions, including interest.
(2) When mistaken or excess member contributions, including any overpayments, have been made to the retirement system, due to error or other reason, the retirement board has sole authority for determining the means of return, offset or credit to or for the benefit of the member of the amounts, and may use any means authorized or permitted under the provisions of Section 401(a), et seq., of the Internal Revenue Code and guidance issued thereunder applicable to governmental plans. Alternatively, in its full and complete discretion, the retirement board may require the employer to pay the member the amounts as wages, with the retirement board crediting the employer with a corresponding amount to offset against its future contributions to the retirement system: Provided, That the wages paid to the member shall not be considered compensation for any purposes under this article. Earnings or interest shall not be returned, offset, or credited under any of the means used by the retirement board for returning mistaken or excess member contributions, including any overpayments, to a member.
(b) For the purpose of this article, the retirement board shall grant prior service credit to new entrants and other members of the retirement system for 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 shall 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 not be used in more than one retirement system administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
(e) (d) No members shall A member shall not 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 during any duly constituted session of that body.
(f) (e) No members shall A member shall not 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 retired teacher 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 retired teacher retirant who is serving or has served as an officer of a statewide professional teaching association shall make deposits to the Teachers Retirement Board 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.
(h) (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 double the amount contributed 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 the 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.
(i) (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.
(l) (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.
(m) (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, 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 shall be 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 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.
(n) (m) The Teachers Retirement Board 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.
(1) A contributor who withdraws from service for any cause other than death, disability or retirement shall, upon application, be paid his or her accumulated contributions up to the end of the fiscal year preceding the year in which application is made, after offset of any outstanding loan balance, plus accrued loan interest, pursuant to section thirty-four of this article. but In no event shall interest be paid beyond the end of five years following the year in which the last contribution was made: Provided, That the contributor, at the time of application, is then no longer under contract, verbal or otherwise, to serve as a teacher; or
(2) If the contributor an inactive member has completed twenty years of total service, he or she may elect to receive at retirement age sixty an annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article: Provided, That if the contributor inactive member has completed at least five, but fewer than twenty, years of total service in this state, he or she may elect to receive at age sixty-two an annuity which shall be computed as provided in this article. The contributor inactive member must notify the retirement board in writing concerning the election. If the contributor inactive member has completed fewer than five years of service in this state, he or she shall be is subject to the provisions as outlined in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(a) Any actively contributing member who has attained the age of sixty years or any member who has had thirty-five years of total service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia, regardless of age, is eligible for an annuity. No A new entrant nor or a present member is not eligible for an annuity, however, if either he or she has less than five years of service to his or her credit: Provided, That on and after July 1, 2013, any person who becomes a new member of this retirement system shall, in qualifying for retirement under this section, have five or more years of contributory service, all of which shall be actual, contributory ones.
(c) Any member who has served at least thirty, but less than thirty-five years, as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia and is less than fifty-five years of age is eligible for an annuity. but However, the annuity shall be the reduced actuarial equivalent of the annuity the member would have received if the member were age fifty-five at the time such the annuity was applied for.
(1) His or her service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia must total at least ten years and service as a teacher or nonteaching member must have been terminated because of disability, which disability must have caused absence from service for at least six months before his or her application for a disability annuity is approved.
(2) His or her service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia must total at least five years and service as a teacher or nonteaching member must have been terminated because of disability, which disability must have caused absence from service for at least six months before his or her application for disability annuity is approved. and The disability is must be a direct and total result of an act of student violence directed toward the member.
(f) Continuance of the disability of the retired member retirant shall be established by medical examination, as prescribed in subdivision (3), subsection (e) of this section, annually for five years after retirement, and thereafter at such times required by the retirement board. Effective July 1, 1998, a member who has retired because of a disability may select an option of payment under the provisions of section twenty-eight of this article: Provided, That any option selected under the provisions of section twenty-eight of this article shall be in all respects the actuarial equivalent of the straight life annuity benefit the disability retiree retirant receives or would receive if the options under said section were not available and that no beneficiary or beneficiaries of the disability annuitant retirant may receive a greater benefit, nor receive any benefit for a greater length of time, than the beneficiary or beneficiaries would have received had the disability retiree retirant not made any election of the options available under said section. In determining the actuarial equivalence, the retirement board shall take into account the life expectancies of the member and the beneficiary: Provided, however, That the life expectancies may at the discretion of the retirement board be established by an underwriting medical director of a competent insurance company offering annuities. Payment of the disability annuity provided in this article shall cease immediately if the retirement board finds that the disability of the retired teacher retirant no longer exists, or if the retired teacher retirant refuses to submit to medical examination as required by this section.
(d) The disability annuities of all teachers retired for disability disabled retirants shall be based upon a disability table prepared by a competent actuary approved by the retirement board. Disability annuity benefits will begin the first day of the month following the latter of: (1) Six months of absence caused by the disability; (2) the date of a written report by a physician selected by the retirement board stating the member is mentally or physically incapacitated for service and that the disability is total and likely to be permanent; or (3) termination of employment.
(f) All annuities shall be paid in twelve monthly payments. In computing the monthly payments, fractions of a cent shall be considered a cent. The monthly payments shall cease with the payment for the month within which the beneficiary dies, and shall begin with the payment for the month succeeding the month within which the annuitant retirant became eligible under this article for the annuity granted. In no case, however, shall an annuitant a retirant receive more than four monthly payments which are retroactive after the retirement board receives his or her application for annuity. The monthly payments shall be made on the twenty-fifth day of each month, except the month of December, when the payment shall be made on December 18. If the date of payment falls on a holiday, Saturday or Sunday, then the payment shall be made on the preceding workday.