SB 2003 — Relating to service credit, retroactive provisions, and refund of accumulated contributions for certain members of PERS

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE SECOND EXTRAORDINARY SESSION IntroducedEnrolled Senate Bill 2003 BY SENATORSBSENATORS LAI(MR.BLAIR(MR.

RESIDENT)ANDBALDWINRESIDEN) (ByANDBALDWIN Request(BY ofREQUEST theOF Executive)THE [IntroducedXECUTIV) [Passed April 25, 2022]2022; Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H A BILL to amend and reenact §5-10-14 and §5-10-30 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to service credit, retroactive provisions, and the refund of accumulated contributions for certain members of the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System.

in effect 90 days from passage (July 24, 2022)] Enr SB 2003 AN ACT to amend and reenact §5-10-14 and §5-10-30 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to service credit, retroactive provisions, and the refund of accumulated contributions for certain members of the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System.

and Enr SB 2003 (3) Service may be credited to a member who was employed by a political subdivision if Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H his or her employment occurred within a period of 30 years immediately preceding the date the political subdivision became a participating public employer.

(b) The board of trustees shall grant service credit to employees of boards of health, the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the State Senate or to any former and present member of the State Teachers Retirement System who have been contributing members has been a contributing member in the Public Employees Retirement System for more than three years, for service previously credited by the State Teachers Retirement System and shall require the transfer of the member'smember’s accumulated contributions to the system and shall also require a deposit, with reinstatement interest as set forth in the board’s Rule, Refund, Reinstatement, Retroactive Service, Loan and Correction of Error Interest Factors, 162 C.

7, of any withdrawals of contributions any time prior to the member'smember’s retirement:

(1) The member must have moved from temporary employment with the participating employer to permanent full-time employment with the participating employer within 120 days following the terminationoftermination of the member'smember’s CETA employment;

(2) the board must receive evidence that establishes to a reasonable degree of certainty as determined by the board that the member Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H previously worked in CETA;

and (3) the member shall pay to the board an amount equal to the Enr SB 2003 employer and employee contribution plus interest at the amount set by the board for the amount of service credit sought pursuant to this subsection:

Provided, That 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 and who have been or are employed during the regular sessions in 13 consecutive calendar years as either temporary employees or full-time employees or a combination thereof, as certified by the clerk of the house in which the employee served, shall receive a service credit of 12 months for each regular session served, as certified by the clerk of Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H the house in which the employee served:

Provided, however, That the amendments made to this Enr SB 2003 subsection during the 2002 regular session of the Legislature only apply to employees of the Legislature who are employed by the Legislature as either temporary employees or full-time employees as of January 1, 2002, or who become employed by the Legislature as temporary or full-time employees for the first time after January 1, 2002.

Service credit awarded for legislative employment pursuant to this section shall be used for the purpose of calculating that member'smember’s retirement annuity, pursuant to §5-10-22 of this code, and determining eligibility as it relates to credited service, notwithstanding any other provision of this section.

Once a legislative employee has been employed during regular sessions for seven consecutive years or has become a full-time employee of the Legislature, that employee shall receive the service credit provided in this section for all regular and interim sessions and interim days worked by that employee, as certified by the clerk of the house in which the employee served, regardless Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H of when the session or interim legislative employment occurred:

And provided further, That Enr SB 2003 regular session legislative employment for seven consecutive years may be served in either or both houses of the Legislature.

(f) Any employee may purchase retroactive service credit for periods of employment in which contributions were not deducted from the employee'semployee’s pay.

In the purchase of service credit for employment prior to 1989 in any department, including the Legislature, which operated from the General Revenue Fund and which was not expressly excluded from budget appropriations in which blanket appropriations were made for the state'sstate’s share of public employees'employees’ retirement coverage in the years prior to 1989, the employee shall pay the employee'semployee’s share.

Other employees shall pay the state'sstate’s share and the employee'semployee’s share to purchase retroactive service credit.

Where an employee purchases service credit for employment which occurred after 1988, that employee shall pay for the employee'semployee’s share and the employer shall pay its share for the purchase of retroactive service credit:

Provided, however, That a current legislative employee purchasing retroactive credit under this section shall do so within 24 months of beginning contributions to the Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H retirement system as a legislative employee or no later than December 31, 2016, whichever Enr SB 2003 occurs later:

And provided further, That this legislative service credit shall also be used for months of service in order to meet the 60-month requirement for the payments of a temporary legislative employee member'smember’s retirement annuity:

(h) The board of trustees shall grant service credit to any former or present member of the Intr SB 2003 202225001S 202225002H State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund who has been a contributing member of this Enr SB 2003 system for more than three years for service previously credited by the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund if the member transfers all of his or her contributions to the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund to the system created in this article, including repayment of any amounts withdrawn any time from the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund by the member seeking the transfer allowed in this subsection:

(a) In the event a member leaves the employ of a participating public employer prior to the date he the member becomes entitled to retire with an annuity payable by the retirement system, he the member shall be paid, upon his the member’s written application filed with the board of trustees, his the member’s accumulated contributions, standing to his credit in the members deposit fund if his the member’s separation from the employ of a participating public employer occurs subsequent to a period of two years from and after the date he last became a member of the system of contributing service.

If his the member’s said separation from the employ of a participating public employer occurs within a period of prior to two years from and after the date he last became a member of the system of contributing service, he the member shall be paid his the member’s accumulated contributions standing to his credit in the members deposit fund less the total regular interest credited to his the member’s individual account.

therein;(b) In the event a member dies and does not leave a beneficiary entitled to an annuity payable by the retirement system, the member’s accumulated contributions at the time of the member’s death shall be paid to such person or persons as he or she shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the board of trustees.

andIf thethere said total interest credit shall be transferredno tosuch theEnr income fund Intr SB 2003 202225001Sdesignated 202225002Hperson (b)or Inpersons thesurviving event a member dies and does not leave a beneficiary entitled to an annuity payable by the retirementsaid system,member, his the member’s said accumulated contributions standing to his credit in the members deposit fund at the time of his the member’s death shall be paid to such person or persons as he or she shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the boardmember’s ofestate. trustees.

If(c) thereIn the event a member dies and a refund of the member’s contributions is due to be nomade suchto designatedan infant child or children by reason of being the person or persons survivingnominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the saidretirement member,system, hisand the member’samount of said accumulatedrefund contributionsis shallless bethan paid$1,000, then, and in said event, the board of trustees may make said refund, upon written application, to histhe closest relative or natural guardian for the member’suse estate.of said infant child or children.

(c) Refunds of a member's contributions or accumulated contributions, as the case may be, may be made in equal installments according to such rules and regulations as the board of trustees may from time to time adopt (d)(c) In the event a member dies and a refund of his the member’s contributions is due to be made to an infant child or children by reason of being the person or persons nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the retirement system, and the amount of said refund is less than $1,000, then, and in said event, the board of trustees may make said refund, upon written application, to the closest relative or natural guardian for the use of said infant child or children.

IntrEnr SB 2003 202225001SThe 202225002HJoint NOTE:Committee on Enrolled Bills hereby certifies that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.

The............................................................... purpose of this bill is to modify service credit, retroactive provisions, and the refund of accumulated contributions for certain members of the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System.

Strike-throughsChairman, indicateSenate languageCommittee that............................................................... would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

Chairman, House Committee Originated in the Senate.

In effect 90 days from passage.

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Clerk of the Senate ...............................................................

Clerk of the House of Delegates ...............................................................

President of the Senate ...............................................................

Speaker of the House of Delegates __________ The within ...................................................

this the...........................................

Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2022.

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