Bill Text: WV HB2125 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Reinstating service credit to certain members of the Public Employees Retirement System
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-10 - To House Pensions and Retirement [HB2125 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB2125-Introduced.html
West Virginia Legislature
2017 Regular Session
Introduced
House Bill 2125
(By Delegate Hamilton)
[
to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §5-10-18 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing an eleven month
window to permit members of the public employees retirement system to purchase
credited service that had been previously forfeited.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-10-18 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT
ACT.
§5-10-18. Termination of membership; reentry.
(a) When a member of the
retirement system retires, withdraws his or her accumulated contributions, or
dies, he or she ceases to be a member.
When a member leaves the employ of a participating public employer for
any reason other than retirement or death, and withdraws his or her accumulated
contributions from the system, he or she ceases to be a member and forfeits
service credited to him or her at that time.
If he or she becomes reemployed by a participating public employer he or
she shall be reinstated as a member of the retirement system and his or her
credited service last forfeited by him or her shall be restored to his or her
credit: Provided, That he or she
must be reemployed for a period of one year or longer to have the service
restored: Provided, however, That
he or she returns to the members' deposit fund the amount, if any, he or she
withdrew from the fund, together with reinstatement interest as set forth in
the Board's Rule, Refund, Reinstatement,
Retroactive Service, Loan And Employer Error Interest Factors, 162 C. S. R. 7,
on the withdrawn amount from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment,
and that the repayment begins within two years of the return to employment and
that the full amount is repaid within five years of the return to
employment. Any failure to repay the
full amount in accordance with this section shall be treated as an overpayment
or excess contribution subject to section forty-four of this article.
(b) The Prestera Center for
Mental Health Services, Valley Comprehensive Mental Health Center, Westbrook
Health Services and Eastern Panhandle Mental Health Center, and their
successors in interest, shall provide for their employees a pension plan in
lieu of the Public Employees Retirement System during the existence of the
named mental health centers and their successors in interest.
(c) The administrative
bodies of the Prestera Center for Mental Health Services, Valley Comprehensive
Mental Health Center, Westbrook Health Services and Eastern Panhandle Mental
Health Center shall, on or before May 1, 1997, give written notice to each employee
who is a member of the Public Employees Retirement System of the option to
withdraw from or remain in the system.
The notice shall include a copy of this section and a statement
explaining the member's options regarding membership. The notice shall include a statement in plain
language giving a full explanation and actuarial projection figures in support
of the explanation regarding the individual member's current account balance,
vested and nonvested, and his or her projected return upon remaining in the
Public Employees Retirement System until retirement, disability or death, in
comparison with the projected return upon withdrawing from the Public Employees
Retirement System and joining a private pension plan provided by the Community
Mental Health Center and remaining in the private pension plan until
retirement, disability or death. The
administrative bodies shall keep in their respective records a permanent record
of each employee's signature confirming receipt of the notice.
(d) Effective March 1,
2003 July 1, 2017, and ending December 31, 2004 June 1,
2018, any member may purchase credited service previously forfeited by him
or her and the credited service shall be restored to his or her credit: Provided, That he or she returns to the
members' deposit fund the amount, if any, he or she withdrew from the fund,
together with interest on the withdrawn amount from the date of withdrawal to
the date of repayment at a rate to be determined by the board. The repayment
under this section may be made by lump sum or repaid over a period of time not
to exceed sixty months. Where the member
elects to repay the required amount other than by lump sum, the member is
required to pay interest at the rate determined by the board until all sums are
fully repaid.
(e) Effective July 1,2005,
and ending December 31, 2006, any emergency services personnel may purchase
service credit for the time period beginning January 1, 1990, and ending
December 31, 1995: Provided, That
the person was employed as an emergency service person in this state for that
time period: Provided, however,
That any person obtaining service credit under this subsection is required to
pay the employee's share and the employer's share upon his or her actual salary
for the years in question plus interest at the assumed actuarial rate of return
for the plan year being repurchased.
(f) Jobs for West
Virginia's graduates and their successors in interest shall provide a pension
plan in lieu of the Public Employees Retirement System for employees hired on
or after July 1, 2005.
(g) Wetzel County Hospital
and their successors in interest shall provide a pension plan in lieu of the
Public Employees Retirement System for employees hired on or after July 1,
2005.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is open an enrollment
period of eleven months in which certain members of the Public Employees
Retirement System may purchase previously forfeited service credit.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.
