Bill Text: WV SB26 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permitting certain employees of educational service cooperatives participate in state's teacher retirement systems
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-04-16 - Chapter 89, Acts, Regular Session, 2019 [SB26 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2019-SB26-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2019 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 26
By Senator Blair
[Introduced
January 9, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Pensions]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-7A-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §18-7B-2 of said code, all relating to permitting employees of educational services cooperatives to participate in the State Teachers Retirement System; and permitting persons employed for instructional services by educational services cooperatives to participate in the State Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-3. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(1) “Accumulated contributions” means all deposits
and all deductions from the gross salary of a contributor plus regular
interest.
(2) “Accumulated net benefit” means the aggregate
amount of all benefits paid to or on behalf of a retired member.
(3) “Actuarially equivalent” or “of equal actuarial
value” means a benefit of equal value computed upon the basis of the mortality
table and interest rates as set and adopted by the retirement board in
accordance with the provisions of this article: Provided, That when used
in the context of compliance with the federal maximum benefit requirements of
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code, “actuarially equivalent” shall be
computed using the mortality tables and interest rates required to comply with
those requirements.
(4) “Annuities” means the annual retirement
payments for life granted beneficiaries in accordance with this article.
(5) “Average final salary” means the average of the
five highest fiscal year salaries earned as a member within the last fifteen
fiscal years of total service credit, including military service as provided in
this article, or if total service is less than fifteen years, the average
annual salary for the period on which contributions were made: Provided,
That salaries for determining benefits during any determination period may not
exceed the maximum compensation allowed as adjusted for cost of living in
accordance with §5-10D-7 of this code and Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
(6) “Beneficiary” means the recipient of annuity
payments made under the retirement system.
(7) “Contributor” means a member of the retirement
system who has an account in the Teachers Accumulation Fund.
(8) “Deposit” means a voluntary payment to his or
her account by a member.
(9) “Employer” means the agency of and within the
state which has employed or employs a member.
(10) “Employer error” means an omission,
misrepresentation or violation of relevant provisions of the West Virginia Code
or of the West Virginia Code of State Regulations 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 contributions required. A deliberate act contrary to the
provisions of this section by a participating public employer does not
constitute employer error.
(11) “Employment term” means employment for at
least ten months, a month being defined as 20 employment days.
(12) “Gross salary” means the fixed annual or
periodic cash wages paid by a participating public employer to a member for
performing duties for the participating public employer for which the member
was hired. Gross salary shall be allocated and reported in the fiscal year in
which the work was done. Gross salary also includes retroactive payments made to
a member to correct a clerical error, or made pursuant to a court order or
final order of an administrative agency charged with enforcing federal or state
law pertaining to the member's rights to employment or wages, with all
retroactive salary payments to be allocated to and considered paid in the
periods in which the work was or would have been done. Gross salary does not
include lump sum payments for bonuses, early retirement incentives, severance
pay or any other fringe benefit of any kind including, but not limited to,
transportation allowances, automobiles or automobile allowances, or lump sum
payments for unused, accrued leave of any type or character.
(13) “Internal Revenue Code” means the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as it has been amended.
(14) “Member” means any person who has accumulated
contributions standing to his or her credit in the State Teachers Retirement
System. A member shall remain a member until the benefits to which he or she is
entitled under this article are paid or forfeited, or until cessation of
membership pursuant to §18-7A-13 of this code.
(15) “Members of the administrative staff of the
public schools” means deans of instruction, deans of men, deans of women, and
financial and administrative secretaries.
(16) “Members of the extension staff of the public
schools” means every agricultural agent, boys' and girls' club agent and every
member of the agricultural extension staff whose work is not primarily
stenographic, clerical or secretarial.
(17) “New entrant” means a teacher who is not a
present teacher.
(18) “Nonteaching member” means any person, except
a teacher member, who is regularly employed for full-time service by: (A) Any
county board of education or educational services cooperative; (B) the
State Board of Education; (C) the Higher Education Policy Commission; (D) the
West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education; or (E) a
governing board, as defined in §18B-1-2 of this code: Provided, That any
person whose employment with the Higher Education Policy Commission, the West
Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education or a governing
board commences on or after July 1, 1991, is not considered a nonteaching
member.
(19) “Plan year” means the 12-month period
commencing on July 1 and ending the following June 30 of any designated year.
(20) “Present member” means a present teacher or
nonteacher who is a member of the retirement system.
(21) “Present teacher” means any person who was a
teacher within the 35 years beginning July 1, 1934, and whose membership in the
retirement system is currently active.
(22) “Prior service” means all service as a teacher
completed prior to July 1, 1941, and all service of a present member who was
employed as a teacher, and did not contribute to a retirement account because
he or she was legally ineligible for membership during the service.
(23) “Public schools” means all publicly supported
schools, including colleges and universities in this state.
(24) “Refund beneficiary” means the estate of a
deceased contributor or a person he or she has nominated as beneficiary of his
or her contributions by written designation duly executed and filed with the
retirement board.
(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, 162 CSR 7.
(26) “Regularly employed for full-time service”
means employment in a regular position or job throughout the employment term
regardless of the number of hours worked or the method of pay.
(27) “Required beginning date” means April 1 of the
calendar year following the later of: (A) The calendar year in which the member
attains age seventy and one-half years; or (B) the calendar year in which the
member retires or ceases covered employment under the system after having
attained the age of 70 and one-half years.
(28) “Retirant” means any member who commences an
annuity payable by the retirement system.
(29) “Retirement board” means the Consolidated
Public Retirement Board created pursuant to §5-10D-1 et seq. of this
code.
(30) “Retirement system” means the State Teachers
Retirement System established by this article.
(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) members of the research,
extension, administrative or library staffs of the public schools; (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;(H) employees of
the State Board of Education who are performing services of an educational
nature;(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;(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;(K) an
employee of the State Board of School Finance, if that person was formerly
employed as a teacher in the public schools; (L) employees of an educational
services cooperative who are performing services of an educational nature;
and (L) (M) any person designated as a 21st Century Learner
Fellow pursuant to §18A-3-11 of this code who elects to remain a member of the
State Teachers Retirement System provided in this article.
(32) “Total service” means all service as a teacher
or nonteacher while a member of the retirement system since last becoming a
member and, in addition thereto, credit for prior service, if any.
Age in excess of 70 years shall be considered to be 70 years.
ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS' DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7B-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(1) “Annual addition” means, for purposes of the
limitations under Section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, the sum credited
to a member's account for any limitation year of: (A) Employer contributions;
(B) employee contributions; and (C) forfeitures. Repayment of cash-outs or
contributions as described in Section 415(k)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
rollover contributions and picked-up employee contributions to a defined
benefit plan shall may not be treated as annual additions,
consistent with the requirements of Treasury Regulation §1.415(c)-1;
(2) “Annuity account” or “annuity” means an account
established for each member to record the deposit of member contributions and
employer contributions and interest, dividends or other accumulations credited
on behalf of the member;
(3) “Compensation” means the full compensation
actually received by members for service whether or not a part of the
compensation is received from other funds, federal or otherwise, than those
provided by the state or its subdivisions: Provided, That annual compensation
for determining contributions during any determination period may not exceed
the maximum compensation allowed as adjusted for cost of living in accordance
with §5-10D-7 of this code and Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code:
Provided, however, That solely for purposes of applying the limitations of
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code to any annual addition, “compensation”
has the meaning given it in §18-7B-13d of this code.
(4) “Consolidated board” or “board” means the
Consolidated Public Retirement Board created and established pursuant to
§5-10D-1 et seq. of this code;
(5) “Defined contribution system” or “system” means
the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System created and established by
this article;
(6) “Employer” means the agency of and within the
State of West Virginia which has employed or employs a member;
(7) “Employer contribution” means an amount
deposited into the member's individual annuity account on a periodic basis
coinciding with the employee's regular pay period by an employer from its own
funds;
(8) “Employment term” means employment for at least
10 months in any plan year with a month being defined as 20 employment days;
(9) “Existing employer” means any employer who
employed or employs a member of the system;
(10) “Existing retirement system” means the State
Teachers Retirement System established in §18-7A-1 et seq. of this code;
(11) “Internal Revenue Code” means the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as it has been amended;
(12) “Member” or “employee” 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) members of the
research, extension, administrative or library staffs of the public schools;
(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; (H) employees of
the State Board of Education who are performing services of an educational
nature; (I) any person employed in a nonteaching capacity by the State Board of
Education, any county board of education or the State Department of Education,
if that person was formerly employed as a teacher in the public schools; (J)
all classroom teachers, principals and educational administrators in schools
under the supervision of the Division of Corrections and the Department of
Health and Human Resources; (K) any person who is regularly employed for
full-time service by any county board of education, educational services
cooperative or the State Board of Education; (L) the administrative staff
of the public schools including deans of instruction, deans of men and deans of
women, and financial and administrative secretaries; and (M) any person designated
as a 21st Century Learner Fellow pursuant to §18A-3-11 of this code who elects
to remain a member of the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System
established by this article;
(13) “Member contribution” means an amount reduced
from the employee's regular pay periods, and deposited into the member's
individual annuity account within the Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement
System;
(14) “Permanent, total disability” means a mental
or physical incapacity requiring absence from employment service for at least
six months: Provided, That the incapacity is shown by an examination by
a physician or physicians selected by the board: Provided, however, That
for employees hired on or after July 1, 2005, “permanent, total disability”
means an inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of any
medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to
result in death, or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous
period of not less than 12 months and the incapacity is so severe that the
member is likely to be permanently unable to perform the duties of the position
the member occupied immediately prior to his or her disabling injury or
illness;
(15) “Plan year” means the 12 month period
commencing on July 1 of any designated year and ending on the following June
30;
(16) “Public schools” means all publicly supported
schools, including normal schools, colleges and universities in this state;
(17) “Regularly employed for full-time service”
means employment in a regular position or job throughout the employment term
regardless of the number of hours worked or the method of pay;
(18) “Required beginning date” means April 1 of the
calendar year following the later of: (A) The calendar year in which the member
attains age 70 and one-half years; or (B) the calendar year in which the
member retires or otherwise ceases employment with a participating employer
after having attained the age of 70 and one-half years;
(19) “Retirement” means a member's withdrawal from
the active employment of a participating employer and completion of all
conditions precedent to retirement;
(20) “Year of employment service” means employment
for at least ten months, with a month being defined as 20 employment days:
Provided, That no more than one year of service may be accumulated in any 12
month period.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit employees of educational services cooperatives to participate in the State Teachers Retirement System. The bill permits persons employed for instructional services by educational services cooperatives to participate in the State Teachers’ Defined Contribution Retirement System.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
