WEST virginia legislature
2022 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 664
By Senator Nelson
[Introduced February 17,
2022; referred
to the Committee on Pensions]
A BILL to amend and reenact §51-9-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the retirement system for judges of courts of record; and changing the contribution levels of every person who is serving, and who elects to participate in this retirement system, on or after July 1, 2014, to no less than three percent and no more than 10 percent of the participant’s annual compensation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 9. RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES OF COURTS OF RECORD.
§51-9-4. Required percentage contributions from salaries; any termination of required contributions prior to actual retirement disallowed; leased employees; military service credit; maximum allowable and qualified military service; qualifiable prosecutorial service.
(a) Every person who is now
serving or shall hereafter serve as a judge of any court of record of this
state shall pay into the Judges’ Retirement Fund six percent of the salary
received by such person out of the State Treasury: Provided, That when a
judge becomes eligible to receive benefits from such trust fund by actual
retirement, no further payment by him or her shall be required, since such
the employee contribution, in an equal treatment sense, ceases to be
required in the other retirement systems of the state, also, only after actual
retirement: Provided, however, That on and after January 1, 1995, every
person who is then serving or shall thereafter serve as a judge of any court of
record in this state shall pay into the Judges’ Retirement Fund nine percent of
the salary received by that person: Provided further, That consistent
with the salary increase granted to judges of courts of record during the 2005
regular legislative session and to changes effectuated in judicial retirement
by provisions enacted during the third extraordinary legislative session of
2005, on and after July 1, 2005, every person who is then serving or shall
thereafter serve as a judge of any court of record in this state shall pay into
the Judges’ Retirement Fund 10 and one-half percent of the salary received by
that person: And provided further, That on and after July 1, 2013,
except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, every person who is then
serving or shall thereafter serve as a judge of any court of record in this
state and who elects to participate in this retirement system shall pay into
the Judges’ Retirement Fund seven percent of the salary received. Any prior
occurrence or practice to the contrary, in any way allowing discontinuance of
required employee contributions prior to actual retirement under this
retirement system, is rejected as erroneous and contrary to legislative intent
and as violative of required equal treatment and is hereby nullified and
discontinued fully, with the State Auditor to require such contribution in
every instance hereafter, except where no contributions are required to be made
under any of the provisions of this article.
(b) On and after July 1,
2014, every person who is serving or shall hereafter serve as a judge of any
court of record of this state and who elects to participate in this retirement
system shall contribute to the fund an amount determined by the board. This
amount will be based on the annual actuarial valuation prepared by the State
Actuary: Provided, That the contribution will be no less than seven
percent three percent or no more than 10 percent of the participant's
annual compensation.
(c) On or after July 1, 2013, and each year thereafter, the annual actuarial valuation prepared by the State Actuary for determination of all participants’ contributions and the annual actuarially required contribution prepared by the State Actuary for use by the courts of this state for legislative appropriation shall be provided to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Joint Committee on Pensions and Retirement.
(d) An individual who is a
leased employee shall may not be eligible to participate in the
system. For purposes of this system, a “leased employee” means any individual
who performs services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement
with an employee leasing organization or other similar organization. If a
question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the
board has the final power to decide the question.
(e) In drawing warrants for the salary checks of judges, the State Auditor shall deduct from the amount of each such salary check six percent thereof, which amount so deducted shall be credited by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board to the trust fund: Provided, That on or after January 1, 1995, the amount so deducted and credited shall be nine percent of each such salary check: Provided, however, That consistent with the salary increase granted to judges of courts of record during the 2005 regular legislative session and to changes effectuated in judicial retirement by provisions enacted during the third extraordinary legislative session of 2005, on or after July 1, 2005, the amount so deducted and credited shall be 10 and one-half percent of each such salary check: Provided further, That on and after July 1, 2013, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the amount so deducted and credited shall be seven percent of each salary check: And provided further, That on and after July 1, 2014, the amount so deducted and credited will be determined by the board.
(f) Any judge seeking to qualify military service to be claimed as credited service, in allowable aggregate maximum amount up to five years, shall be entitled to be awarded the same without any required payment in respect thereof to the Judges’ Retirement Fund.
(g) Notwithstanding the
preceding provisions of this section, 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
may determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this
section and may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits, and
service credit pursuant to the authority granted to the retirement board in §5-10D-1
of this code to comply with section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(h) Any judge holding
office as such on the effective date of the amendments to this article adopted
by the Legislature at its 1987 regular session who seeks to qualify service as
a prosecuting attorney as credited service, which service credit must have been
earned prior to the year 1987, shall be required to pay into the Judges’
Retirement Fund nine percent of the annual salary which was actually received
by such person as prosecuting attorney during the time such the prosecutorial
service was rendered prior to the year 1987 and for which credited service is
being sought, together with applicable interest. No judge whose term of office
shall commence after the effective date of such amendments to this
article shall may be eligible to claim any credit for service
rendered as a prosecuting attorney as eligible service for retirement benefits
under this article, nor shall may any time served as a prosecutor
after the year 1988 be considered as eligible service for any purposes of this
article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the contribution level in the retirement system for judges of courts of record, on or after July 1, 2014, to no less than three percent and no more than 10 percent of the participant’s annual compensation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.