ARTICLE 13. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES\' AND TEACHERS\' RECIPROCAL SERVICE CREDIT ACT.

§5-13-1. Short title.

The short title by which this article may be referred to is "Public Employees' and Teachers' Reciprocal Service Credit Act."

§5-13-2. Definitions.

The following words and phrases as used in this article, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context, shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his or her individual account in a state system, together with interest, if any, credited thereto.

(b) "Annuity" means the annuity payable by a state system.

(c) "Member" means a member of either the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System or the State Teachers Retirement System. The term "member" does not include any person who has retired under either state system.

(d) "Public final average salary" means a member's final average salary computed according to the law governing the public system. In computing his or her public final average salary, the compensation, if any, received by the member for services rendered in positions covered by the teacher system shall be used in the same manner as if the compensation were received for services covered by the public system: Provided, That for persons who first became members of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, no compensation for services rendered in positions covered by the teacher system may be used to compute his or her public system final average salary.

(e) "Public system" means the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System established in article ten of this chapter.

(f) "Reciprocal service credit" for a member of the public system who subsequently becomes a member of the teacher system, or vice versa, means the sum of his or her credited service in force acquired as a member of the public system and his or her credited service in force acquired as a member of the teacher system: Provided, That persons who first became members of the public system or teacher system on or after July 1, 2015, must be employed and contributed for ten years or more in each system to receive reciprocal service credit.

(g) "State system" means the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System.

(h) "Teacher final average salary" means a member's final average salary computed according to the law governing the teacher system. In computing his or her teacher final average salary, the compensation, if any, received by the member for services rendered in positions covered by the public system shall be used in the same manner as if the compensation were received for services covered by the teacher system: Provided, That for persons who first became members of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, no compensation for services rendered in positions covered by the public system may be used to compute his or her teacher system final average salary.

(i) "Teacher system" means the State Teachers Retirement System established in article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code.

(j) The masculine gender includes the feminine, and words of the singular number with respect to persons include the plural number, and vice versa.

§5-13-3. Credited service upon transfer between systems.

(a) Transfer from public service system to teacher service system. -- Notwithstanding the provisions of law governing the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System, in the event a member leaves a position covered by the public system and becomes employed in a position covered by the teacher system, he shall not forfeit his credited service acquired as a member of the public system: Provided, That he returns to the public system the amount of accumulated contributions he might have withdrawn therefrom, together with interest prescribed by the said public system: Provided, however, That he has not retired under either the public system or the teacher system: Provided further, That after the effective date of this article such subsequent employment in a position covered by the teacher system must occur within a period of five years from and after the date on which such person left a position covered by the public system. Such return of accumulated contributions shall be made in accordance with such rules and regulations as the board of trustees of the public system shall from time to time adopt.

(b) Transfer from teacher service system to public service system. -- Notwithstanding the provisions of law governing the state teachers' retirement system, in the event a member leaves a position covered by the teacher system and becomes employed in a position covered by the public system, he shall not forfeit his credited service acquired as a member of the teacher system: Provided, That he returns to the teacher system the amount of accumulated contributions he might have withdrawn therefrom, together with interest prescribed by the said teacher system: Provided, however, That he has not retired under either the public system or the teacher system: Provided further, That after the effective date of this article such subsequent employment in a position covered by the public system must occur within a period of five years from and after the date on which such person left a position covered by the teacher system. Such return of accumulated contributions shall be made in accordance with such rules and regulations as the retirement board of the teacher system shall from time to time adopt.

§5-13-4. Reciprocal service.

In the event a member leaves a position covered by the public system and within five years thereafter becomes employed in a position covered by the teacher system, or a member leaves the position covered by the teacher system and within five years thereafter becomes employed in a position covered by the public system, in either case, the following provisions shall apply.

(a) A member's reciprocal service credit in force shall be used to satisfy the service requirements for retirement under the state system from which he or she retires.

(b) If a member, who has reciprocal service credit in force, retires under the public system, he or she shall receive an annuity payable by the public system and an annuity payable by the teacher system. His or her public system annuity shall be based upon: (1) The portion of his or her reciprocal service credit acquired as a member of the public system; and (2) his or her public final average salary. The member's teacher system annuity shall be based upon: (1) The portion of his or her reciprocal service credit acquired as a member of the teacher system; and (2) his or her teachers' final average salary as provided by the teachers retirement act. His or her teacher system annuity shall begin as of the date he or she retires under the public system, but in no case prior to the date the member would have been eligible to retire under the teacher system if all his or her reciprocal service credit had been acquired as a member of the teacher system.

(c) If a member, who has reciprocal service credit in force, retires under the teacher system, he or she shall receive an annuity payable by the teacher system and an annuity payable by the public system. The member's teacher system annuity shall be based upon: (1) The portion of his or her reciprocal service credit acquired as a member of the teacher system; and (2) his or her teachers' final average salary as provided by the teachers retirement act. His or her public system annuity shall be based upon: (1) The portion of the reciprocal service credit acquired as a member of the public system; and (2) his or her public final average salary. His or her public system annuity shall begin as of the date he or she retired under the teacher system, but in no case prior to the date he or she would have been eligible to retire under the public system if all his or her reciprocal service credit had been acquired as a member of the public system.

§5-13-5. Prior service credit.

(a) In the event a member of the public system has served in a position prior to the date the teachers' system was created, which position would be covered under the teachers' system as of the date of retirement had the teachers' system been in existence at said time, the board of trustees of the public system may grant said member prior service credit for said time worked under such rules and regulations as the public board may from time to time adopt.

(b) In the event a member of the teacher system has served in a position prior to the date the public system was created, which position would be covered under the public system as of the date of retirement had the public system been in existence at said time, the teachers' retirement board of the teacher system may grant said member prior service credit for said time worked under such rules and regulations as the teacher board may from time to time adopt.

§5-13-6. Disability reciprocal credit.

In the event a member, who has reciprocal service credit in force, retires under the public system on account of disability his annuity to be paid by the teacher system shall be subject to approval of his disability retirement by the retirement board of the teacher system. In the event a member, who has reciprocal service credit in force, retires under the teacher system on account of disability his annuity to be paid by the public system shall be subject to approval of his disability retirement by the board of trustees of the public system.

§5-13-7.

Repealed.

Acts, 1974 Reg. Sess., Ch. 103.