RETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFITS
Passed Legislation
Passed legislation
HOUSE BILL 12
Virginia Retirement System; early retirement provisions for certain
local government officials.
Patron: Terry G. Kilgore
Summary: Reduces the age at which certain local government
officials who are involuntarily terminated may retire without
a penalty reduction from age 55 to 50. The bill also adds county,
city, and town attorneys to the list of local government officials
covered.
HOUSE BILL 14
Virginia Retirement System.
Patron: R. Creigh Deeds
Summary: Provides that the employees and retirees of a city
or town that loses its status as a city or a town maintain their
accrued retirement rights within the Virginia Retirement System.
HOUSE BILL 77
Line of Duty Act; death benefits.
Patron: Vincent F. Callahan, Jr.
Summary: Increases, from $50,000 to $75,000, the death benefit
for beneficiaries of law-enforcement officers and firefighters
who die in the line of duty.
HOUSE BILL 134
Retirement; health insurance credits for retired local officers.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Expands the recipient base of the retiree health
insurance credit currently provided to certain local officers
and their employees to include all constitutional officers and
all their employees.
Note: VALECO legislation. As a result of this bill, all retired
principal officers and deputies with 15 or more years' service
are now covered.
HOUSE BILL 135
Virginia Retirement System; includes Law Officers' Retirement
System.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Makes several technical corrections and clarifications
to the retirement systems and programs administered by the Virginia
Retirement System ("VRS"). The legislation (i) brings
the newly created Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System ("VaLORS")
into conformity with other VRS retirement programs by adding
VaLORS to the list of VRS retirement programs that are conditionally
exempt from the Privacy Protection Act, adding VaLORS members
to the list of state employees who are not members of the regular
state employee retirement system, adding VaLORS retirees to the
other VRS retirees who may participate in the state retiree health
insurance program and the group insurance program, adding VaLORS
retirees to the VRS retirees who receive the health insurance
credit and the option for service credit in lieu of the transitional
severance benefit, authorizing service in VaLORS to be credited
to members of the Judicial Retirement System, and conforming
the administration of VaLORS death benefits to their administration
in the State Police Officers' Retirement System; (ii) clarifies
that certain retirees are credited with the greater of their
years of state service or years as a teacher for establishing
the health insurance credit; (iii) provides that the VRS Board
may invest the assets of any VRS retirement system or program
on a pooled basis; (iv) corrects the reference in ß 51.1-142
to the number of years of service above which certain employees
may purchase credit for prior years of service, from three to
four; (v) provides that the credit for up to one year of service
which may be purchased for any leave without pay for the birth
or adoption of a child is on a per occurrence basis; (vi) deletes
obsolete requirements associated with the Workforce Transition
Act; (vii) changes from fifty-five to fifty certain references
to minimum age requirements to conform to recent provisions for
certain employees who are 50 years old and have at least 30 years
of service; (viii) clarifies and brings current the additional
retirement allowance which is adjusted biennially and paid to
certain retirees until their 65th birthday; (ix) deletes an obsolete
retirement benefit for judges; and (x) provides that of the six
members appointed by the Governor to the Volunteer Firefighters'
and Rescue Squad Workers' Pension Fund Board, three shall come
from a list provided by the Virginia State Firefighter's Association
and three from the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads.
Note: VRS bill, accomplishing essentially technical corrections.
HOUSE BILL 1458
Health insurance; long-term care insurance for local employees.
Patron: Thomas M. Bolvin
Summary: Allows local governments or school boards, upon their
option, to participate in the long-term care insurance or other
benefit program made available to them by the Department of Personnel
and Training. This bill is identical to SB 517.
SENATE BILL 20
Virginia Retirement System.
Patron: Linda T. (Toddy) Puller
Summary: Provides that members may purchase up to one year of
service for the birth or adoption of each child (in cases of
unpaid leave of absences).
SENATE BILL 28
Sickness and Disability Program for state employees.
Patron: Richard J. Holland
Summary: Makes technical changes, adds a definition for "existing
employee," and provides that (i) employees participating
in the newly created Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System
are eligible for the program; (ii) the definitions of "partial
disability" and "total disability" are changed
to attain a consistent, complete, and cohesive definition of
"disability" and to ensure that disability be determined
according to employees' ability to perform "essential job
functions"; (iii) payment may be made for accumulated disability
credits upon employees' entry into long-term disability; (iv)
the amount of annual sick leave and family and personal leave
for new employees when they commence employment and in subsequent
years is clarified; (v) the applicable waiting periods for disability
benefits begin on the first day of a disability; (vi) the salary
increases included in creditable compensation during periods
of short-term disability are general salary increases; (vii)
supplemental short-term disability benefits may cover periodic
absences due to a major chronic condition; (viii) employees must
apply for Social Security disability benefits to be eligible
for long-term disability benefits, and must reapply and appeal
Social Security denials of benefits or they will be deemed to
have received such benefits which will reduce benefits which
may be received under the state disability program; (ix) disability
benefits are offset by employees' wages and salaries from employment
times the creditable compensation replacement percentage; (x)
employees pay back, with interest, benefits wrongfully received
under certain conditions; (xi) employees cannot receive disability
benefits during periods of incarceration or when the disability
results from the employee's commission of a felony; (xii) disability
benefits are not payable to any employee determined to be noncompliant
with the program; (xiii) the procedure for appeals which may
be allowed by the VRS Board will be developed by the Board and
modeled after the claims provisions provided in the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; and (xiv) no person shall
receive more than one disability benefit at the same time.
Note: This program currently covers only state employees.
SENATE BILL 517
Health insurance; long-term care insurance for local employees.
Patron: J. Randy Forbes
Summary: Allows local governments or school boards, upon their
option, to participate in the long-term care insurance or other
benefit program made available to them by the Department of Personnel
and Training.
Note: See HB 1458, above, which is identical.
Further Information
Alan Albert: 757/624-3055 (Norfolk), 804/697-1368 (Richmond)
E-mail: aalbert@maysval.com
Anne Leigh Kerr: 804/697-1465
E-mail: alkerr@maysval.com
(c) 2000 Virginia Association of Local Elected Constitutional
Officers.
This report may not be reproduced in whole or in part without
the written permission of the copyright holder.
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