RETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFITS
Passed Legislation
HOUSE BILL 189
Virginia Retirement System; creditable service.
Patron: Phillip A. Hamilton
Summary: Modifies the definition of creditable service to include uncompensated
sick leave accumulated as of the employee's retirement date, certified by
the employer to the Board.
HOUSE BILL 715
Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System.
Patron: C. Richard Cranwell
Summary: Creates a new retirement system, VaLORS, with a "50/25"
full retirement provision (full retirement with 25 years of creditable service
and age of not less than 50), for the following law enforcement and public
safety officers: Capitol Police, state college and university campus police,
game wardens, Alcoholic Beverage Control special agents, Virginia Marine
Resources Commission marine patrol officers, state correctional officers,
parole officers, and State Police commercial vehicle enforcement officers.
In addition to 50/25 retirement, VaLORS provides retirees who are younger
than 65 with an annual allowance of $8.952 (adjusted in future years) until
they turn 65.
Note: An earlier version of this bill was effectively killed in Senate
Finance; the measure in the present form arose from a hastily-drawn Senate
floor amendment a few days later.
HOUSE BILL 1017
Virginia Retirement System; benefits paid to survivors.
Patron: George W. Grayson
Summary: Provides that the beneficiary of a member who dies in service
will receive the benefits that would have been payable had the member died
at normal retirement age.
HOUSE BILL 1542
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: James M. Shuler
Summary: Allows state employees, teachers, and employees of political
subdivisions that do not elect to be exempt, to retire from service with
unreduced benefits when they reach 50 years of age and have 30 years of
service credits. Currently, VRS members with 30 years of service credit
must be at least age 55 to retire with unreduced benefits.
Note: A total of seven passed bills make identical provisions for
"50/30" full retirement. In addition to this bill, see House Bills
1613, 1762, and 1805, and Senate Bills 810, 818 and 876. VALECO lobbied
to ensure that the legislation in final form covered constitutional officers.
It does so unless the officer's jurisdiction "opts out" for all
of its employees.
HOUSE BILL 1612
Virginia Retirement System; technical corrections and administrative
changes.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Provides technical revisions to various VRS provisions. Additional
changes simplify the administration of the system. These changes include
(i) making vesting and final compensation consistent regardless of the date
of termination so that the calculation of benefits is uniform and (ii) eliminating
the requirement that a member's parents be "wholly dependent"
in order to receive benefits if the member dies prior to retirement.
Note: VRS bill.
HOUSE BILL 1613
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: Flora D. Crittenden
Summary: 50/30 retirement; see full description under HB 1542, above.
HOUSE BILL 1704
Retired state employees, and teachers health insurance credit; health
insurance program; deferred compensation program.
Patron: V. Earl Dickinson
Summary: Allows former state employees and teachers with at least 15
years of creditable service to receive the retiree health insurance credit
if, after leaving state service, they worked for a local government which
does not elect to provide a retiree health insurance credit. Persons who
have been ineligible to receive the credit under the existing law, but would
have been eligible if this measure had been in effect, may enroll within
180 days following this measure's effective date to receive the credit prospectively.
The measure also allows any former state employee who is receiving VRS annuity
payments and participating in the state retiree health benefits program
on July 1, 1999, to elect to cease receiving the VRS annuity payments until
reapplying for such benefits at a later date and to continue participating
in the retiree health insurance program. Technical and clarifying changes
are made to the provisions relating to the health insurance credit for state
retirees. The bill also authorizes the Virginia Retirement System to establish
a plan into which employers can make contributions to deferred compensation
accounts. Effective January 1, 2000, the Commonwealth, political subdivisions
participating in the VRS-administered deferred compensation plan, and sponsors
of a plan established under ß 403 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code
shall transfer funds to the institution holding investments under the plan.
The amounts credited to accounts of participants in the deferred compensation
plan shall not exceed, on a semi-monthly basis, the lesser of $50 or 50
percent of the participants contribution, provided the employee is contributing
at least $10 per pay period in the plan.
Note: Note the provision for state matching of employee contributions
to the state deferred compensation plan or a ß 403(b) plan on a 1:2
basis. This continues the trend to establish alternatives to the state's
traditional, defined benefit approach to retirement that is embodied in
the regular VRS system.
HOUSE BILL 1706
Regional jail superintendents and officers; benefits.
Patron: L. Preston Bryant
Summary: Allows regional jail authorities to provide benefits to regional
jail superintendents and jail officers that are equivalent to benefits provided
under the State Police Officers' Retirement System.
Note: Note that this is merely permissive; the regional jail authority
would be obliged to fund any such enhanced benefit. For reference, the contribution
rate for SPORS is almost three times that for regular VRS retirement.
HOUSE BILL 1755
Sickness and disability; benefits for local government employees.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Provides that local government employers may elect to participate
in the sickness and disability program. If an employer elects to participate
in the program, employees may elect whether to continue under the existing
program or to opt into the sickness and disability program.
Note: This makes the state's very attractive, relatively new sickness
and disability coverage available to local government employees (including
constitutional officers and deputies) if the locality opts in.
HOUSE BILL 1756
Retired state employees, and teachers health insurance credit; health
insurance program; deferred compensation program.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Same as House Bill 1704, above.
HOUSE BILL 1762
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: Franklin P. Hall
Summary: Same as House Bill 1542, above.
HOUSE BILL 1805
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: Eric I. Cantor
Summary: Same as House Bill 1542, above.
HOUSE BILL 1843
Health insurance credits; local social service employees, constitutional
officers and sheriff's deputies.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Provides that local social service employees, sheriff's deputies,
and constitutional officers shall receive a health insurance credit to their
monthly retirement allowance, which shall be applied to reduce the retired
member's health insurance premium cost, provided the retiree's employer
elects to participate in the credit program. The amount of each monthly
health insurance credit payable under this section shall be one dollar for
each full year of the retired member's creditable service, not to exceed
a maximum monthly credit of $30.
Note: See the Introduction to this Report
for details regarding VALECO's successful effort to have Governor Gilmore
revive this measure after it was effectively killed by the Senate Finance
Committee.
HOUSE BILL 1844
Heath insurance credits; retired state employees and teachers.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary: Increases the health insurance credit for retired state employees
and teachers. The amount of each monthly health insurance credit payable
under these sections shall increase from $2.50 to $4.00 per month for state
employees and from $1.50 to $2.50 per month for teachers for each full year
of the retired member's creditable service, not to exceed a maximum monthly
credit of $120 for state employees and $75 for teachers.
Note: Note that this increase does NOT apply to the health insurance
credit for retired constitutional officers enacted pursuant to HB 1843,
above.
HOUSE BILL 2397
Supplemental health insurance payments for state retirees.
Patron: John H. Tate, Jr.
Summary: Allows retiring state employees to have the amount of their
accrued annual leave and sick leave that would otherwise be paid to them
in a lump sum to be credited to a supplemental health insurance credit account.
Money in the account will be withdrawn to supplement the existing health
insurance credit for retirees, in order to cover the full amount of a retiree's
monthly health insurance premium.
SENATE BILL 220
Virginia Retirement System long-term care insurance program.
Patron: Stephen H. Martin
Summary: Authorizes the Board of the Virginia Retirement System to develop,
implement, and administer a long-term care insurance program.
SENATE BILL 810
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: Edward L. Schrock
Summary: See House Bill 1542, above.
SENATE BILL 816
Sickness and disability program.
Patron: Richard J. Holland
Summary: Makes technical revisions and corrections to the sickness and
disability program for state employees. The changes add a definition of
"state service" as the total period of an employee's service as
an eligible employee, including classified full-time and classified part-time
service and periods of leave without pay. The VRS Board is authorized to
self-insure the long-term disability benefits. Additional changes (i) clarify
the effective date of coverage for existing employees who elect to participate
in the program in order to address lag pay issues, (ii) give the VRS Board
authorization to allow appeals of decisions as provided under ERISA, and
(iii) allow disability benefits to continue to employees whose disabilities
are related to substance abuse if the employee is complying with a treatment
plan and making substantial progress towards rehabilitation. The measure
is effective retroactively to January 1, 1999.
SENATE BILL 818
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: Walter A. Stosch
Summary: Same as House Bill 1542, above.
SENATE BILL 831
Virginia Retirement System; employer withdrawal of funds.
Patron: Kevin G. Miller
Summary: Provides a mechanism for withdrawing funds from the Retirement
System to distribute to beneficiaries or transfer to another tax qualified
retirement plan upon the termination of the employer's status as an agency
or political subdivision of the Commonwealth.
SENATE BILL 854
Deferred retirement option program.
Patron: Kenneth W. Stolle
Summary: Establishes a deferred retirement option program for state employees,
state police officers, local government employees, teachers, and judges.
To participate in the program, members must be eligible to retire under
VRS, SPORS, or the JRS with unreduced benefits. The employee continues working
during the period of his participation in the program, not to exceed five
years, during which time a percentage of the amount of the monthly retirement
benefits that he would have received if he had retired instead of enrolling
in the program is deposited in an account. The percentage, determined at
an amount that ensures that the program does not affect employer contribution
rates, shall not exceed 100 percent. The account balance, with interest,
shall be paid to the participant when he retires.
SENATE BILL 876
Virginia Retirement System; 50/30 retirement.
Patron: Patricia S. Ticer
Summary: Same as House Bill 1542, above.
SENATE BILL 888
Virginia Retirement System; prior service credit for interruption due
to raising children.
Patron: William C. Mims
Summary: Allows any member in service who is granted an unpaid leave
of absence due to the birth or adoption of a child to purchase up to one
year of service credit per child.
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
© 1999 Virginia Association of Local Elected Constitutional Officers.
This report may not be reproduced without the written permission of the
copyright holder.
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