RETIREMENT AND OTHER BENEFITS
Failed Legislation
HOUSE BILL 1562
Commonwealth Law-Enforcement Officers' Retirement System.
Patron: C. Richard Cranwell
Summary: Creates a law-enforcement officers' retirement system to include
certain law-enforcement officers in a retirement system similar to, but
separate from, the State Police Officers' Retirement System, and makes such
membership compulsory.
Note: See House Bill 715; this bill was simply a "placeholder"
introduced to provide a vehicle if the essentially identical carryover bill,
House Bill 715, was not passed at the beginning of the session.
HOUSE BILL 1588
Retirement benefits for hazardous duty.
Patron: Glenn M. Weatherholtz
Summary: Provides that law-enforcement officers receiving enhanced retirement
benefits for hazardous duty will continue to receive those benefits until
social security benefits begin or age 65, whichever is later.
HOUSE BILL 1603
Virginia Retirement System; prior service credit..
Patron: Harry R. (Bob) Purkey
Summary: Provides that a current member of the Virginia Retirement System
may purchase up to three years of service credit for service as a teacher
at a private school.
HOUSE BILL 1607
Health insurance credits; retired sheriffs and deputies.
Patron: John J. (Butch) Davies, III
Summary: Provides that retired sheriffs and deputies who rendered at
least 15 years of creditable service 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 $1.50
for each full year of the retired member's creditable service, not to exceed
a maximum monthly credit of $45. Localities which participate in VRS may
also elect to provide an additional one-dollar health insurance credit per
month per full year of the retired member's creditable service. The additional
amount may not exceed a monthly credit of $30.
HOUSE BILL 1643
Retired state employees health insurance credit; state health plan.
Patron: John H. Tate, Jr.
Summary: Allows former state employees with at least 15 years of creditable
service to participate in the state health plan, receive the retiree health
insurance credit, or both, if after leaving state service they worked for
a local government which does not elect to provide a retiree health insurance
credit. Currently, a retired state employee is barred from participating
in the state health plan if he failed to elect to participate in the plan
within 31 days following the effective date of retirement. The measure also
clarifies that a former state employee who defers his retirement benefits
is eligible to receive the health insurance credit, to participate in the
state health plan, or both, upon the effective date of his deferred retirement.
Persons who have been ineligible to participate in the state health plan
or 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 such benefits prospectively.
HOUSE BILL 1686
Retirement benefits; overtime pay as creditable compensation.
Patron: Jackie T. Stump
Summary: Includes overtime pay in determining creditable compensation.
HOUSE BILL 1708
Virginia Retirement System; social security option participants.
Patron: Clarence E. (Bud) Phillips
Summary: Directs the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) to re-compute and
increase the basic benefit, which is calculated when the retiree reaches
age 65, by the total annual cost-of-living adjustments received by the retiree
under the Virginia Retirement System from the date the retiree began receiving
benefits until the retiree reaches age 65.
HOUSE BILL 1710
Virginia Retirement System; prior credits.
Patron: Clarence E. Phillips
Summary: Permits military retirees to receive service credit in the Virginia
system as well as in another retirement system.
SENATE BILL 768
Virginia Retirement System; early retirement for certain members.
Patron: Yvonne B. Miller
Summary: Allows correctional officers to retire after attaining age 55
with 25 years of service. Currently VRS members must have 30 years of service
and have attained age 55 to retire with unreduced benefits.
SENATE BILL 844
Defined contribution plan.
Patron: Benjamin J. Lambert, III
Summary: Makes elected Commonwealth's attorneys eligible to participate
in a defined contribution plan.
SENATE BILL 955
State retirees health benefits program.
Patron: Walter A. Stosch
Summary: Allows any former state employee, who is eligible to receive
VRS annuity payments, to participate in the state retiree health benefits
program upon leaving state service without starting to receive the retirement
payments if the employee was involuntarily separated from state service.
Currently, state retirees who do not elect to participate in the state health
plan within 31 days of the effective date of retirement are thereafter barred
from participating in the retiree health benefits program. Any state retiree
who is receiving retirement benefit payments and participating in the retirees
health benefits program on July 1, 1999, may make an election, by September
1, 1999, to continue participating in the health benefits program but defer
further retirement benefit payments, or to defer continued participation
in the health benefits program and receipt of retirement benefit payments,
until a later date. Technical and clarifying changes are made to the provisions
relating to the health insurance credit for state retirees.
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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