General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2008>Pensions, Benefits and Retirement

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Pensions, Benefits and Retirement

Passed

P HB112

Virginia Retirement System; early retirement provisions for certain local government officials. Adds all county administrators to the list of local government officials that currently includes some county administrators and other local government officials who may retire without a reduction in retirement allowance upon attaining age fifty, if they are involuntarily dismissed or are not reappointed.
Patron - Byron

P HB245

Virginia Retirement System group insurance program; exemption from process. Makes insurance benefits and the proceeds therefrom under any group insurance policy purchased by the Virginia Retirement System subject to administrative child support actions and court proceedings to enforce a child or child and spousal support obligations. Currently, these insurance benefits are exempt from all legal process, though other Virginia Retirement System benefits are subject to process to enforce child or child and spousal support obligations.
Patron - O'Bannon

P HB772

Virginia Retirement System; exemption from liability for advisory committees. Extends the current exemption from liability to advisory committees appointed by the Virginia Retirement System Board of Trustees. The bill also deletes redundant provisions.
Patron - Tata

P HB773

Virginia Retirement System; prior service credit. Makes a technical correction.
Patron - Tata

P HB774

State Police Officers' Retirement System. Clarifies the time frame within which compulsory retirement shall occur by specifying that it be within 60 days of a member's reaching the age of 70 instead of "forthwith" after reaching the age of 70.
Patron - Tata

P HB775

Cash match plan for state employees. Makes a technical correction.
Patron - Tata

P SB353

Long-term care coverage for public employees. Transfers the administration of long-term care coverage programs for state employees, employees of local governments, local officers, and teachers from the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) to the Virginia Retirement System, upon the mutual consent of VRS and DHRM.
Patron - Stosch

P SB494

Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Advisory Board; report triennially. Changes reporting requirements for the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Advisory Board from annual reporting to triennial reporting.
Patron - Hanger

Failed

F HB9

Health insurance credits; retired employees of local social services boards. Increases the monthly health insurance credit for retired employees of local social services boards from $2.50 to $4.00 for each full year of the retired member's creditable service. The bill eliminates an overall cap on the monthly amount of the credit, and establishes a formula for determining the monthly health insurance credit for such employees whose retirement was for disability. A locality would no longer have the option of providing an additional $1 health insurance credit to retired employees of local social services boards. The measure equalizes the health insurance credit for retired employees of local social services boards with the credit available to retired teachers.
Patron - Wright

F HB78

Health insurance credits; certain retired public officers and employees. Increases the monthly health insurance credit from $1.50 to $4.00 for each full year of creditable service for retired constitutional officers, employees of constitutional officers, general registrars, employees of general registrars, and local social service employees.
Patron - Abbitt

F HB128

Virginia Retirement System; defined contribution retirement plan. Creates a new defined contribution retirement plan for all employees who begin employment on or after July 1, 2008, in lieu of participating in any other retirement plan administered by the Virginia Retirement System. All other employees may elect to participate in the plan in lieu of participating in any other retirement plan administered by the Virginia Retirement System.
Patron - Purkey

F HB317

Health insurance credits for retired state employees. Increases the monthly health insurance credit for retired state employees from $4 for each year of creditable service to $6 for each year of creditable service.
Patron - Morgan

F HB369

Virginia Retirement System; state and local law-enforcement officers. Permits members of the State Police Officers' System, the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System, and local law-enforcement officials covered under the Virginia Retirement System whose localities have elected to provide benefits comparable to that of State Police Officers, to take full retirement (unreduced) if they have at least 25 years of creditable service, regardless of their age.
Patron - Carrico

F HB411

Judicial retirement. Allows a member who is at least 50 years of age and has a minimum of 20 years of actual judicial service to retire with full benefits. The weighted years of service factor and purchased service credit cannot be used in calculating the required 20 years of actual service.
Patron - Griffith

F HB482

Optional retirement plan; institutions of higher education. Provides that the annual contribution to optional retirement plans covering certain employees at institutions of higher education would not be less than the percentage contribution rate in effect that is generally applicable for state employees who are members of the Virginia Retirement System, including the five percent member contribution rate.
Patron - Shuler

F HB483

Retirement; teachers and administrative faculty of institutions of higher education. Provides that teachers and administrative faculty of institutions of higher education who are covered under an optional retirement plan (in lieu of the Virginia Retirement System) and have 10 years of service with the Commonwealth may make a one-time, irrevocable election to transfer into VRS.
Patron - Shuler

F HB484

F HB556

Virginia Retirement System; investments related to Sudan. Requires the Virginia Retirement System, under certain circumstances, to divest itself of investments in companies meeting certain criteria gauged to be related to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Patron - Valentine

F HB596

Virginia Retirement System; superintendents and sworn officers of regional jails. Requires localities participating in the Virginia Retirement System and participating in a regional jail to provide retirement benefits comparable to the benefits provided to state police officers to the regional jail's superintendent and sworn officers.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB695

Virginia Retirement System; loss of retirement benefits for certain felonious convictions. Provides that a member of any of the retirement programs administered by the Virginia Retirement System forfeits his retirement benefits if it is determined that he has been convicted of a felony that arises out of misconduct in any position covered under the retirement programs administered by the Virginia Retirement System.
Patron - Armstrong

F HB736

F HB738

Virginia Retirement System; purchase of prior service credit. Permits a member of the Virginia Retirement System whose spouse was in active duty military service to purchase up to four years of prior service credit for the period of time that the member's spouse was in active duty military service provided that the member's spouse was required by the military to move at least once from a military base in one state to a military base in another state or another country.
Patron - Caputo

F HB739

Virginia Retirement System; retired members working at public colleges and universities. Permits certain retired members to work as an administrative or teaching faculty employee at a public college or university and continue receiving his retirement allowance.
Patron - Caputo

F HB783

Mandatory retirement age for judges. Increases the mandatory retirement age for judges from age 70 to age 73. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council of Virginia.
Patron - Kilgore

F HB790

F HB930

Virginia Retirement System; investments related to countries sponsoring terrorism. Requires the Virginia Retirement System, under certain circumstances, to divest itself of investments in companies meeting certain criteria gauged to be related to supporting countries sponsoring terrorism.
Patron - Gilbert

F HB960

Virginia Retirement System; optional increase for political subdivisions. Permits any locality that participates in the Virginia Retirement System to increase the retirement allowance for its employees from 1.70 percent of their average final compensation multiplied by the amount of their creditable service to 1.85 percent of their average final compensation multiplied by the amount of their creditable service.
Patron - Shannon

F HB981

Virginia Retirement System; local law-enforcement officers. Requires localities choosing to provide retirement benefits to local law-enforcement officers that are comparable to the benefits provided to state police officers, to compute a factor in the retirement benefits by multiplying average final compensation by 1.85%. Under current law the localities may choose a multiplier of 1.7% or 1.85%.
Patron - Nutter

F HB1148

Local Government Manager Retention Program; retirement benefits. Permits localities to elect to provide unreduced early retirement benefits and the additional allowance provided to State Police Officers to the chief local executive employee who: (i) has attained the age of 50; (ii) has held such position in the locality for at least 15 consecutive years; and (iii) has at least 20 years of creditable service with the Virginia Retirement System.
Patron - Phillips

F HB1154

Retirement credit for unused sick leave. Provides that the unused sick leave balances of state and local employees who are not covered by the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program or an employer-sponsored short- or long-term disability sickness plan would be converted into additional retirement credit upon the effective date of retirement. Unused sick leave would be converted into retirement credit at the rate of one month of service for each 173 hours of unused sick leave. The actuarial cost for the conversion of sick leave balances to additional service credit would be incorporated into the applicable employer's annual contribution for retirement.
Patron - Phillips

F HB1193

Military Service Personnel Bill of Rights of 2008. Provides a number of rights and enhancements to military service personnel who are on active duty and domiciled in the Commonwealth. More specifically, the bill:

1. Requires the Department of Human Resources Management to develop, in cooperation with the Department of Planning and Budget, state personnel policies providing supplemental pay to any state employee who (i) is on active military duty in the armed forces of the United States and (ii) receives active military duty pay in an amount that is less than his regular state pay,

2. Allows any individual domiciled in Virginia who is a member of the National Guard to participate in the group life, accidental death and dismemberment policy administered by the Virginia Retirement System, provided the individual pays the full amount of the cost of coverage under the insurance program,

3. Allows a subtraction when calculating Virginia taxable income for National Guard and Reserve personnel military pay when they serve, outside the United States, on extended active duty for periods of 90 days or longer, and

4. Authorizes Virginia domiciled members of the armed services and their spouses to freeze access to their credit reports.
Patron - Moran

F HB1219

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System. Provides that the supplemental allowance currently paid to certain members upon retirement until age 65 would instead be paid until Social Security retirement age.
Patron - Bowling

F HB1460

Virginia Retirement System; investments related to state sponsors of terrorism. Requires the Virginia Retirement System, under certain circumstances, to divest itself of investments in companies meeting certain criteria gauged to be related to supporting state sponsors of terrorism as determined by the Secretary of State of the United States.
Patron - Moran

F SB34

Mandatory retirement for judges. Increases the mandatory retirement age for judges from age 70 to age 75. This bill has been incorporated into SB 19.
Patron - Deeds

F SB87

F SB110

Retirement benefits; public safety officers and state police officers. Makes legislation passed by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly that increased retirement benefits for certain sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, public safety officers, and state police officers applicable to persons who retired from service on or after July 1, 2002. Under the 2007 legislation, among other changes, the average final compensation retirement multiplier for sheriffs and state police officers was increased from 1.7 percent to 1.85 percent, and all deputy sheriffs of localities participating in the Virginia Retirement System were provided LEOs retirement benefits. For any such person who retired from service on or after July 1, 2002, but before July 1, 2007, any increase in retirement benefits as a result of the bill would be made available on a prospective basis beginning July 1, 2008.
Patron - McDougle

F SB127

F SB128

F SB187

Virginia Retirement System; average final compensation retirement multiplier for teachers. Increases from 1.7 to 2.0 the average final compensation retirement multiplier for teachers with five or more years of creditable service earned as a teacher. The 2.0 multiplier would apply to the total amount of creditable service at the time of retirement, regardless if some portion of the total amount of creditable service relates to other than teaching. The bill applies to current and future retirees.
Patron - Herring

F SB367

VRS; retirement credits for special forest wardens. Provides retirement credits to special forest wardens of the Department of Forestry who participate directly in extinguishing forest fires. Such persons would receive eight hours of retirement credits for each day or portion of a day in which they participate directly in extinguishing a forest fire. The retirement credits could be used to reduce the 30 years of service otherwise required for eligibility for an unreduced service retirement allowance, but not below 25 years of service. The net years and months of service remaining after application of the retirement credits would be the years and months of service required of such special forest warden for eligibility for an unreduced service retirement allowance. Each month of service would be eliminated at the rate of one month of service for each 173 hours of retirement credits. No creditable service or compensation would be allowed or granted for the retirement credits. This bill incorporates SB 491 and SB 599.
Patron - Watkins

F SB491

F SB587

F SB599

Virginia Retirement System; additional creditable service for special forest wardens. Provides additional creditable service for the following duties performed by special forest wardens in the scope of employment: (i) fighting forest fires; (ii) participating in fire or firefighter training conducted by the Department or an agent thereof; (iii) directly participating in a prescribed burning; (iv) directly conducting an investigation relating to the cause of a forest fire; and (v) directly participating in fighting or directly acting to suppress the danger to life or property from other emergencies such as hurricanes, floods, and ice storms. A special forest warden would receive eight hours of additional creditable service for each day, or portion thereof, in which he performed one or more of such duties. The additional creditable service would be retroactive to January 1, 2003, for special forest wardens in service. This bill was incorporated into SB 367.
Patron - Norment

F SB614

Virginia Retirement System; authority to manage and invest certain funds. Authorizes the Virginia Retirement System to manage and invest funds in a trust or equivalent arrangement established by a local government or other local entity to fund certain postemployment benefits. The bill would provide that the Commonwealth would not be liable for any losses suffered by a local entity, or a trust or equivalent arrangement established by the local entity, on investments of such funds made by the Virginia Retirement System. In addition, no officer, director, or member of the Board of the Virginia Retirement System or of any advisory committee thereof or any subsidiary corporation of the Virginia Retirement System whose actions are within the standard of care of a prudent person acting in a like capacity would be liable for any investment losses.
Patron - Stolle

F SB624

F SB695

Retirement benefits for local school superintendents. Permits a retired member of the Virginia Retirement System to return to work as a local school division superintendent and still maintain his monthly retirement payments. Such option currently is available to certain other local school board instructional or administrative employees under certain conditions. The bill also repeals sunset dates relating to allowing retired persons to work as teachers, administrative personnel, and school division superintendents while receiving their VRS retirement pay.
Patron - Ruff

Carried Over

C SB19

Mandatory retirement age for judges. Increases the mandatory retirement age for judges from age 70 to age 75. This bill incorporates SB 34.
Patron - Edwards

C SB260

C SB261

Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System (VALORS). Adds conservation officers of the Department of Conservation and Recreation as members of VALORS.
Patron - Deeds

C SB305

Health insurance credit for retired local officers. Increases the monthly health insurance credit for retired constitutional officers, employees of constitutional officers, general registrars, employees of general registrars, and local social service employees to $4 for each year of creditable service. Currently, the credit is $1.50 per month for each year of creditable service. The maximum monthly credit is increased from $45 to $120.
Patron - Houck

C SB316

Virginia Sickness and Disability Program; open-enrollment period. Opens the enrollment into the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program between October 1, 2008, and January 1, 2009, for eligible employees not currently participating in the program. Any employee electing to participate in the program would convert his sick leave balances to (i) additional retirement service credit on the basis of one month of service for each 173 hours of sick leave or (ii) disability credits on the basis of one hour of disability credit for each hour of sick leave. Disability credits would be used to continue periods for which the employee would receive income replacement at 100 percent of creditable compensation for a disability. An election to participate in the program must be in writing, and is irrevocable.
Patron - Deeds

C SB400

Retirement benefits; certain deputy sheriffs retired under disability retirement. Makes legislation passed by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly that increased retirement benefits for certain sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, public safety officers, and state police officers applicable to deputy sheriffs who retired prior to July 1, 2008, under a disability retirement. Under the 2007 legislation, among other changes, deputy sheriffs of localities participating in the Virginia Retirement System were provided LEOs retirement benefits. Any increase in retirement benefits as a result of the bill would be made available on a prospective basis beginning July 1, 2008.
Patron - Puckett

C SB402

C SB417

C SB619

Virginia Retirement System; average final compensation retirement multiplier. Allows members of the Virginia Retirement System to make member contributions for purposes of increasing the average final compensation retirement multiplier from 1.7 percent to 1.85 percent. Members would be required to pay the actuarial equivalent cost for such increase. All such contributions would be treated as additional employee contributions.
Patron - Stolle

C SB674

Health insurance credits for retired school division employees. Expands the recipients of the health insurance credits currently going to retired teachers to all retired employees of local school divisions.
Patron - McEachin

C SB743

State employees' group life insurance. Permits a retiree to make an irrevocable beneficiary designation of his group life insurance to purchase or secure funeral services, and services related to interment, cremation, or other means of disposition.
Patron - Hanger

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2008>Pensions, Benefits and Retirement

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