51.1-155 - Service retirement allowance.
§ 51.1-155. Service retirement allowance.
A. Retirement allowance. - A member shall receive an annual retirementallowance, payable for life, as follows:
1. Normal retirement. - The allowance shall equal 1.70 percent of his averagefinal compensation multiplied by the amount of his creditable service.
2. Early retirement; applicable to teachers, state employees, and certainothers. - The allowance shall be determined in the same manner as for normalretirement with creditable service and average final compensation beingdetermined as of the date of actual retirement. If the member has less than30 years of service at retirement, the amount of the retirement allowanceshall be reduced on an actuarial equivalent basis for the period by which theactual retirement date precedes the earlier of (i) his normal retirement dateor (ii) the first date on which he would have completed a total of 30 yearsof creditable service. The provisions of this subdivision shall apply toteachers and state employees. These provisions shall also apply to employeesof any political subdivision that participates in the retirement system ifthe political subdivision makes the election provided in subdivision 3.
3. Early retirement; applicable to employees of certain politicalsubdivisions and any person who becomes a member on or after July 1, 2010. -The allowance shall be determined in the same manner as for normal retirementwith creditable service and average final compensation being determined as ofthe date of actual retirement. If the creditable service of the member equals30 or more years but the sum of his age at retirement plus his creditableservice at retirement is less than 90, the amount of the retirement allowanceshall be reduced on an actuarial equivalent basis for the period by which theactual retirement date precedes the earlier of (i) his normal retirement dateor (ii) the first date on which the sum of his then attained age plus histhen creditable service would have been equal to 90 or more had he remainedin service until such date. If the member has less than 30 years ofcreditable service, the retirement allowance shall be reduced for the periodby which the actual retirement date precedes the earlier of (i) his normalretirement date or (ii) the first date on which he would have completed atotal of at least 30 years of creditable service and his then creditableservice plus his then attained age would have been equal to 90 or more.
The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to the employees of anypolitical subdivision that participates in the retirement system and anyother employees as provided by law. The participating political subdivisionmay, however, elect to provide its employees with the early retirementallowance set forth in subdivision 2. No such election shall be made for aperson who becomes a member on or after July 1, 2010. Any election pursuantto this subdivision shall be set forth in a legally adopted resolution.
4. Additional allowance. - In addition to the allowance payable undersubdivisions 1, 2, and 3, a member shall receive an additional allowancewhich shall be the actuarial equivalent, for his attained age at the time ofretirement, of the excess of his accumulated contributions transferred fromthe abolished system to the retirement system, including interest credited atthe rate of two percent compounded annually since the transfer to the date ofretirement, over the annual amounts equal to four percent of his annualcreditable compensation at the date of abolishment for a period equal to hisperiod of membership in the abolished system.
5. 50/10 retirement. - The allowance shall be payable in a monthly stream ofpayments equal to the greater of (i) the actuarial equivalent of the benefitthe member would have received had he terminated service and deferredretirement to age 55 or (ii) the actuarially calculated present value of themember's accumulated contributions, including accrued interest.
B. Beneficiary serving in position covered by this title.
1. Except as provided in subdivisions 2 and 3, if a beneficiary of a serviceretirement allowance under this chapter or the provisions of Chapters 2 (§51.1-200 et seq.), 2.1 (§ 51.1-211 et seq.), or 3 (§ 51.1-300 et seq.) is atany time in service as an employee in a position covered for retirementpurposes under the provisions of this or any chapter other than Chapter 6 (§51.1-600 et seq.), 6.1 (§ 51.1-607 et seq.), or 7 (§ 51.1-700 et seq.), hisretirement allowance shall cease while so employed. Any member who retiresand later returns to covered employment shall not be entitled to select adifferent retirement option for a subsequent retirement.
2. Active members of the General Assembly who are eligible to receive aretirement allowance under this title, excluding their service as a member ofthe General Assembly, shall be eligible to receive a retirement allowancebased on their creditable service and average final compensation for serviceother than as a member of the General Assembly. Such members of the GeneralAssembly shall continue to be reported as any other members of the retirementsystem. Upon ceasing to serve in the General Assembly, members of the GeneralAssembly receiving a retirement allowance based on their creditable serviceand average final compensation for service other than as a member of theGeneral Assembly shall have their retirement allowance recomputedprospectively to include their service as a member of the General Assembly.Active members of the General Assembly shall be prohibited from receiving aservice retirement allowance under this title based solely on their serviceas a member of the General Assembly.
3. (Expires July 1, 2015) Any person receiving a service retirement allowanceunder this chapter, who is hired as a local school board instructional oradministrative employee required to be licensed by the Board of Education,may elect to continue to receive the retirement allowance during suchemployment, under the following conditions:
(a) The person has been receiving such retirement allowance for a certainperiod of time preceding his employment as provided by law;
(b) The person is not receiving a retirement benefit pursuant to an earlyretirement incentive program from any local school division within theCommonwealth; and
(c) At the time the person is employed, the position to which he is assignedis among those identified by the Superintendent of Public Instructionpursuant to subdivision 4 of § 22.1-23, by the relevant divisionsuperintendent, pursuant to § 22.1-70.3, or by the relevant local schoolboard, pursuant to subdivision 9 of § 22.1-79.
If the person elects to continue to receive the retirement allowance duringthe period of such employment, then his service performed and compensationreceived during such period of time will not increase, decrease, or affect inany way his retirement benefits before, during, or after such employment.
(1952, c. 157, § 51-111.55; 1956, c. 560; 1960, cc. 138, 604; 1962, c. 417;1964, c. 223; 1966, c. 174; 1970, c. 476; 1972, cc. 118, 568; 1973, c. 523;1974, c. 353; 1976, c. 538; 1977, c. 620; 1978, c. 841; 1980, c. 722, §51-111.55:1; 1982, c. 467; 1984, c. 430; 1987, cc. 13, 14; 1988, c. 224;1990, c. 832; 1991, c. 719; 1992, c. 826; 1994, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 5; 1995,cc. 152, 692, 811; 1998, cc. 407, 674, 746; 1999, c. 111; 2001, cc. 689, 700;2002, cc. 778, 781; 2003, c. 211; 2004, c. 563; 2005, cc. 605, 606, 793;2006, c. 513; 2010, cc. 737, 738.)