HB562: Retirement System; retirement supplement.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 51.1-166 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 51.1-166. Post-retirement supplements generally.
A. In addition to the allowances payable under this chapter, post-retirement supplements shall be payable to the recipients of such allowances. Supplements shall be subject to the same conditions of payment as are allowances.
B. The amounts of the post-retirement supplements shall be
determined as percentages of the allowances supplemented hereby. The
percentages shall be determined annually by reference to the increase in the
United States Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers
(CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States
Department of Labor. The percentages shall be based on monthly averages and
shall be the difference between (i) the
average for the calendar year in
which the allowance initially commenced just
ended and (ii)
the average for the most recent calendar
year immediately prior to
the calendar year in which used
in the determination of the
post-retirement supplement supplements is currently being paid. The annual increase,
if any, in the Consumer
Price Index CPI-U
shall be considered only to the extent of three percent plus one-half of such additional
increase up to seven percent. If the difference in
the percentages determined above is zero or less, the post-retirement
supplements shall either not commence or shall continue unchanged until such
time as an annual determination results in a difference in the percentages that
are greater than zero.
Beginning July 1,
1997, contribution rates calculated pursuant to § 51.1-145 for all employers
shall include an amount not less than twenty percent of the total annual amount
necessary to fund all post-retirement supplements. Contribution
rates for all employers shall increase thereafter
until, beginning July 1, 2002, such rates shall include an
amount equal to 100 percent of the total annual amount necessary to fund all
post-retirement supplements. All contribution rates shall be computed in
accordance with recognized actuarial principles on the basis of methods and
assumptions approved by the Board.
Nothing in this
section shall prohibit an employer from contributing, prior to July 1, 2002,
100 percent of the total annual amount necessary to fund its post-retirement
supplements.
C. There shall be no change in the amount of any post-retirement supplement between determination dates except as necessary to reflect changes in the amount of the allowance being supplemented. The post-retirement supplement shall remain a constant percentage of the respective allowance being supplemented. No new post-retirement supplement shall be commenced except as of a determination date. The post-retirement supplement determined as of any determination dates shall become effective at the beginning of the fiscal year and shall be in lieu of any post-retirement supplements previously payable, which shall thereupon be terminated.
D. Any recipient of an allowance which initially commenced on or prior to January 1, 1990, shall be entitled to post-retirement supplements effective July 1, 1991. Any recipient of an allowance must receive that allowance for one full calendar year before being entitled to post-retirement supplements.