Article X, § 11 of the Constitution of Virginia requires the General Assembly to maintain a retirement system for state employees and employees of participating political subdivisions and school divisions, subject to restrictions and conditions prescribed by the General Assembly, that shall be administered in the best interests of the beneficiaries thereof. To that end and for the purposes of providing adequate benefits and pensions to members, encouraging stable employer contribution rates, and ensuring the overall soundness of the Retirement System, the General Assembly hereby establishes the Virginia Retirement System as an independent agency of the Commonwealth, exclusive of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, in the following provisions.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 51.1-124.1

  • Employer: means the Commonwealth in the case of a state employee, the local public school board in the case of a teacher, or the political subdivision participating in the Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
  • Retirement System: means the Virginia Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245

1994, c. 85; 2022, c. 294.