A. The assets of the retirement systems created under this title are hereby exempted from any state, county, or municipal tax. Retirement allowances and other benefits accrued or accruing to any person under this title and the assets of the retirement systems created under this title shall not be subject to execution, attachment, garnishment, or any other process whatsoever, except any process for a debt to any employer who has employed such person, and except for administrative actions pursuant to Chapter 19 of Title 63.2 or any court process to enforce a child or child and spousal support obligation, nor shall any assignment thereof, other than a voluntary, irrevocable assignment of group life insurance pursuant to § 51.1-510, be enforceable in any court. However, retirement benefits and assets created under this title which are deemed to be marital property pursuant to Chapter 6 of Title 20 may be divided or transferred by the court by direct assignment to a spouse or former spouse pursuant to § 20-107.3. The assets of the retirement systems administered by the Board are trust funds and shall be used solely for the benefit of members and beneficiaries and to administer the retirement systems. The Board shall establish procedures whereby persons entitled to property held by the Board, which would be presumed abandoned under the Virginia Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act (§ 55.1-2500 et seq.), may recover it.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 51.1-124.4

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Board: means the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
  • 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
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Member: means any person included in the membership of the Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • 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

B. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary that would otherwise limit a distributee’s election, a distributee may elect, at the time and in the manner prescribed by the Board, to have any portion of an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee in a direct rollover. The terms “eligible rollover distribution,” “eligible retirement plan” and “distributee” have the meanings prescribed by § 401(a)(31) of the Internal Revenue Code (including as such section is amended or renumbered, or any successor provision thereto) and the regulations thereunder, as may be amended. Such terms shall include non-spouse designated beneficiaries and inherited individual retirement accounts in accordance with § 402(c)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended or renumbered, and the regulations thereunder applicable to governmental plans. In the event of a mandatory cash-out, as that term is defined under the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder applicable to governmental plans, greater than $1,000, if the member does not elect to have such distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the member in a direct rollover or to receive the distribution directly in accordance with this section, then the Board shall pay the distribution in a direct rollover to an individual retirement plan designated by the Board in accordance with subsection F of § 51.1-124.30.

C. The provisions of this chapter and Chapters 2 (§ 51.1-200 et seq.), 2.1 (§ 51.1-211 et seq.) and 3 (§ 51.1-300 et seq.) are intended to meet the requirements of § 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended or renumbered, and the regulations thereunder applicable to governmental plans.

1952, c. 157, §§ 51-111.15, 51-111.24; 1954, c. 633; 1959, Ex. Sess., c. 47; 1962, c. 50; 1972, c. 151; 1973, c. 523; 1976, c. 545; 1977, c. 620; 1978, c. 841; 1980, cc. 559, 596; 1983, c. 308, § 51-111.26:1; 1984, c. 430; 1986, c. 474; 1989, Sp. Sess., c. 3; 1990, c. 832, § 51.1-102; 1991, c. 433; 1992, cc. 716, 811; 1993, c. 135; 1994, cc. 4, 85, 883; 2003, c. 15; 2006, c. 637; 2015, c. 660.

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