(a) If a member who has been a member for at least ten years, while in covered employment after the effective date of this article, has died or dies from any cause other than those specified in section twenty-three of this article and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly installments to the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime, a sum equal to the greater of: (1) One half of the annual compensation received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased member; or (2) if the member dies after his or her early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then died. Where the member is receiving disability benefits under this article at the time of his or her death, the average monthly compensation received in the plan year prior to disability shall be substituted for the annual compensation in subdivision (1) of this subsection.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5V-24

  • Annual compensation: means the wages paid to the member during covered employment within the meaning of Section 3401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, but determined without regard to any rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based upon the nature or location of employment or services performed during the plan year plus amounts excluded under Section 414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code and less reimbursements or other expense allowances, cash or noncash fringe benefits or both, deferred compensation and welfare benefits. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Covered employment: means either: (1) Employment as a full-time emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician/paramedic or emergency medical services/registered nurse and the active performance of the duties required of emergency medical services officers. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Effective date: means January 1, 2008. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Fund: means the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement Fund created by this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Member: means either: (1) A person first hired as an emergency medical services officer by an employer which is a participating public employer of the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System after the effective date of this article, as defined in subsection (r) of this section. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Plan: means the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System established by this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • retirement: means the first day of the month following or coincident with the latter of the last day the member worked in covered employment or the member's normal retirement age and after completing proper written application for retirement on an application supplied by the board. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Spouse: means the person to whom the member is legally married on the annuity starting date. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • Surviving spouse: means the person to whom the member was legally married at the time of the member's death and who survived the member. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2

(b) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section, or other sections of this article are in lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other state retirement system based upon the member's covered employment.

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