Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 51.1 > Chapter 1 > Article 5 - Participation of Political Subdivisions in Retirement System.

• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the member's contribution account, all amounts the member may contribute to purchase creditable service, all member contributions contributed by the employer on behalf of the employee, on or after July 1, 1980, except those amounts contributed on behalf of members of the General Assembly who are otherwise retired under the provisions of this chapter, and all interest accruing to these funds. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Actuarial equivalent: means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the basis of actuarial tables adopted by the Board. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• 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.
• Average final compensation: means the average annual creditable compensation of a member during his 60 highest consecutive months of creditable service or during the entire period of his creditable service if less than 60 months. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Beneficiary: means any person entitled to receive benefits under this chapter. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Board: means the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
• Creditable service: means prior service as set forth in § Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Employee: means any teacher, state employee, officer, or employee of a locality participating in the 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
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Local officer: means the treasurer, commissioner of the revenue, attorney for the Commonwealth, clerk of a circuit court, or sheriff of any county or city, or deputy or employee of any such officer. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Member: means any person included in the membership of the Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Normal retirement date: means a member's sixty-fifth birthday. 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.
• Political subdivision: means any county, city, or town, any political entity, subdivision, branch, or unit of the Commonwealth, or any commission, public authority, or body corporate created by or under an act of the General Assembly specifying the powers, privileges, or authority capable of exercise by the commission, public authority, or body corporate. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Retirement allowance: means the retirement payments to which a member is entitled. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Retirement System: means the Virginia Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-124.3
• Service: means service as an employee. 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
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254