Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 16 > Article 5V - Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act

• Accrued benefit: means on behalf of any member two and six-tenths percent per year of the member's final average salary for the first 20 years of credited service. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all retirement contributions deducted from the compensation of a member, or paid on his or her behalf as a result of covered employment, together with regular interest on the deducted amounts. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Active military duty: means full-time active duty with any branch of the armed forces of the United States, including service with the National Guard or reserve military forces when the member has been called to active full-time duty and has received no compensation during the period of that duty from any board or employer other than the armed forces. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Actuarial equivalent: means a benefit of equal value computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates as set and adopted by the board in accordance with the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• 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.
• Annuity starting date: means the first day of the month for which an annuity is payable after submission of a retirement application. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• 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.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• 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}
• Board: means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contributory service: means service rendered by a member while employed by a participating public employer for which the member made contributions to the plan. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County commission or political subdivision: has the meaning ascribed to it in this code. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• County firefighter: means an individual employed in full-time employment as a firefighter with a county commission. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• 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
• Credited service: means the sum of a member's years of service, active military duty, disability service and accrued annual and sick leave service. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dependent child: means either:

  (1) An unmarried person under age 18 who is:

  (A) A natural child of the member. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2

• Dependent parent: means the father or mother of the member who was claimed as a dependent by the member for federal income tax purposes at the time of the member's death. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Disability service: means service received by a member, expressed in whole years, fractions thereof or both, equal to one half of the whole years, fractions thereof, or both, during which time a member receives disability benefits under this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Early retirement age: means age 45 or over and completion of 20 years of contributory service. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Effective date: means January 1, 2008. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Emergency medical services officer: means an individual employed by the state, county or other political subdivision as a medical professional who is qualified to respond to medical emergencies, aids the sick and injured and arranges or transports to medical facilities, as defined by the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Employer error: means an omission, misrepresentation, or deliberate act in violation of relevant provisions of the West Virginia Code or of the West Virginia Code of State Rules or the relevant provisions of both the West Virginia Code and of the West Virginia Code of State Rules by the participating public employer that has resulted in an underpayment or overpayment of contributions required. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Final average salary: means the average of the highest annual compensation received for covered employment by the member during any five consecutive plan years within the member's last 10 years of service while employed, prior to any disability payment. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Full-time employment: means permanent employment of an employee by a participating public employer in a position which normally requires 12 months per year service and requires at least 1,040 hours per year service in that position. 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
• 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
• Hour of service: means :

  (1) Each hour for which a member is paid or entitled to payment for covered employment during which time active duties are performed. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2

• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Medical examination: means an in-person or virtual examination of a member's physical or mental health, or both, by a physician or physicians selected or approved by the board. 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
• Monthly salary: means the W-2 reportable compensation received by a member during the month. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Normal form: means a monthly annuity which is one twelfth of the amount of the member's accrued benefit which is payable for the member's life. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Normal retirement age: means the first to occur of the following:

  (1) Attainment of age 50 years and the completion of 20 or more years of regular contributory service, excluding active military duty, disability service and accrued annual and sick leave service. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2

• Participating public employer: means : (1) Any county commission, political subdivision, or county 911 public safety answering point in the state which has elected to cover its emergency medical services officers or 911 personnel, as defined in this article, under the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Physical or mental impairment: is a n impairment that results from an anatomical, physiological or psychological abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. 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
• Plan year: means the 12-month period commencing on January 1 of any designated year and ending the following December 31. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Political subdivision: means a county, city or town in the state. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Public Employees Retirement System: means the West Virginia Public Employee's Retirement System created by West Virginia Code. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Regular interest: means the rate or rates of interest per annum, compounded annually, as the board adopts in accordance with the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Required beginning date: means April 1 of the calendar year following the later of: (1) The calendar year in which the member attains age 70. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Retirant: means any member who commences an annuity payable by the plan. 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
• Retirement income payments: means the monthly retirement income payments payable under the plan. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• 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
• Totally disabled: means a member's inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
• Town: includes a city, village or town, and the word "council" any body or board, whether composed of one or more branches, which is authorized to make ordinances for the government of a city, town, or village. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Year of service: means a member shall, except in his or her first and last years of covered employment, be credited with years of service credit based upon the hours of service performed as covered employment and credited to the member during the plan year based upon the following schedule:
  West Virginia Code 16-5V-2