Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 18 > Article 7A - State Teachers Retirement System

• Accumulated contributions: means all deposits and all deductions from the gross salary of a contributor plus regular interest. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Accumulated net benefit: means the aggregate amount of all benefits paid to or on behalf of a retired member. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuities: means the annual retirement payments for life granted beneficiaries in accordance with this article. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-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.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• 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.
• Average final salary: means the average of the five highest fiscal year salaries earned as a member within the last 15 fiscal years of total service credit, including military service as provided in this article, or if total service is less than 15 years, the average annual salary for the period on which contributions were made: Provided, That salaries for determining benefits during any determination period may not exceed the maximum compensation allowed as adjusted for cost of living in accordance with §. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Beneficiary: means the recipient of annuity payments made under the retirement system. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-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}
• board: means a county board of education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contributor: means a member of the retirement system who has an account in the Teachers Accumulation Fund. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• 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.
• Deposit: means a voluntary payment to his or her account by a member. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Electing charter school: means a public charter school established pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Employer: means the agency of and within the state which has employed or employs a member, a county board of education which has employed or employs a member, or an electing charter school which has employed or employs a member. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Employer error: means an omission, misrepresentation, or deliberate act in violation of relevant provisions of the West Virginia Code, or the West Virginia Code of State Regulations, or the relevant provisions of both the West Virginia Code and of the West Virginia Code of State Regulations by the participating public employer that has resulted in an underpayment or overpayment of contributions required. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Employment term: means employment for at least 10 months, a month being defined as 20 employment days. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Gross salary: means the fixed annual or periodic cash wages paid by a participating public employer to a member for performing duties for the participating public employer for which the member was hired. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• 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}
• Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it has been amended. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• 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.
• 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 18-7A-3
• Member: means any person who has accumulated contributions standing to his or her credit in the State Teachers Retirement System. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• New entrant: means a teacher who is not a present teacher. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Nonteaching member: means any person, except a teacher member, who is regularly employed for full-time service by: (A) Any county board of education or educational services cooperative. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-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.
• of equal actuarial value: means a benefit of equal value computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates as set and adopted by the retirement board in accordance with the provisions of this article: Provided, That when used in the context of compliance with the federal maximum benefit requirements of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code, "actuarially equivalent" shall be computed using the mortality tables and interest rates required to comply with those requirements. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• participating employer: means "employer" unless the context clearly requires otherwise. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Plan year: means the 12-month period commencing on July 1 and ending the following June 30 of any designated year. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Present member: means a present teacher or nonteacher who is a member of the retirement system. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Present teacher: means any person who was a teacher within the 35 years beginning July 1, 1934, and whose membership in the retirement system is currently active. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Prior service: means all service as a teacher completed prior to July 1, 1941, and all service of a present member who was employed as a teacher and did not contribute to a retirement account because he or she was legally ineligible for membership during the service. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Public schools: means all publicly supported schools, including colleges and universities in this state. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Refund beneficiary: means the estate of a deceased contributor or a person he or she has nominated as beneficiary of his or her contributions by written designation duly executed and filed with the retirement board. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Regular full-time employee: means any person employed by a county board who has a regular position or job throughout his or her employment term, without regard to hours or method of pay. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• Regular interest: means interest at four percent compounded annually, or a higher earnable rate if set forth in the formula established in legislative rules, series seven of the Consolidated Public Retirement Board, 162 CSR 7. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Regularly employed for full-time service: means employment in a regular position or job throughout the employment term regardless of the number of hours worked or the method of pay. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Required beginning date: means April 1 of the calendar year following the later of: (A) The calendar year in which the member attains age 70. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Retirant: means any member who commences an annuity payable by the retirement system. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Retirement board: means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board created pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Retirement system: means the State Teachers Retirement System established by this article. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• School: means the students and teachers assembled in one or more buildings, organized as a unit. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• 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
• State board: means the West Virginia Board of Education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• State superintendent: means the state superintendent of free Schools. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• superintendent: means a county superintendent of schools. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• Teacher: means a teacher, supervisor, principal, superintendent, public school librarian or any other person regularly employed for instructional purposes in a public school in this state. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• Teacher member: means the following persons, if regularly employed for full-time service: (A) Any person employed by a public school for instructional service in the public schools of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• Total service: means all service as a teacher or nonteacher while a member of the retirement system since last becoming a member and, in addition thereto, credit for prior service, if any. See West Virginia Code 18-7A-3
• 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