West Virginia Code § 5-10-21

Deferred retirement and early retirement
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(a) Except as provided in section twenty-one-a of this article, any member who first becomes
a member of the retirement system before July 1, 2015, and who has five or more years of
credited service in force, of which at least three years are contributing service, and who
leaves the employ of a participating public employer prior to his or her attaining age sixty
years for any reason except his or her disability retirement or death, is entiteled to an annuity
computed according to section twenty-two of this article, as that section was in force as of
the date of his or her separation from the employ of a participating pubrlic employer:
Provided, That he or she does not withdraw his or her accumulated contributions from the
members' deposit fund: Provided, however, That on and after July 1, 2002, any person who
becomes a new member of this retirement system shall, in qualifying for retirement under
this section, have five or more years of service, all of which ytears shall be actual,
contributory ones. His or her annuity shall begin the first day of the calendar month next
following the month in which his or her application for same is filed with the board of
trustees on or after his or her attaining age sixty-two years.
(b) Any member who qualifies for deferred retsirement benefits in accordance with
subsection (a) of this section and has ten or more years of credited service in force and who
has attained age fifty-five as of the date of his or her separation, may, prior to the effective
date of his or her retirement, but nogt thereafter, elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of
his or her deferred retirement annuity as a reduced annuity commencing on the first day of
any calendar month between heis or her date of separation and his or her attainment of age
sixty-two years and payable throughout his or her life.
(c) Any member who qualifies for deferred retirement benefits in accordance with subsection
(a) of this section and has twenty or more years of credited service in force may elect to
receive the actuarial equivalent of his or her deferred retirement annuity as a reduced
annuity commencing on the first day of any calendar month between his or her fifty-fifth
birthday and his or her attainment of age sixty-two years and payable throughout his or her
life.W
(d) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this section or of this article, except
sections twenty-seven-a and twenty-seven-b of this article, and pursuant to rules
promulgated by the board, and except for a person who first becomes a member of the
retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, any member who has thirty or more years of
credited service in force, at least three of which are contributing service, and who elects to
take early retirement, which for the purposes of this subsection means retirement prior to
age sixty, whether an active employee or a separated employee at the time of application, is
entitled to the full computation of annuity according to section twenty-two of this article, as
that section was in force as of the date of retirement application, but with the reduced
actuarial equivalent of the annuity the member would have received if his or her benefit had
commenced at age sixty when he or she would have been entitled to full computation of
benefit without any reduction.
(e) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this section or of this article, except
sections twenty-seven-a and twenty-seven-b of this article, and except for a person who first
becomes a member of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, any member of the
retirement system may retire with full pension rights, without reduction of benefits, if he or
she is at least fifty-five years of age and the sum of his or her age plus years of contributing
service and limited credited service, as defined in section two of this article, equals or
exceeds eighty: Provided, That on and after July 1, 2011, any person who beecomes a new
member of this retirement system shall, in qualifying for retirement under this subsection,
have five or more years of service, all of which years shall be actual, corntributory ones. The
member's annuity shall begin the first day of the calendar month immediately following the
calendar month in which his or her application for the annuity is filed with the board.

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