                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SERVICE RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE (§ 51.1-155)

A. Retirement allowance. — A member shall receive an annual retirement
allowance, payable for life, as follows:

   1. Normal retirement. &#x2014; The allowance shall equal 1.70 percent of his
   average final compensation multiplied by the amount of his creditable service.
   Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a member who (i) is a person who becomes a
   member on or after July 1, 2010, or (ii) does not have at least 60 months of
   creditable service as of January 1, 2013, the allowance shall equal the sum of
   (a) 1.65 percent of his average final compensation multiplied by the amount of
   his creditable service performed or purchased on or after January 1, 2013, and
   (b) 1.70 percent of his average final compensation multiplied by the amount of
   all other creditable service.

   2. Early retirement; applicable to teachers, state employees, and certain
   others. &#x2014; The allowance shall be determined in the same manner as for
   normal retirement with creditable service and average final compensation being
   determined as of the date of actual retirement. If the member has less than 30
   years of service at retirement, the amount of the retirement allowance shall
   be reduced on an actuarial equivalent basis for the period by which the actual
   retirement date precedes the earlier of (i) his normal retirement date or (ii)
   the first date on which he would have completed a total of 30 years of
   creditable service. The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to teachers
   and state employees. These provisions shall also apply to employees of any
   political subdivision that participates in the retirement system if the
   political subdivision makes the election provided in subdivision 3.

   3. Early retirement; applicable to employees of certain political
   subdivisions, any person who becomes a member on or after July 1, 2010, and
   any member who does not have at least 60 months of creditable service as of
   January 1, 2013. &#x2014; The allowance shall be determined in the same manner
   as for normal retirement with creditable service and average final
   compensation being determined as of the date of actual retirement. If the
   creditable service of the member equals 30 or more years but the sum of his
   age at retirement plus his creditable service at retirement is less than 90,
   the amount of the retirement allowance shall be reduced on an actuarial
   equivalent basis for the period by which the actual retirement date precedes
   the earlier of (i) his normal retirement date or (ii) the first date on which
   the sum of his then attained age plus his then creditable service would have
   been equal to 90 or more had he remained in service until such date. If the
   member has less than 30 years of creditable service, the retirement allowance
   shall be reduced for the period by which the actual retirement date precedes
   the earlier of (i) his normal retirement date or (ii) the first date on which
   he would have completed a total of at least 30 years of creditable service and
   his then creditable service plus his then attained age would have been equal
   to 90 or more.
   				The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to the employees of any
   political subdivision that participates in the retirement system and any other
   employees as provided by law. The participating political subdivision may,
   however, elect to provide its employees with the early retirement allowance
   set forth in subdivision 2. No such election shall be made for a person who
   becomes a member on or after July 1, 2010, or a member who does not have at
   least 60 months of creditable service as of January 1, 2013. Any election
   pursuant to this subdivision shall be set forth in a legally adopted
   resolution.
   				Notwithstanding the foregoing, a political subdivision by legally adopted
   resolution may declare to the Board that, for purposes of this subdivision,
   subdivisions B 1 and B 3 and subsection D of &#xA7; 51.1-153, any person who
   meets the definition of &#8220;emergency medical services personnel&#8221; in
   &#xA7; 32.1-111.1 or is employed as a firefighter or law-enforcement officer
   as those terms are defined in &#xA7; 15.2-1512.2 (i) shall not be considered a
   person who becomes a member on or after July 1, 2010, and (ii) shall be deemed
   to have at least 60 months of creditable service as of January 1, 2013. Such
   resolution shall be irrevocable.

   4. Additional allowance. &#x2014; In addition to the allowance payable under
   subdivisions 1, 2, and 3, a member shall receive an additional allowance which
   shall be the actuarial equivalent, for his attained age at the time of
   retirement, of the excess of his accumulated contributions transferred from
   the abolished system to the retirement system, including interest credited at
   the rate of two percent compounded annually since the transfer to the date of
   retirement, over the annual amounts equal to four percent of his annual
   creditable compensation at the date of abolishment for a period equal to his
   period of membership in the abolished system.

   5. 50/10 retirement. &#x2014; The allowance shall be payable in a monthly
   stream of payments equal to the greater of (i) the actuarial equivalent of the
   benefit the member would have received had he terminated service and deferred
   retirement to age 55 or (ii) the actuarially calculated present value of the
   member&#8217;s accumulated contributions, including accrued interest.

B. Beneficiary serving in position covered by this title.

   1. Except as provided in subdivisions 2, 3, and 4, if a beneficiary of a
   service retirement allowance under this chapter or the provisions of Chapters
   2 (&#xA7; 51.1-200 et seq.), 2.1 (&#xA7; 51.1-211 et seq.), or 3 (&#xA7;
   51.1-300 et seq.) is at any time in service as an employee in a position
   covered for retirement purposes under the provisions of this or any chapter
   other than Chapter 6 (&#xA7; 51.1-600 et seq.), 6.1 (&#xA7; 51.1-607 et seq.),
   or 7 (&#xA7; 51.1-700 et seq.), his retirement allowance shall cease while so
   employed. Any member who retires and later returns to covered employment shall
   not be entitled to select a different retirement option for a subsequent
   retirement.

   2. Active members of the General Assembly who are eligible to receive a
   retirement allowance under this title, excluding their service as a member of
   the General Assembly, shall be eligible to receive a retirement allowance
   based on their creditable service and average final compensation for service
   other than as a member of the General Assembly. Such members of the General
   Assembly shall continue to be reported as any other members of the retirement
   system. Upon ceasing to serve in the General Assembly, members of the General
   Assembly receiving a retirement allowance based on their creditable service
   and average final compensation for service other than as a member of the
   General Assembly shall have their retirement allowance recomputed
   prospectively to include their service as a member of the General Assembly.
   Active members of the General Assembly shall be prohibited from receiving a
   service retirement allowance under this title based solely on their service as
   a member of the General Assembly.

   3. (Expires July 1, 2028) Any person receiving a service retirement allowance
   under this chapter, who is hired by a local public school board (i) as an
   instructional or administrative employee required to be licensed by the Board
   of Education, (ii) in a specialized student support position as that term is
   described in subsection O of § 22.1-253.13:2, or (iii) as a school bus
   driver, may elect to continue to receive the retirement allowance during such
   employment, under the following conditions:

      a. The person has a break in service of at least six calendar months between
      retirement and returning to work full time for a local public school board;

      b. The person is not receiving a retirement benefit pursuant to an early
      retirement incentive program from any local public school division within
      the Commonwealth; and

      c. At the time the person is employed, the position to which he is assigned
      is among those identified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
      pursuant to subdivision 4 of &#xA7; 22.1-23, by the relevant division
      superintendent, pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-70.3, or by the relevant local
      public school board, pursuant to subdivision 9 of &#xA7; 22.1-79.
      					If the person elects to continue to receive the retirement allowance
      during the period of such employment, then his service performed and
      compensation received during such period of time will not increase,
      decrease, or affect in any way his retirement benefits before, during, or
      after such employment, nor shall such person be eligible to receive any
      retirement benefits available to him pursuant to Chapter 6.1 (&#xA7;
      51.1-607 et seq.). In addition, the employer shall include the
      person&#8217;s compensation in membership payroll subject to employer
      contributions under &#xA7; 51.1-145.

   4. (Expires July 1, 2028) Any person receiving a service retirement allowance
   under this title for service as a sworn law-enforcement officer and who is
   employed in a local public school division as a school security officer, as
   defined in &#xA7; 9.1-101, may elect to continue to receive the retirement
   allowance during such employment under the following conditions: (i) the
   person has a break in service of at least six calendar months between
   retirement for service as a sworn law-enforcement officer and employment as a
   school security officer; (ii) the person is not receiving a retirement benefit
   pursuant to an early retirement incentive program from any local public school
   division within the Commonwealth; (iii) the person is not receiving a
   retirement benefit pursuant to an early retirement incentive program from any
   employer, as defined in &#xA7; 51.1-124.3; and (iv) the person did not
   participate in any incentive program established under the second or third
   enactment of Chapters 152 and 811 of the Acts of Assembly of 1995. If the
   person elects to continue to receive the retirement allowance during the
   period of such employment, then his service performed and compensation
   received during such period of time will not increase, decrease, or affect in
   any way his retirement benefits before, during, or after such employment, nor
   shall such person be eligible to receive any retirement benefits available to
   him pursuant to Chapter 6.1 (&#xA7; 51.1-607 et seq.). In addition, the
   employer shall include the person&#8217;s compensation in membership payroll
   subject to employer contributions under &#xA7; 51.1-145.
   				At least once in each four-year period, in conjunction with the actuarial
   investigation made under subdivision A 4 of &#xA7; 51.1-124.22, there shall be
   an actuarial investigation made of the experience under subdivisions B 3 and 4
   of this section, and the retirement system shall submit a report to the
   General Assembly advising it of the results of such investigation.

HISTORY: 1952, c. 157, § 51-111.55; 1956, c. 560; 1960, cc. 138, 604; 1962, c.
417; 1964, c. 223; 1966, c. 174; 1970, c. 476; 1972, cc. 118, 568; 1973, c. 523;
1974, c. 353; 1976, c. 538; 1977, c. 620; 1978, c. 841; 1980, c. 722, §
51-111.55:1; 1982, c. 467; 1984, c. 430; 1987, cc. 13, 14; 1988, c. 224; 1990,
c. 832; 1991, c. 719; 1992, c. 826; 1994, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 5; 1995, cc. 152,
692, 811; 1998, cc. 407, 674, 746; 1999, c. 111; 2001, cc. 689, 700; 2002, cc.
778, 781; 2003, c. 211; 2004, c. 563; 2005, cc. 605, 606, 793; 2006, c. 513;
2010, cc. 737, 738; 2012, cc. 701, 811, 823; 2013, cc. 456, 666; 2015, cc. 502,
503; 2020, cc. 379, 437, 968, 969; 2023, cc. 690, 692, 707, 708.