                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

AMOUNTS OF LIFE AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE FOR EACH EMPLOYEE; REDUCTION AND
TERMINATION OF INSURANCE (§ 51.1-505)

A. Each employee to whom this chapter applies shall, subject to the terms and
conditions thereof, be eligible to be insured for an amount of group life
insurance plus an amount of group accidental death and dismemberment insurance,
each amount equal to twice the amount of his annual salary. If an
employee&#8217;s annual salary is not an even multiple of $1,000, his annual
salary for purposes of this section shall be considered to be the next higher
$1,000. For purposes of this section, the annual salary of a member of the
General Assembly shall be his creditable compensation for his last full calendar
year of service or his salary under &#xA7; 30-19.11, whichever is greater, and
shall include the full amount of any salaries payable to such member for working
in covered positions, regardless of whether such salaries were paid, reduced, or
not paid because of such member&#8217;s service in the General Assembly. The
annual salary for an employee retired for service or disability on an immediate
retirement allowance may be adjusted by the Board in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter 1 (&#xA7; 51.1-124.1 et seq.).
			Subject to the conditions and limitations of the group insurance policy, the
accidental death and dismemberment insurance shall provide payments as follows:
			For any one accident, the aggregate amount of accidental death and
dismemberment insurance that may be paid shall not exceed the maximum amount of
accidental death and dismemberment insurance determined in accordance with this
section.
			Notwithstanding the provisions of &#xA7; 51.1-124.8, the amount of life
insurance for which an employee shall be eligible shall be equal to twice the
amount of his annual salary without regard to the date of the employee&#8217;s
qualification for a retirement allowance.

B. The amount of life insurance on an employee who retires for service on an
immediate retirement allowance or who elects to postpone the receipt of his
retirement allowance to some date other than his last day of service shall be
the amount set forth in subsection A, reduced by an amount equal to 25 percent
thereof on the January 1 following the first full year from the date the
employee is separated from service and each January 1 thereafter. The amount of
life insurance on an employee who retires for disability on an immediate
retirement allowance shall be the amount set forth in subsection A on the date
the employee last rendered service reduced by an amount equal to 25 percent
thereof on January 1 following the first full year from the date the employee
attains his &#8220;normal retirement date&#8221; as defined in &#xA7;
51.1-124.3, and each January 1 thereafter. If the employee by statute or Board
regulation has been construed to be in service to the beginning of the next
school year, the reduction shall not apply until the beginning of the next
school year. The reduction shall not decrease the amount of life insurance on an
employee to less than 25 percent of the amount of life insurance to which the
initial reduction is applied, provided, however, that the reduction shall not
decrease the amount of life insurance to less than $8,000 for employees with at
least 30 years of creditable service, which amount shall be increased by the
same percentage as any annual post-retirement supplement for retirees, as
calculated for employees hired on or after July 1, 2010, pursuant to &#xA7;
51.1-166. For purposes of this subsection, an employee shall be deemed to have
retired only if the employee has five or more years of service as an employee
prior to the date of retirement. This requirement shall not be applicable if the
employee is retired for disability.
			Any employee who was denied membership in the Retirement System because of
having attained age 60 at the time of being employed or reemployed and who has
five or more years of service immediately prior to separation from service shall
retain the life insurance coverage as though he had retired on an immediate
retirement allowance.

C. For any employee who at any time has at least 20 years of creditable service
in any retirement plan administered by the Virginia Retirement System or other
Virginia public plan participating in the group life program established by this
chapter, the amount of group life insurance shall be an amount equal to twice
the amount of the highest annual salary earned during such employment.
			The provisions of subsection B providing a reduction in the amount of life
insurance shall apply to the amount of group life insurance as determined under
this subsection for such employees with at least 20 years of creditable service.

D. The amount of life insurance for an employee who is retired for disability on
an immediate retirement allowance, who also has attained age 55, and who elects
to receive a retirement allowance as set forth in subsection C of &#xA7;
51.1-160, shall be reduced as set forth in subsection B. The reduction shall
begin the January 1 following the first full year from the date the employee
elects a service retirement allowance.

E. All accidental death and dismemberment insurance on an employee shall cease
upon the earliest of (i) his separation from service; (ii) his failure to pay,
in the manner prescribed by the Board, the contribution required for the first
24 months of leave without pay; (iii) if the employee has not returned to pay
status, the expiration of 24 months of leave without pay; or (iv) his
retirement.

F. Except in case of retirement as provided in subsections B, C, and D, all life
insurance on an employee shall cease upon the earliest of (i) his separation
from service; (ii) his failure to pay, in the manner prescribed by the Board,
the contribution required for the first 24 months of leave without pay; or (iii)
if the employee has not returned to pay status, the expiration of 24 months of
leave without pay. Except in the case of retirement, life insurance shall be
subject to a temporary extension of 31 days. During this 31-day extension, the
employee may convert his life insurance into an individual policy of life
insurance (without disability or other supplementary benefits) in any one of the
forms, except term insurance, then customarily issued by the insuring company.
The amount of life insurance which may be converted shall not exceed the amount
of his life insurance under the group insurance policy at the time coverage is
terminated. The insurance shall be converted to an individual policy (a) without
evidence of insurability, (b) at the premium applicable to the class of risk to
which he belongs, and (c) to the form and amount of the individual policy at his
then attained age, provided application for the individual policy and payment of
the first premium thereon is made to the issuing company within the 31 days. The
right to convert to an individual policy as provided in &#xA7; 38.2-3333 shall
not apply upon termination of this group policy or elimination of a class of
insured employees.
			Except as provided in subsection C, the amount of life insurance on each
insured employee who retires shall be determined under the provisions of this
chapter as it exists on the employee&#8217;s date of retirement.

G. Each employee of a public institution of higher education or of a local
school board who remains in service until the completion of the school year and
who makes contributions required to provide insurance coverage until service
normally will be resumed the beginning of the next school year shall be deemed
to be in service as an employee through the period to which the payments apply.
If the employee is retired for service or disability during this period,
contributions made by the employee shall be accepted and retained as proper.
			Each state employee of a public institution of higher education or a teaching
hospital affiliated with a public institution of higher education who (i) is
employed pursuant to a contract (a) that is for a term of employment of at least
nine months and (b) that does not coincide with the normal scholastic year, (ii)
remains in service until the completion of the contract year, and (iii) makes
contributions required to provide insurance coverage until service normally will
be resumed at the beginning of the next contract year shall be deemed to be in
service as an employee through the period to which the payments apply. If the
employee is retired for service or disability during this period, contributions
made by the employee shall be accepted and retained as proper.

H. The limit of 24 months of leave without pay, after which accidental death and
dismemberment insurance and life insurance shall cease, referred to in
subsections E and F shall not apply to an employee who is on leave without pay
while performing active duty military service in the armed forces of the United
States.

I. The provisions of this section shall apply to all members of the Virginia
Retirement System who, on and after July 1, 1995, are covered under the group
life insurance program created pursuant to this section and whose effective date
of retirement is (i) before July 1, 1970, or (ii) on and after July 1, 1970.

HISTORY: 1960, c. 604, §§ 51-111.67:2, 51-111.67:4; 1962, cc. 43, 542; 1964,
c. 594; 1966, c. 174; 1968, c. 736; 1970, c. 774; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc. 88, 89,
185; 1972, c. 708; 1973, cc. 545, 546; 1974, cc. 353, 484; 1975, cc. 306, 309,
597, 611; 1976, cc. 551, 654; 1977, c. 620; 1978, c. 841; 1980, cc. 595, 637,
638; 1981, cc. 151, 478; 1982, cc. 467, 478, 639; 1984, c. 430; 1986, c. 474;
1990, c. 832; 1991, c. 700; 1995, cc. 52, 307, 605; 1999, c. 111; 2001, c. 696;
2002, c. 313; 2003, cc. 9, 220; 2004, c. 102; 2005, cc. 147, 933, 945; 2006, c.
640; 2009, c. 362; 2010, c. 751; 2012, c. 696; 2015, c. 512.