This bill amends the Code of West Virginia to allow municipal police and firefighters who are part of municipal pension plans overseen by the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board to utilize their accrued leave as credited service upon retirement. Specifically, it stipulates that members can exchange their accrued annual or sick leave days for additional credited service, with the conversion rate set at one day of leave equating to one day of credited service. However, the credited service gained from this exchange cannot be applied towards the original 20-year service requirement for retirement and is capped at an increase of one percent of the member's average annual salary or compensation in retirement.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that the total percentage increase in retirement benefits due to additional service cannot exceed 70 percent, and it outlines the conditions under which members can receive retirement pension benefits. The amendments also include various updates to the language used in the existing law, such as replacing "such" with "that" in several instances for clarity. Overall, the bill aims to enhance the retirement benefits for municipal police and firefighters by allowing them to leverage their accrued leave for additional service credit while maintaining certain limitations and requirements.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 8-22-25