51.1-161 - Withdrawal of contributions before retirement. - Virginia Statutes

§ 51.1-161. Withdrawal of contributions before retirement.

A. 1. Any member who has five or more years of creditable service, who ceasesto be an employee, other than by death or retirement, may receive a refund ofhis accumulated contributions reduced by the amount of any retirementallowance previously received by him under any of the provisions of thischapter or the abolished system.

2. Any member who has less than five years of creditable service, who ceasesto be an employee other than by death or involuntary separation due to causesother than job performance or misconduct, as determined by the employer inits sole discretion, shall have such refund reduced by that portion of hisaccumulated contributions that were paid by his employer on his behalf on orafter July 1, 2010. Such reduction shall be transferred to the retirementallowance account of each employer who paid such contributions on a pro ratabasis.

B. Accumulated contributions shall be refunded to a member upon retirementfor disability only from a cause that is compensable under the VirginiaWorkers' Compensation Act (§ 65.2-100 et seq.) or to his designatedbeneficiary upon the death of the member from a cause that is compensableunder the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

C. If a member becomes covered by an optional retirement plan establishedunder §§ 51.1-126, 51.1-126.5, or 51.1-126.6, the member may elect to havehis accumulated contributions, as reduced by the amount of any retirementallowance previously received by him under any of the provisions of Chapters1 (§ 51.1-124.1 et seq.), 2 (§ 51.1-200 et seq.), 2.1 (§ 51.1-211 et seq.),or 3 (§ 51.1-300 et seq.) of this title or the abolished system, transferreddirectly to such optional retirement plan as a credit to his account in suchplan. No portion of the transferred amount shall be available to the memberuntil benefits under the optional retirement plan are otherwise available fordistribution. An election to transfer the accumulated contributions to anoptional retirement plan shall be treated as a withdrawal of the member'saccumulated contributions for purposes of § 51.1-128.

(1952, c. 157, § 51-111.58; 1960, c. 604; 1970, c. 476; 1986, c. 474; 1988,c. 809; 1990, c. 832; 2001, c. 691; 2006, c. 403; 2010, c. 758.)