West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board

Certification of the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System (EMSRS) Election Results

CPRB Begins Administering New EMS Retirement Plan

Contact: Diane Holley
(304) 558-0661

CHARLESTON, W.Va - The Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB) announced today the implementation of a new public pension retirement plan, the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System (EMSRS), pursuant to West Virginia Code§ 16-5V-1 et seq., which went into effect January 1, 2008.

According to CPRB Executive Director Anne Lambright, its Board of Trustees welcomes the plan and her staff is looking forward to working with the 15 participating public employers and the eligible emergency medical services(EMS) officers who are now part of this new plan.

The West Virginia Legislature adopted the plan during the 2007 Regular Session, but required that prior to becoming effective, each participating public employer must enact a resolution to enter the plan by the established deadline of December 31, 2007. It was also stipulated that each public employer must certify the EMS officers in their employ who were eligible to choose to participate. Of the 429 employees who were currently in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and the 531 total EMS officers eligible to participate, there were 409 employees in PERS and 477 total EMS officers who voted to participate in the new plan. This percentage far exceeded the statutory minimums of 85% of the EMS officers who are current PERS participants and 70% of the total eligible EMS officers.

The participating public employers include Berkeley County Emergency Ambulance Authority, Boone County Ambulance Authority, Brooke County EMS, Cabell County EMS, Clay County Emergency Ambulance Authority, Gilmer County Ambulance Service, Harrison County Emergency Squad, Inc., Jackson County EMS, Jefferson County Ambulance Authority, Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance, Logan Emergency Ambulance Service Authority, Putnam County EMS, Randolph County Emergency Squad, Weston-Lewis County Emergency Ambulance Service Authority, and Wetzel County Emergency Ambulance Authority, Inc.

The appointment of a representative for the new pension plan to serve on the Board of Trustees will be made by Gov. Joe Manchin III. Director Lambright explained that the EMS plan fund will be invested by the State Investment Management Board (IMB); the CPRB will select an EMS representative to serve as its designated representative to the IMB.

In addition to this new retirement plan, the CPRB administers the Public Employees Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System, the Teachers Defined Contribution System, the State Police Plan A and Plan B Systems, the Judges Retirement System and the Deputy Sheriffs Retirement System.