BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The Beckley police and fire pension boards have sued the state Municipal Pensions Oversight Board, saying it’s asking them to change systems that have worked for years.
The boards filed the joint complaint June 7 in Raleigh Circuit Court against the MPOB and Chairman Steve Needo. Together, they seek a preliminary injunction to prohibit the MPOB from forcing the pension boards to count years of service in full years instead of fractional years and to prohibit the MPOB from forcing the funds to recalculate pension for their retirees and surviving spouses.
“The Beckley Fire Pension Fund and the Beckley Police Pension Fund are using the simplest fairest method of calculating pension benefits possible: every day of service is credited and every day of service results in a contribution to the fund by the employee,” attorney Teresa Toriseva told The West Virginia Record. “Any other method other than fractional test calculations cheats the police and firefighter retirees and their widows.
According to the complaint, MPOB CFO Michelle Painter conducted a compliance review of Beckley’s fire and police pension boards during fiscal year 2020. On January 13, 2021, MPOB Executive Director Blair M. Taylor mailed letter to both boards with the results of the review.
The letters addressed what the MPOB called non-compliance. These letters addressed what the MPOB deemed as non-compliance and suggested the boards not calculate pension benefits as required. Also, the MPOB took issue with the boards using fractional years to calculate benefits.
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