Bill No. 36-0103 - An act amending title 33 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 3, chapter 111, section 3080 by reducing the percentages used to calculate post-service retirement
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL NO. 36-0103 Thirty-Sixth Legislature of the Virgin Islands June 24, 2025 An act amending title 33 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 3, chapter 111, section 3080 by reducing the percentages used to calculate post-service retirement annuities for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and by establishing a minimum retirement age PROPOSED BY: Senator Alma Francis Heyliger WHEREAS, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands currently 1 qualify for 40% of their salary as a lifetime annuity after serving one full term and 80% after 2 two terms; 3 WHEREAS, these percentages far exceed what most career government employees 4 receive in retirement after decades of service, creating a disparity in benefits; 5 WHEREAS, the lifetime pension awarded after as few as four or eight years of service, 6 particularly at current executive salary levels, creates a disproportionate and unsustainable 7 liability for the Government Employees' Retirement System (“GERS”); 8 WHEREAS, the Virgin Islands Government is fac …
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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL NO. 36-0103 Thirty-Sixth Legislature of the Virgin Islands June 24, 2025 An act amending title 33 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 3, chapter 111, section 3080 by reducing the percentages used to calculate post-service retirement annuities for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and by establishing a minimum retirement age PROPOSED BY: Senator Alma Francis Heyliger WHEREAS, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands currently 1 qualify for 40% of their salary as a lifetime annuity after serving one full term and 80% after 2 two terms; 3 WHEREAS, these percentages far exceed what most career government employees 4 receive in retirement after decades of service, creating a disparity in benefits; 5 WHEREAS, the lifetime pension awarded after as few as four or eight years of service, 6 particularly at current executive salary levels, creates a disproportionate and unsustainable 7 liability for the Government Employees' Retirement System (“GERS”); 8 WHEREAS, the Virgin Islands Government is facing severe fiscal pressures, including 9 GERS unfunded liabilities that threaten the stability of pensions for long-term public servants; 10 and 11 2 WHEREAS, best practices across United States jurisdictions show that many states offer 1 defined-contribution plans or deferred benefits rather than full pensions for high-level elected 2 officials; and 3 WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands to promote equity, 4 sustainability, and public confidence in the fairness of government compensation practices; 5 Now, Therefore, 6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands: 7 SECTION 1. Title 33 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 3, chapter 111, section 3080, 8 subsection (f) amended as follows: 9 (a) in the introductory phrase of subsection (f) by striking “[N]otwithstanding his age,” 10 (b) in subsection (f)(a) by striking "40%" and inserting "30%"; 11 (c) in subsection (f)(b) by striking "80%" and inserting "60%"; and 12 (d) by striking subsection (f)(c), and inserting the following new subsection(f)(3): 13 “(f)(3) A person elected as Governor or Lieutenant Governor is not eligible to 14 receive a retirement annuity under this section unless that person has completed not less 15 than four consecutive years as Governor or Lieutenant Governor and has attained the age 16 of 55.”; 17 (e) by striking “(f)(a)” and “(f)(b)” and inserting “(f)(1)” and “(f)(2)”, respectively. 18 (f) by striking the last sentence of subsection (f), which reads: “[I]in the event an 19 elected Governor or Lieutenant Governor resigns from office due to illness with one-half or 20 less of his term remaining, for the purposes of this section only, he shall be considered to have 21 completed the term.” and inserting the following subsection (d): 22 “(d) If either an elected Governor or Lieutenant Governor resigns from office 23 because of illness during their first term, the person shall receive 7.5% of their salary for 24 each year served, irrespective of whether the year is completed, limiting the maximum 25 3 potential retirement annuity to not more than 30% of their salary. If either an elected 1 Governor or Lieutenant Governor resigns because of illness during their second term, the 2 person shall receive 15% of their salary for each year served, irrespective of whether the 3 year is completed, limiting the maximum potential retirement annuity to not more than 4 60% of their salary.” 5 BILL SUMMARY 6 This bill amends title 33 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 3, chapter 111, section 3080 by 7 reducing the percentages used to calculate the retirement annuity for the Governor and 8 Lieutenant Governor and by establishing a minimum retirement age for Governor and 9 Lieutenant Governor and establishes the formular to calculate the retirement annuity when the 10 Governor or Lieutenant Governor resigns because of illness before the completion of their 11 term. 12 BR25-0342/June 3, 2025/SLR 13