Bob Ferguson
Other LanguagesAGLO 1970 No. 129 -
Attorney General Slade Gorton
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
October 14, 1970
Honorable Lloyd G. Baker
Director, Washington Public
Employees' Retirement System
General Administration Building
Olympia, Washington 98501
Cite as: AGLO 1970 No. 129
Dear Sir:
This is written in response to your recent request for our opinion upon the following question pertaining to the transfer of certain persons from membership in the Washington public employees' retirement system to the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system:
Where a person, at some time prior to March 1, 1970, was engaged in full time regularly compensated law enforcement or fire fighting work for a county, city or town under the coverage of the Washington public employees' retirement system, but on March 1, 1970, was covered by the public employees' retirement system for some other type of employment, and subsequent to that date reentered law enforcement or fire fighting work for an "employer" as defined in RCW 41.26.030 (2), do the provisions of RCW 41.26.040 (4), relating to the transfer of moneys from the Washington public employees' retirement fund to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement fund, apply?
We answer this question in the affirmative.
ANALYSIS
As you know, the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system was established by the 1969 legislature, through its enactment of chapter 209, Laws of 1969, Ex. Sess. ‑ as amended by chapter 6, Laws of 1970 (chapter 41.26 RCW). Membership in this new retirement system is governed by RCW 41.26.040, which reads, in material part, as follows:
"The Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system is hereby created for fire fighters and law enforcement officers.
"(1) All fire fighters and law enforcement officers employed as such on or after March 1, 1970, on a full time fully compensated basis [[Orig. Op. Page 2]] in this state shall be members of the retirement system established by this chapter with respect to all periods of service as such, to the exclusion of any pension system existing under any prior act except as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
"(2) Any employee serving as a law enforcement officer or fire fighter on March 1, 1970, who is then making retirement contributions under any prior act shall have his membership transferred to the system established by this chapter as of such date. . . .
"(3) . . .
"(4) Any member transferring from the Washington public employees' retirement system or the statewide city employees' retirement system shall have transferred from the appropriate fund of the prior system of membership, a sum sufficient to pay into the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system fund the amount of the employees' and employers' contributions plus credited interest in the prior system for all service, as defined in this chapter, from the date of the employee's entrance therein until March 1, 1970. Except as provided for in subsection (2), such transfer of funds shall discharge said state retirement systems from any further obligation to pay benefits to such transferring members with respect to such service.
"(5) . . ." (Emphasis supplied.)
The critical term "service," as used in this section and, as well, in other sections of the act detailing the retirement benefits payable to members of this new retirement system, is defined in RCW 41.26.030 (14), as follows:
"'Service' means all periods of employment for an employer as a fire fighter or law enforcement officer, for which compensation is paid, together with periods of suspension not exceeding thirty days in duration. For the purposes of this chapter service shall also include service in the armed forces of the United States as provided in RCW 41.26.190. Credit shall be allowed for all months of service rendered by a member from and after his initial commencement of employment as a fire fighter or law enforcement officer, during which he worked for ten days or more, or the [[Orig. Op. Page 3]] equivalent thereof, or was on disability leave or disability retirement. Only months of service shall be counted in the computation of any retirement allowance or other benefit provided for in this 1970 amendatory act. No credit shall be allowed for any service rendered prior to March 1, 1970, where the member at the time of rendition of such service was covered by a prior pension act, unless such service, at the time credit is claimed therefor, is also creditable under the provisions of such prior act: Provided, That if such member's prior service is not creditable due to the withdrawal of his contributions plus accrued interest thereon from a prior pension system, such member shall be credited with such prior service, as a law enforcement officer or fire fighter, by paying to the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system, on or before March 1, 1975, an amount which is equal to that which was withdrawn from the prior system by such member, as a law enforcement officer or fire fighter."
Thus, under RCW 41.26.040 (1), any person employed by an "employer"1/ as either a "law enforcement officer"2/ or as a "fire fighter"3/ on or after March 1, 1970, is required to be a member of the new law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system with respect to all periods of "service" in either of these capacities, to the exclusion of any pension system existing under any prior act. Furthermore, by virtue of the definition of "service" appearing in RCW 41.26.030 (14), all such persons will be entitled to receive credit, under the new retirement system, for their periods of service as either "law enforcement officers" or as "fire fighters" (as defined in the act) rendered prior to this date.
In order to "fund" the new pension system's liability for these periods of prior service, the legislature provided, in part, for a transfer to the new retirement fund from either the Washington public employees' retirement fund [[Orig. Op. Page 4]] or the state‑wide [[statewide]]city employees' retirement fund (under RCW 41.26.040 (4), of
". . . a sum sufficient to pay into the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system fund the amount of the employees' and employers' contributions plus credited interest in the prior system for all service, as defined in this chapter, from the date of the employee's entrance therein until March 1, 1970. . . ."
In so far as the transferability of membership is concerned, it will be seen upon reflection that there are two distinct situations in which such transfers may have occurred, or may occur in the future. First, of course, all persons employed as law enforcement officers or fire fighters on March 1, 1970, who at the time were covered by one of the various prior retirement systems covering law enforcement officers or fire fighters (i.e., in addition to the Washington public employees' retirement system or the state‑wide [[statewide]]city employees' retirement system, the first class city police officers' pension system4/ or the pensions for paid firemen)5/ were automatically transferred to the new retirement system on that date as provided in RCW 41.26.040(2), supra. Secondly, transfers under the new act may also occur on the basis of changes in employment by persons who were employed in non-law [[nonlaw]]enforcement or fire fighting work on March 1, 1970, under the coverage of either the Washington public employees' retirement system or the state‑wide [[statewide]]city employees' retirement system, if and when such persons subsequently enter employment as law enforcement officers or as fire fighters in the service of an employer covered by the new system. Once such a change in employment occurs, the provisions of RCW 41.26.040(1), supra, become applicable and these individuals as well must, henceforth, participate in the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system for all periods of service in either of these two capacities.
Your question involves a transfer of the second of these two types; namely, a person who was employed as a law enforcement officer or as a fire fighter by an "employer" [[Orig. Op. Page 5]] some time prior to March 1, 1970, but who, on that date was covered by the public employees' retirement system by virtue of some non-law [[nonlaw]]enforcement or fire fighting employment and thereafter changed his employment status by means of a return to law enforcement or fire fighting service. The issue raised by your question is whether the provisions of subsection (4) of RCW 41.26.040, supra, apply only to those transfers of membership which occurred, automatically, on March 1, 1970, or whether, instead, subsection (4) is equally applicable to transfers of the second type, occurring at some time after March 1, 1970.
In our opinion, the provisions of subsection (4) are equally applicable to both types of membership transfers from either the public employees' retirement system or the state‑wide [[statewide]]city employees' retirement system to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system. This subsection is in no way qualified by any particular date for transfers, so as to limit it only to those transfers occurring on March 1, 1970, under subsection (2). Furthermore, the purpose to be served by transferring the appropriate moneys from either the public employees' retirement fund or the state‑wide [[statewide]]city employees' retirement fund to the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement fund for all prior periods of service by an individual as a law enforcement officer or a fire fighter is just as much present with respect to those transfers occurring after March 1, 1970, as it is in the case of those transfers which occurred on that date. As we have previously noted, in both instances the individual's prior periods of law enforcement or fire fighting service under the coverage of either of the two prior retirement systems will be creditable, and hence cause the incurrence of liabilities, under the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system law. And, of course, it is a well-established rule of statutory construction that language within a statute must be read in context with the entire statute and construed in a manner consistent with the general purpose of the act. See, e.g., Nationwide Papers v. Northwest Egg Sales, 69 Wn.2d 72, 416 P.2d 687 (1966), and cases cited therein.
Accordingly, seeing no sound reason to distinguish between membership transfers occurring on March 1, 1970, and those occurring at sometime afterward, and thus concluding that the provisions of RCW 41.26.040 (4), supra, are applicable [[Orig. Op. Page 6]] in both cases, we answer your question, as paraphrased, in the affirmative.
We trust that the foregoing will be of some assistance to you.
Very truly yours,
FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Philip H. Austin
Assistant Attorney General
*** FOOTNOTES ***
1/See, RCW 41.26.030 (2).
2/See, RCW 41.26.030 (3).
3/See, RCW 41.26.030 (4).
4/Chapter 41.20 RCW.
5/Chapters 41.16 and 41.18 RCW.