West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement: Options and Refunds

Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: A West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement System member hired on or after July 1, 1998 is vested after 60 months of covered employment. The pension is a monthly life annuity of 2.5% of final average salary times years of credited service for members retiring on or after July 1, 2018. Survivor options pay a beneficiary 50, 66 2/3, 75 or 100 percent and must be chosen before the effective date of retirement. The documents read describe no lump sum at retirement. A refund of contributions plus interest ends membership and forfeits the accrued benefit.

More on public pension COLAs for 2027: the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement System COLA question for 2027.

What this page covers and what it does not

This page covers the West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement System (DSRS), run by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB). The brochure says the system was “established for all deputy sheriffs hired on or after July 1, 1998”. The main source is the statute, West Virginia Code Chapter 7, Article 14D, as printed on October 30, 2026. That is a statute compilation, not a member handbook. CPRB’s own member publication is a two-page brochure dated June 2024. It simplifies in places, and it says that “the language in the Code and Rules or any applicable case law shall prevail”. A third source, CPRB’s financial report for the year ended June 30, 2025, lists 1,075 active DSRS members at its June 30, 2024 valuation date. Other West Virginia plans are on West Virginia PERS and TRS retirement decisions.

When a pension can start

The brochure says “Retirement benefits are not automatic”, and the statute starts payments only after the board receives a written application. The statute names four paths to normal retirement age, plus a reduced early path.

On the early path the accrued benefit is “reduced to the actuarial equivalent benefit amount”. The member must also leave: a bona fide separation lasts “at least 60 consecutive days from the effective date of retirement”. The statute says the board must, on request, “provide the member with an explanation of his or her optional forms of retirement benefits and the estimated gross monthly annuity”.

How the pension is figured

The brochure’s formula is “2.5% of a member’s final average salary multiplied by the member’s years of credited service”. The statute’s base rate is two and one-quarter percent, with a proviso that members who “retired on or retire after July 1, 2018” receive two and one-half percent. Final average salary uses “any five consecutive plan years within the member’s last 10 years of service”.

A computed example from assumed inputs, not a DSRS figure: with an assumed $80,000 final average salary and 20 years of credited service, 2.5% of $80,000 times 20 years is a computed $40,000 a year, or a computed $3,333 a month before any option reduction. CPRB’s own estimate decides the real number.

The election: what each option pays a survivor

The statute says a member may elect an option “Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not thereafter, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a member may elect to receive retirement income payments in the normal form, or the actuarial equivalent of the normal form from the following options”. Each option is an actuarial equivalent of the normal form, so each pays less per month than the unreduced amount. The pages read give no reduction percentages.

On Option B the statute says “If the beneficiary dies first, the monthly amount of benefits may not be reduced, but shall be paid at the amount that was in effect before the death of the beneficiary”. A computed example from an assumed $3,000 monthly amount while both were living, not a DSRS figure: survivor choices of 50, 66 2/3, 75 and 100 percent would continue a computed $1,500, $2,000, $2,250 and $3,000 a month. The general trade is at single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension.

Option C is a guarantee, not a survivor pension. A computed example from assumed figures, not a DSRS figure: if 40 payments had been made at death, 80 of the 120 remain, which at an assumed $2,500 a month is a computed $200,000 for the beneficiary or estate. Option D’s lower amount follows a benefit that is “reduced by the estimated Primary Insurance Amount determined at retirement”, a Social Security figure.

What is irrevocable and the deadlines

The statute allows the election only “Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not thereafter”, with exceptions below. The brochure draws the line later, saying an option cannot be changed “after the member receives their first annuity payment”. Because the two differ, treat the choice as final at the effective date and confirm the cutoff with CPRB.

A married member naming a non-spouse needs a signature: “If the retiring member is married, the spouse shall sign a waiver of benefit rights if the beneficiary is to be other than the spouse”. See spousal consent to waive a joint and survivor annuity. The beneficiary must be “a natural person with an insurable interest in the member’s life”.

Changes after retirement are narrow. If an Option A or B beneficiary dies, a replacement named “within eighteen months” takes an actuarially equivalent benefit, but one named later gets “only ninety percent of the actuarial equivalent”. The statute also allows a change “upon divorce or annulment” and a new spouse to be named “Upon remarriage”, both with proof.

Lump sums, partial lump sums and deferred retirement option plans

The documents read describe no lump sum at retirement, no partial lump sum and no deferred retirement option plan (DROP). The statute pays the benefit “in the normal form or in an actuarial equivalent amount in an optional form”. The cash payments the documents describe are the refund for someone who leaves (below), the contributions shortfall paid to a beneficiary under the normal form, and the return of contributions at a death before retirement. A monthly pension cannot be rolled over: eligible rollover distributions exclude “a series of substantially equal periodic payments”. For lump sum comparisons generally, see pension lump sum versus monthly annuity break-even.

Leaving before retirement: leave the money or take a refund

The brochure says “A member is vested after completion of 60 months of covered employment”. A member with 60 months may “choose not to withdraw his or her accumulated contribution” and draw a pension at normal retirement age; the brochure adds that this applies to a member who ceases employment “prior to age 60”. The statute copy read carries no age condition.

A refund is one-way. A member who leaves without benefit eligibility is entitled to the accumulated contributions “plus accrued interest”, and “Any member who withdraws his or her contributions forfeits all rights to any future retirement or disability benefits under DSRS”. The statute adds that the member must “cease to be a member”. The interest rate is not stated in the pages read.

A computed example from an assumed salary, not a DSRS figure: the member contributes 8.5% of gross monthly salary, so an assumed $60,000 salary means a computed $5,100 a year before interest. Whether to leave it depends on the pension’s value, the question at pension refund versus leaving it.

A returning member can restore the service by repaying the refund “within 60 months of the deputy sheriff’s reemployment”, with interest, and then receives credit “as if no refund had been made”. Without repayment, earlier service is “disregarded for all purposes under this plan”. For buyback pricing, see the pension buyback calculator.

Rollovers and state tax on a refund

The statute’s direct rollover section lets a distributee elect to have an eligible rollover distribution “paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee in a direct rollover”; whether a particular refund qualifies is a point to confirm with CPRB. The statute also says contributions and benefits “are exempt from any state or municipal tax”, which concerns West Virginia tax only.

A computed example from an assumed $10,000 taxable refund paid to the member, not a DSRS figure: 20% of $10,000 is a computed $2,000 withheld for federal tax, leaving a computed $8,000 in cash before any further tax or penalty. See 20% withholding on a pension lump sum.

What the IRS adds on tax

A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of DSRS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that if you roll it over yourself “you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. The statute’s direct rollover section is the route the IRS describes for avoiding that withholding. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.

On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan”. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.

Loans, leave credit and military credit

Loans are closed to newer members: the statute says the program “shall not be available to any deputy sheriff who becomes a member of the Deputy Sheriff Retirement System on or after July 1, 2005”. The brochure describes older members borrowing “up to 50% of his or her contributions”. A balance is deducted from a refund, and the brochure says a member may take “a lifetime actuarial reduction” at retirement to pay it off.

Unused leave can buy service at “two workdays’ credit granted for each one day of accrued annual or sick leave days”, with “each month of retirement service credit to equal twenty workdays”. The brochure says that credit “shall not be used in meeting initial eligibility”, and leave cannot be used for both credit and health insurance (“cannot be divided and used for both”). A computed example from assumed days, not a DSRS figure: 30 days at 2 workdays each is 60 workdays, which at 20 workdays a month is a computed 3 months. At 2.5% of an assumed $80,000, three months adds a computed $500 a year.

Military service can add credit “for a period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five years”, for a member who “has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces”.

If a member dies before retiring

With under 10 years, a member may name a beneficiary “to receive a return of accumulated contributions upon his or her death”. After 10 years, the brochure says “a member’s spouse is the primary beneficiary”. The statute pays a surviving spouse, after a non-duty death with 10 years, the greater of “One half of the annual compensation” of the last 12 full months or a joint-and-survivor figure. See survivor benefit with a government pension.

Where the sources disagree

The multiplier. The brochure and the financial report give a flat 2.5%; the statute’s base rate is two and one-quarter percent with the July 1, 2018 proviso. The brochure itself says the Code prevails.

The last day to choose. The brochure runs to the first annuity payment; the statute to the effective date of retirement.

The normal form. The brochure says of the straight life annuity “There are no death benefits payable under this option”, while the statute pays the beneficiary the difference if payments received are less than accumulated contributions.

A replacement beneficiary. The brochure says the new option “will result in a further reduction”; the statute sets the eighteen-month rule above and bars reducing Option B when the beneficiary dies first.

The required start. The brochure gives age 73 only; the statute adds “Seventy-five, if the individual attains age 74 after December 31, 2032”.

Employer contributions. The brochure says “an additional 16%”, the financial report “an additional 17%”, and the statute sets the county share actuarially. These affect plan funding, not a member’s election.

What this page could not settle

• The pages read do not state the size of the reduction for any option; CPRB’s estimate for the member’s age and the beneficiary’s age gives it.
• The pages read do not state a cost-of-living adjustment for DSRS retirees. The statute’s cost-of-living references concern a compensation limit and federal dollar limits.
• The pages read do not describe a lump sum at retirement, a partial lump sum or a DROP.
• The pages read do not state the interest rate credited on contributions or charged on a redeposit, or whether a spouse must consent to a refund.
• The statute has a pro rata reduction of annuities when payments exceed ten percent of fund balances; the pages read do not say whether it has been applied.
• The brochure is dated June 2024 and the statute copy was printed October 30, 2026, so later changes to forms or rules are not reflected. CPRB’s application, option election and refund forms were not read.
• Disability retirement, line-of-duty death benefits, elected sheriffs and members who transferred from the Public Employees Retirement System were not examined in depth.

Common mistakes

• Treating the brochure as final where it differs from the statute; the brochure says the Code and Rules prevail.
• Assuming a survivor option can be changed after retirement for any reason; the statute describes changes only for a beneficiary’s death, divorce or remarriage.
• Naming a survivor other than the spouse without the spouse’s waiver.
• Taking a refund without weighing that it forfeits the accrued benefit and ends membership, and that redeposit must be made within 60 months of reemployment.
• Expecting the full refund check; the DSRS pages do not say how a refund is paid, but under the IRS rule above 20% of a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to the member is withheld unless it goes by direct rollover.
• Assuming a lump sum or a DROP exists; the documents read describe neither.

Related on this site: West Virginia PERS and TRS retirement decisions, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, pension refund versus leaving it, spousal consent to waive a joint and survivor annuity, 20% withholding on a pension lump sum, pension buyback calculator, survivor benefit with a government pension and public pension retirement decisions by system.

Sources

• West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board, The West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement System (DSRS) brochure (June 2024): https://www.wvretirement.com/forms/DSRSBrochure.pdf
• West Virginia Legislature, West Virginia Code Chapter 7, Article 14D: West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs Retirement System (official statute compilation, printed October 30, 2026): https://code.wvlegislature.gov/pdf/7-14D/
• West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025: https://www.wvretirement.com/Forms/2025-ACFR.pdf
• IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
• IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558

Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 30, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.