(a) There shall be and is hereby created a retirement and benefit system for officials and employees of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands and for their dependents and beneficiaries, for the payment of retirement annuities, disability annuities, and other benefits as provided herein to said officials and employees, and to their dependents and beneficiaries, after stated periods of service and upon fulfillment of certain conditions as hereinafter set forth.
(b) The purpose of such system is to encourage qualified personnel to enter and remain in the service of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands by establishing an orderly means whereby those who become superannuated or otherwise incapacitated as the result of age or disability, may be retired from service without prejudice and without inflicting a hardship upon the employees retired, and to enable such employees to accumulate reserves for themselves, their dependents and their beneficiaries, to provide for old age, death, disability and termination of employment, thus promoting economy and efficiency in the administration of government.
(c) The system created under this chapter shall have the powers and privileges of a corporation, subject, as provided herein, to the control of the Board of Trustees thereof, and shall be known and designated as the “Government Employees Retirement System of the Virgin Islands”. By such name all its business shall be transacted, all of its money shall be invested, and all its cash and securities and other property shall be held. The debts, obligations, contracts, bonds, notes, debentures, receipts, expenditures, accounts, funds, facilities, and property of the system are those of the system and not those of the Government of the Virgin Islands or of any office, bureau, department, agency, commission, municipality, branch, agent, officer, or employee thereof.
(d) The system shall become operative as of October 1, 1959, at which time contributions by the employees and employer, pursuant to the provisions hereof, shall begin. Such date shall be known as the “date of establishment”. Retirement, disability, death benefit and all other payments by the system shall begin to accrue from the date of establishment.
(e) All pensions and benefits granted prior to the date of establishment shall be paid according to the laws under which the same were granted. All claims for pensions and benefits which may be pending on the date of establishment, shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid legislation; Provided, however, That no person who, on the date this chapter becomes effective, is entitled to a pension or other benefit under the provisions of any other law, shall receive a lesser amount under this chapter than he would have received if he had been paid according to the provisions of said other law.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the system is not required to pay any taxes or assessments on any of the property acquired or to be acquired by it, or on its operations or activities, or on the income derived from its investments or from any of its operations or activities.
(g) The Board shall provide the Legislature with an analysis of the assets and liability implications of each bill that would affect the investment strategy of the system, the funding of the system, or the benefit structure of this system. The analysis shall include an explanation of the methodology employed and the assumptions used in its preparation. The Legislature shall provide the necessary funding for the analysis of the system for bills proposed by the Legislature.