AGO 1951-53 No. 17.

• Case Date: April 13, 1951
• Court: Washington

Washington Attorney General Opinions 1951. AGO 1951-53 No. 17. April 13, 1951[Orig. Op. Page 1]PRIVATEEMPLOYEES RETIREMENT --- SERVICE CREDIT AND RETIREMENT RIGHTS --- PARTICIPATION IN MORE THAN ONE RETIREMENT SYSTEM BY CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT.The law in question must be liberally construed toward the end that service credit and retirement rights of officers and employees who change employment from one public agency within the state to another and thereby participate in more than one retirement system, shall be preserved and accumulated.State Employees' Retirement System215 East Fifth AvenueOlympia, WashingtonCite as: AGO 1951-53 No. 17Attention: Mr. Samuel P. Totten, Executive Secretary Gentlemen: We have your letter of March 20, 1951, in which you ask us to provide an opinion as to the intent and scope of the provisions of House Bill 427, (now chapter 98, Laws of 1951 -- effective June 7, 1951). The conclusion reached may be summarized as follows: The law in question must be liberally construed toward the end that service credit and retirement rights of officers and employees who change employment from one public agency within the state to another and thereby participate in more than one retirement system, shall be preserved and accumulated. ANALYSIS Chapter 98, Laws of 1951, enacted into law by the signature of the Governor, will become operative in June, 1951. This legislation establishes a general policy to be followed by all retirement systems covering public employees within the State of Washington. [Orig. Op. Page 2] In approaching this problem we must of necessity give full effect to the legislative intent as embodied in the statutes in question. In our search for this intent, the first section of the law must serve as our guide. In this section we find a direct statement to the effect that "It is the intent of this act to allow the preservation, accumulation and retention of service credits towards eventual retirement by officers and employees who by reason of employment by more than one public agency in the state may participate in one or more retirement or pension systems." This seems a very clear statement to the effect that the paramount and controlling purpose must be benefit to the employee. The sovereignty of each of the retirement systems involved is maintained by the second sentence of the section in question...