The city of New Martinsville, West Virginia, elected to establish a retirement system for its policemen pursuant to a state home rule statute.

A policeman in New Martinsville initiated an action questioning social security deductions from his wages. The state Attorney General took the position that the deductions were valid because the city had not yet “established” its retirement system.

But Social Security found that when a state law imposes a mandatory duty on a political subdivision to create a retirement system for a designated group of its employees and right are created thereby that are enforceable in a court of law, that a retirement system has been established, regardless of the implementation or non implementation of the plan by the subdivision.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 69-7.

This material should not be construed as legal advice for any particular fact situation, but is intended for general informational purposes only. For advice specific to any individual situation, an experienced attorney should be contacted.