(a) Except for a person who first becomes a member of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, any actively contributing member who has attained the age of sixty years or any member who has thirty-five years of total service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia, regardless of age, is eligible for an annuity. No new entrant nor present member is eligible for an annuity, however, if either has less than five years of service to his or her credit: Provided, That on and after July 1, 2013, any person who becomes a new member of this retirement system shall, in qualifying for retirement under this section, have five or more years of contributory service, all of which shall be actual, contributory ones.
(b) Except for a person who first becomes a member of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, any member who has attained the age of fifty-five years and who has served thirty years as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia is eligible for an annuity.
(c) Except for a person who first becomes a member of the retirement system on or after July 1, 2015, any member who has served at least thirty but less than thirty-five years as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia and is less than fifty-five years of age is eligible for an annuity, but the annuity shall be the reduced actuarial equivalent of the annuity the member would have received if the member were age fifty-five at the time the annuity was applied for.
(d) The request for any annuity shall be made by the member in writing to the retirement board, but in case of retirement for disability, the written request may be made by either the member or the employer.
(e) A member is eligible for annuity for disability if he or she satisfies the conditions in either subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection and meets the conditions of subdivision (3) of this subsection as follows:
(1) His or her service as a teacher or nonteaching member in West Virginia must total at least ten years and service as a teacher or nonteaching member must have been terminated because of disability, which disability must have caused absence from service for at least six months before his or her application for disability annuity is approved.