South Carolina General Assembly
112th Session, 1997-1998

Bill 1067


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                    1067
Type of Legislation:            General Bill GB
Introducing Body:               Senate
Introduced Date:                19980226
Primary Sponsor:                Holland 
All Sponsors:                   Holland 
Drafted Document Number:        jud9024.dhh
Residing Body:                  House
Current Committee:              Ways and Means Committee 30
                                HWM
Date of Last Amendment:         19980430
Subject:                        Retirement System, S.C.;
                                out-of-state service, member may
                                receive when; Retirement Systems and
                                Pensions

History

Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

House   19980505  Introduced, read first time,             30 HWM
                  referred to Committee
Senate  19980430  Amended, read third time,
                  sent to House
Senate  19980429  Read second time
Senate  19980429  Recalled from Committee                  06 SF
Senate  19980226  Introduced, read first time,             06 SF
                  referred to Committee


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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

AS PASSED BY THE SENATE

April 30, 1998

S. 1067

Introduced by Senator Holland

S. Printed 4/30/98--S.

Read the first time February 26, 1998.

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 9-1-1710, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO LUMP-SUM CONTRIBUTIONS BY MEMBERS OF THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITH OUT-OF-STATE SERVICE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A MEMBER WHO HAS BEEN IN CONTINUOUS COVERED EMPLOYMENT FOR TEN YEARS MAY RECEIVE CREDITABLE SERVICE FOR ANY AMOUNT OF OUT-OF-STATE SERVICE.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 9-1-1710(2) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(2) On or after July 1, 1975, any member may elect to become entitled to creditable service on account of his out-of-state service by making a special lump-sum contribution equal to ten percent and effective July 1, 1994, twelve percent of his annual earnable compensation at the time of payment for each year of out-of-state service and a proportionate part thereof for a fraction of a year, provided that the earnable compensation used as a basis for the special lump-sum contribution must not be less than his earnable compensation in any one of the three preceding fiscal years. A member who elects to receive creditable service for out-of-state service may establish a portion of the service on a one-time basis except the balance may be established in accordance with Section 9-1-80. The out-of-state service must be matched on a one-for-one basis with in-state service. However, a member who has been in continuous covered employment for ten years may receive creditable service for any amount of out-of-state service. Out-of-state service may not exceed the total creditable service, exclusive of out-of-state service which he would have if he remained in service until completion of the eligibility requirements for an unreduced service retirement allowance. A member who elects to receive creditable service for his out-of-state service shall establish credit for all service for which he is eligible, except that the service shall not exceed the total creditable service, exclusive of out-of-state service, which he would have if he remained in service until completion of the eligibility requirements for an unreduced service retirement allowance. The contribution thereafter must be treated in the same way as the regular contributions required of a member hereunder."

SECTION 2. Section 9-8-50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"(5) Any member who has twenty-five years of prior service credit in the South Carolina Retirement System may transfer up to three years of service credit from the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors to the South Carolina Retirement System. A transfer of service credit pursuant to this subsection includes the transfer of the salary base associated with the years of judicial service and the total employer and employee contributions for the years of judicial service. This transfer may take place only if the benefit from the vested judicial annuity is not diminished."

SECTION 3. Subsections (1) and (5) of Section 9-8-60 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 522 of 1994, are further amended to read:

"(1) A member of the system may retire upon written application to the board setting forth at what time, not later than his attaining age seventy-two and not more than ninety days prior nor more than six months subsequent to the execution and filing thereof, the member desires to be retired, if the member at the time so specified for retirement is no longer in the service of the State, except as a member of the General Assembly, and has completed ten years of credited service as a judge or eight years of credited service as a solicitor or was in service as a judge or solicitor on July 1, 1984, and has either attained the age of sixty-five and completed at least twenty years of credited service, or attained age seventy and completed at least fifteen years of credit service, or attained age sixty-five with at least four years' service in the position and has at least twenty-five years' other service with the State, or completed at least twenty-five years of credited service regardless of age. A solicitor is eligible to retire upon completion of twenty-four years of credited service regardless of age. Except as provided below, a person is not eligible to receive a retirement allowance under this system while under employment covered by the South Carolina Retirement System, and the South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System.

A person receiving retirement allowances under this system who is elected to the General Assembly or who is employed as an attorney by an employer as defined in Section 9-1-10(5) or 9-11-10(5) continues to receive the retirement allowances while serving in the General Assembly or while so employed and must also be a member of the General Assembly Retirement System applicable retirement system, unless the person files a statement with the State Budget and Control Board on a form prescribed by the board electing not to participate in the General Assembly applicable retirement system while a member of the General Assembly or while so employed. A person making this election shall not make contributions to the General Assembly applicable retirement system nor shall the State make contributions on the member's person's behalf and the person is not entitled on account of this service to benefits from the General Assembly applicable retirement system after ceasing to be a member of the General Assembly or after ceasing to be so employed.

(5) A member who retires, who has completed at least twenty-five years of credited service, or twenty-four years in the case of a solicitor, shall receive a monthly retirement allowance which must be equal to one-twelfth of seventy-one and three-tenths percent of the current active salary of the respective position plus one-twelfth of two and sixty-seven hundredths percent of the current active salary of the respective position for each additional year of active service over twenty-five, or twenty-four in the case of a solicitor. In the case of a solicitor, any credited service rather than only active service in excess of twenty-four years must be included for purposes of calculating the additional monthly allowance provided for by this subsection. The monthly retirement allowance may not exceed one-twelfth of ninety percent of the current active salary of the respective position."

SECTION 4. Section 9-8-120(2) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 497 of 1994, is further amended to read:

"(2) Except as otherwise provided below, if this return is in a position other than as a solicitor, the beneficiary, upon cessation of service in the position, is entitled to apply for a retirement allowance at the same rate to which the beneficiary was previously entitled, disregarding any reduction therein resulting from a previous election of an option. If the beneficiary's return is as a member of the General Assembly or an attorney employed by an employer as defined in Section 9-1-10(5) or 9-11-10(5), retirement allowances continue as provided by Section 9-8-60(1)."

SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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