South Carolina General Assembly
108th Session, 1989-1990

Bill 323

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               323
Ratification Number:       137
Act Number                 84
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Transfer of local system to state
                           system
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A84, R137, S323)

AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 11, TITLE 9, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO POLICE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM BY ADDING SECTION 9-11-48 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN EMPLOYER WHO MAINTAINS A LOCAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR FIREFIGHTERS BEFORE THE DATE OF ADMISSION TO THE POLICE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM MAY REQUIRE ALL ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THAT LOCAL SYSTEM TO BECOME MEMBERS OF THE POLICE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON THE DATE OF ADMISSION, TO ESTABLISH THE DATES OF ADMISSION, TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS WHICH MUST BE FOLLOWED IF THIS OPTION IS EXERCISED, TO PROVIDE FOR THE BENEFITS RETIREES ARE ENTITLED TO UPON TRANSFER TO THE POLICE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE EARNINGS LIMITATION PERTAINING TO THE ALLOWABLE AMOUNT OF EARNINGS WHILE RECEIVING BENEFITS DOES NOT APPLY TO CERTAIN RETIREES EMPLOYED ON THE DATE OF TRANSFER.

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

Transfer of local system to state system

SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 11, Title 9 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 9-11-48. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9-11-40, an employer who maintains a local retirement system for firefighters before the date of admission to the Police Officers' Retirement System may require all active members and retirees or their beneficiaries of that local system to become members or beneficiaries of the South Carolina Police Officers' Retirement System on the date of admission. The date of admission is April 1, 1989, or at the beginning of any quarter thereafter. If this option is exercised, all assets of the local retirement system must be transferred to this system as of the date of admission. Any actuarial accrued liabilities realized by the system on account of the transfer, including retiree liability, as determined by the board's actuary and not met by transferred assets, must be paid by the employer in a lump sum or in installments over a period not to exceed ten years, as the board under uniform regulations may determine. The asset transfer and employer payment, if required by this section, is in lieu of any other payments that would otherwise be required by this section.

Retirees or their beneficiaries transferred to this system shall receive benefits equal to those they received under the former local retirement system plus increases provided by law for beneficiaries of this system on or after the date of admission.

If a retiree on the date of transfer is employed in employment covered by the system, the earnings limitation of Section 9-11-150(4) does not apply while the retiree remains in the same covered employment."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.