South Carolina General Assembly
112th Session, 1997-1998

Bill 3378


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                       3378
Type of Legislation:               General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                  House
Introduced Date:                   19970205
Primary Sponsor:                   McLeod
All Sponsors:                      McLeod, Townsend, Harrison,
                                   Jennings, J. Brown, Wilder and
                                   Hodges 
Drafted Document Number:           jic\52261itc.97
Residing Body:                     House
Current Committee:                 Ways and Means Committee 30
                                   HWM
Subject:                           S.C. Retirement System,
                                   twenty-five years credited service
                                   without reduction in benefits,
                                   Pensions



History


Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________
House   19970205  Introduced, read first time,             30 HWM
                  referred to Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


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

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTIONS 9-1-1510, AND 9-1-1550, BOTH AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SERVICE RETIREMENT UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO REDUCE FROM THIRTY TO TWENTY-FIVE THE YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE TO RETIRE AT ANY AGE WITHOUT PENALTY; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD TO INCREASE BOTH EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO OFFSET THE INCREASED ACTUARIAL COST OF THESE PROVISIONS WITH NOT LESS THAN SEVENTEEN PERCENT OF THE TOTAL INCREASE TO BE PAID BY EMPLOYERS; AND TO REPEAL SECTIONS 9-1-1515 AND 9-1-1850, RELATING TO OTHER EARLY RETIREMENT PROVISIONS MADE OBSOLETE BY THIS ACT.

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

SECTION 1. The first paragraph of Section 9-1-1510 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Any A member may retire upon written application to the board setting forth at what time, not more than ninety days prior before nor more than six months subsequent to after the execution and filing thereof of the application, he desires to be retired, if such the member at the time so specified for his service retirement shall have has attained the age of sixty years or shall have has thirty twenty-five or more years of creditable service and shall have has separated from service and, if the time so specified is subsequent to after the date of application, notwithstanding that, during such the period of notification, he may have separated from service."

SECTION 2. Subsections (A) and (B) of Section 9-1-1550 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 189 of 1989, are further amended to read:

"(A) Upon retirement from service on or after July 1, 1964, a Class One member shall receive a service retirement allowance which shall consist of:

(1) An employee annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his accumulated contributions at the time of his retirement; and

(2) An employer annuity equal to the employee annuity allowable at the age of sixty-five years or at age of retirement, whichever is less, computed on the basis of contributions made prior to the age of sixty-five years; and

(3) If he has a prior service certificate in full force and effect, an additional employer annuity which must be equal to the employee annuity which would have been provided at age sixty-five or at age of retirement, whichever is less, by twice the contributions which he would have made during his entire period of prior service had the system been in operation and had he contributed thereunder during such entire period.

Upon retirement from service on or after July 1, 1989 1997, a Class One member shall receive a service retirement allowance computed as follows: If the member's service retirement date occurs on or after his sixty-fifth birthday, or after he has completed thirty twenty-five or more years of creditable service, the allowance must be equal to one and forty-five hundredths percent of his average final compensation multiplied by the number of years of his creditable service.

If the member's service retirement date occurs before his sixty-fifth birthday and before he completes thirty twenty-five years of creditable service, his service retirement allowance is computed as above, but is reduced by five-twelfths of one percent thereof for each month by which his retirement date precedes the first day of the month, prorated for periods less than a month, coincident with or next following his sixty-fifth birthday.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, any Class One member who retires on or subsequent to July 1, 1976, shall receive not less than the benefit provided under the formula in effect before July 1, 1976.

(B) Upon retirement from service on or after July 1, 1989 1997, a Class Two member shall receive a service retirement allowance computed as follows:

(1) If the member's service retirement date occurs on or after his sixty-fifth birthday or after he has completed thirty twenty-five or more years of creditable service, the allowance must be equal to one and eighty-two hundredths percent of his average final compensation, multiplied by the number of years of his creditable service.

(2) If the member's service retirement date occurs before his sixty-fifth birthday and before he completes the thirty twenty-five years of creditable service, his service retirement allowance is computed as in item (1) above but is reduced by five-twelfths of one percent thereof for each month, prorated for periods less than a month, by which his retirement date precedes the first day of the month coincident with or next following his sixty-fifth birthday.

(3) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a Class Two member whose creditable service began before July 1, 1964, shall receive not less than the benefit provided by subsection (A) of this section."

SECTION 3. The State Budget and Control Board shall increase employer and employee contributions in an amount sufficient to offset the additional actuarial cost of the amendments to Sections 9-1-1510 and 9-1-1550 of the 1976 Code as amended by this act, but the employer-paid increase must not be less than seventeen percent of the total increase.

SECTION 4. Sections 9-1-1515 and 9-1-1850 of the 1976 Code are repealed with respect to members of the South Carolina Retirement System retiring after June 30, 1997.

SECTION 5. This act takes effect July 1, 1997.

-----XX-----