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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.3701 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:20010313 Primary Sponsor:Townsend All Sponsors:Townsend Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\gjk\20282sd01.doc Residing Body:House Current Committee:Ways and Means Committee 30 HWM Subject:S.C. Retirement System, establishing service credits; manner in which required payment determined revised; Pensions History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ House 20010313 Introduced, read first time, 30 HWM referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND SECTION 9-1-1140, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, RELATING TO ESTABLISHING SERVICE CREDITS UNDER THE STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO REVISE THE MANNER IN WHICH THE REQUIRED PAYMENT IS DETERMINED.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 9-1-1140 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 387 of 2000, is further amended to read:
"Section 9-1-1140. (A) An active member may establish service credit for any period of paid public service by making a payment to the system for each year of credit purchased to be determined by the board, but which shall be the payment required to establish such service at the time that service was rendered, provided, that for service rendered after January 1, 2001, the payment shall be not less than sixteen percent of the member's current salary or career highest fiscal year salary, whichever is greater, for each year of credit purchased. Periods of less than a year must be prorated. A member may not establish credit for a period of public service for which the member also may receive a retirement benefit from another retirement plan.
(B) An active member may establish service credit for any period of paid educational service by making a payment to the system for each year of credit purchased to be determined by the board, but which shall be the payment required to establish such service at the time that service was rendered, provided, that for service rendered after January 1, 2001, the payment shall be not less than sixteen percent of the member's current salary or career highest fiscal year salary, whichever is greater, for each year of credit purchased. Periods of less than a year must be prorated. A member may not establish credit for a period of educational service for which the member also may receive a retirement benefit from another retirement plan.
(C) An active member may establish up to six years of service credit for any period of military service, if the member was discharged or separated from military service under conditions other than dishonorable, by making a payment to the system for each year of credit purchased to be determined by the board, but which shall be the payment required to establish such service at the time that service was rendered, provided, that for service rendered after January 1, 2001, the payment shall be not less than sixteen percent of the member's current salary or career highest fiscal year salary, whichever is greater, for each year of credit purchased. Periods of less than a year must be prorated.
(D) An active member on an approved leave of absence from an employer that participates in the system may purchase service credit for the period of the approved leave, but may not purchase more than two years of service credit for each separate leave period, by making a payment to the system for each year of credit purchased to be determined by the board, but which shall be the payment required to establish such service at the time that service was rendered, provided, that for service rendered after January 1, 2001, the payment shall be not less than sixteen percent of the member's current salary or career highest fiscal year salary, whichever is greater, for each year of credit purchased. Periods of less than a year must be prorated.
(E) An active member who has five or more years of earned service credit may establish up to five years of nonqualified service by making a payment to the system to be determined by the board, but not less than thirty-five percent of the member's current salary or career highest fiscal year salary, whichever is greater, for each year of credit purchased. Periods of less than a year must be prorated.
(F) An active member who previously withdrew contributions from the system may reestablish the service credited to the member at the time of the withdrawal of contributions by repaying the amount of the contributions previously withdrawn, plus regular interest from the date of the withdrawal to the date of repayment to the system.
(G) An active member establishing retirement credit pursuant to this chapter may establish that credit by means of payroll deducted installment payments. Interest must be paid on the unpaid balance of the amount due at the rate of the prime rate plus two percent a year.
(H) An employer, at its discretion, may pay to the system all or a portion of the cost for an employee's purchase of service credit under this chapter. Any amounts paid by the employer under this subsection for all purposes must be treated as employer contributions.
(I) Service credit purchased under this section, other than earned service previously withdrawn and reestablished, is not 'earned service' and does not count toward the required five or more years of earned service necessary for benefit eligibility.
(J) A member may purchase each type of service under this section once each fiscal year.
(K) The board shall promulgate regulations and prescribe rules and policies, as necessary, to implement the service purchase provisions of this chapter.
(L) At retirement, after March 31, 1991, a member shall receive credit for not more than ninety days of his unused sick leave from the member's last employer at no cost to the member. The leave must be credited at a rate where twenty days of unused sick leave equals one month of service. This additional service credit may not be used to qualify for retirement."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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