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S. 321
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Verdin
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ggs\22812htc03.doc
Introduced in the Senate on February 5, 2003
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Finance
Summary: Police Officers Retirement System; member may receive disability retirement while working; earnings limitation eliminated; provisions
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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2/5/2003 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-4
2/5/2003 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-4
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTIONS 9-11-40, 9-11-80, AND 9-11-90, ALL AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CORRELATION OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM, DISABILITY RETIREMENT UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM, AND RETURN TO ACTIVE SERVICE WHEN RETIRED UNDER THIS SYSTEM, SO AS TO ALLOW A MEMBER TO RECEIVE DISABILITY RETIREMENTS WHILE WORKING IN THESE CORRELATED SYSTEMS, TO ELIMINATE THE EARNINGS LIMITATION APPLICABLE TO DISABILITY RETIREMENT UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND EXEMPT DISABILITY RETIREMENT BENEFICIARIES WHO RETURN TO COVERED EMPLOYMENT FROM THE SERVICE RETIREMENT EARNINGS LIMITATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT DISABILITY BENEFITS ARE DISCONTINUED ONLY IF THE MEDICAL BOARD FINDS THAT A BENEFICIARY IS ABLE TO RETURN TO GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT IN THE SAME OR A SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR OCCUPATION TO THE ONE FOR WHICH THE MEMBER WAS DETERMINED TO BE DISABLED AND ELIMINATE PROVISIONS FOR PARTIAL REDUCTION IN BENEFITS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A BENEFICIARY WHEN RETURNING TO COVERED EMPLOYMENT IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE SYSTEM.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The second unnumbered paragraph of Section 9-11-40(9) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 658 of 1988, is further amended to read:
"If a member of any correlated system ceases to occupy a position covered under the system and if, within the protective period and under such conditions as are set forth in the correlated system for continuation of membership therein, he accepts a position covered by another correlated system, he shall notify the director of each system of such employment, and his membership in the first system must be continued so long as his membership in the other system continues. Service credited to the member under the provisions of the first system must be considered service credits for the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits, but not the amount thereof, under the other system. Any benefit under any one of the correlated systems must be computed solely on the basis of service and contributions credited under that system, and must be payable at such times and subject to such age and service conditions as are set forth therein, except the average final salary under either the South Carolina Retirement System or the Police Officers Retirement System may be used for the benefit calculation under both systems for consecutive earned service credit. A member is not eligible to receive retirement payments so long as while he is employed in a position covered by the South Carolina Retirement System or the South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System, but this prohibition does not extend to disability retirement benefits."
SECTION 2. Subsections (4) and (5) of Section 9-11-80 of the 1976 Code are amended to read:
"(4) If the medical board certifies that the member's disability has been removed and that he has regained his earning capacity in the same or a similar occupation for which the person was determined disabled, his disability retirement allowance may be discontinued, or if the disability has been partly removed and his earning capacity regained in part, the disability retirement allowance may be reduced proportionately. The determination of the board as to any disputed question, after due consideration accorded to the member, is conclusive. Should If the retirement allowance of any member retired for disability be is discontinued or reduced, and should if he again suffer suffers disability within five years of the date of his recovery and again lose loses his earning capacity, he shall be is entitled to apply to the board for a restoration of his original retirement allowance, and the board may restore all or part of his original retirement allowance. At the expiration of the five-year period, if the retirement allowance has not been restored, all rights in and to the member's disability retirement allowance are revoked. The member then is entitled to a deferred early retirement allowance as provided in Section 9-11-70 based upon his average final compensation and credited service at his date of disability retirement.
(5) After age fifty-five, a disability retiree is subject to the same earnings limitation as a service retiree A disability retiree is not subject to any earnings limitation whether returning to covered employment or otherwise."
SECTION 3. Subsections (1) and (2) of Section 9-11-90 of the 1976 Code are amended to read:
"(1) A disability beneficiary restored to active service at a salary less than his average final compensation shall does not become a member of the system and his retirement allowance shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of Section 9-11-80(4).
(2) Should a disability beneficiary under the age of fifty-five years be restored to active service and his compensation then, or at any time thereafter, be equal to or greater than his average final compensation at retirement, his retirement allowance shall cease, any election of an optional benefit shall become void, and he shall again become a member of the system and contribute thereafter as provided in Section 9-11-210(1). Any credited service to which he was entitled when he retired shall be restored to him, and upon subsequent retirement his allowance shall be based on his compensation and credited service before and after the period of prior retirement. The average final compensation in subsections (1) and (2) of this section may be increased up to ten percent annually to adjust for inflation. RESERVED"
SECTION 4. This act takes effect January 1, 2004.
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