South Carolina Code 9-1-1515. Early retirement
(1) has five or more years of earned service;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 9-1-1515
- Board: means the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority which shall act under the provisions of this chapter through its Division of Retirement Systems. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
- Creditable service: means a member's earned service, prior service, and purchased service. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
- Earned service: means :
(a) paid employment as a teacher or employee of an employer participating in the system where the teacher or employee makes regular retirement contributions to the system; or
(b) service rendered while participating in the State Optional Retirement Program, the Optional Retirement Program for Teachers and School Administrators, or the Optional Retirement Program for Publicly Supported Four Year and Postgraduate Institutions of Higher Education that has been purchased pursuant to § 9-1-1140(F); or
(c) service earned as a participant in the system, the South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System, the Retirement System for Members of the General Assembly, or the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors that is transferred to or purchased in the system. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10 - Employer: means this State, a county board of education, a district board of trustees, the board of trustees or other managing board of a state-supported college or educational institution, or any other agency of this State by which a teacher or employee is paid; the term "employer" also includes a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the State, or an agency or department of any of these, which has been admitted to the system under the provisions of § 9-1-470, a service organization referred to in item (11)(e) of this section, an alcohol and drug abuse planning agency authorized to receive funds pursuant to § 61-12-20, and a local council on aging or other governmental agency providing aging services funded by the Department on Aging. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
- Member: means a teacher or employee included in the membership of the system as provided in Article 5 of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
- Retirement: means the withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the system. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
- Retirement allowance: means the sum of the employer annuity and the employee annuity or any optional benefit payable in lieu of the annuity. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
(2) has attained the age of fifty-five years;
(3) has at least twenty-five years of creditable service; and
(4) has separated from service.
A member electing early retirement shall apply in the manner provided in § 9-1-1510.
(B) The benefits for a member electing early retirement under this section must be calculated in the manner provided in § 9-1-1550, except that in lieu of any other reduction factor, the member’s early retirement allowance is reduced by four percent a year, prorated for periods less than one year, for each year of creditable service less than twenty-eight.
(C) A member who elects early retirement under this section is ineligible to receive any cost-of-living increase provided by law to retirees until the second July first after the date the member attains age sixty; or the second July first after the date the member would have twenty-eight years’ creditable service had he not retired, whichever is earlier.
(D)(1) Except as provided in item (2) of this subsection, a member who elects early retirement under this section is not covered by the State Insurance Benefits Plan until the earlier of:
(a) the date the member attains age sixty, or
(b) the date the member would have twenty-eight years’ creditable service had he not retired.
(2) A member taking early retirement may maintain coverage under the State Insurance Benefits Plan until the date his coverage is reinstated pursuant to item (1) of this subsection by paying the total premium cost, including the employer‘s contribution, in the manner provided by the Division of Insurance Services of the board.