Skip To Main Content

SECTION 9 RETIREMENT

Your employer will initiate the retirement enrollment process. You will need to provide a valid email address to your employer. Then, you will make your plan election when you respond to the Retirement Plan Election email you receive from PEBA. Refer to the Retirement Enrollment Guide for New Hires flyer for assistance with completing your online enrollment. You have 30 days from your date of hire to make your decision. If you do not make a selection within that time period, you will automatically be enrolled as a member of SCRS. You must complete an enrollment election regardless of the plan you intend to select. If you have not yet made your decision, please refer to the Select Your Retirement Plan guide and the “It’s Your Choice: SCRS or State ORP” video. Membership is mandatory as a condition of your employment with a covered employer unless you are in a position or classification of employment specifically exempted from membership by statute. Other classifications, such as non-permanent employees, have the option to elect non-membership within 30 days from their date of hire, unless the employee already has an SCRS account. You may elect non-membership when completing your online enrollment if you are eligible. Newly hired employees of state agencies, public higher education institutions, public school districts and participating charter schools may choose participation in State ORP instead of SCRS within 30 days of their date of hire. If a member is employed by two covered employers at the same time, he must participate in the same plan (i.e., SCRS or State ORP) with both employers, except where a State ORP participant takes a second position with a covered employer that does not participate in State ORP. Your SCRS membership starts when you earn compensation from a covered employer and make contributions to your SCRS retirement account. You are considered an active member if you are working for an SCRS covered employer, earning service credit and making regular contributions to an SCRS retirement account, and you have not retired or terminated from covered employment. You must be an active member to be eligible for most of the benefits described in this handbook

SCRS (SC Retirement Systems)
Members of SCRS contribute 9% of their gross pay, tax-deferred, into their SCRS retirement accounts. Employer contribution rates to the system are set by a statutory schedule, subject to additional increases to meet certain funding requirements

Interest on your SCRS account
Your active SCRS account earns 4% interest compounded annually on your balance as of the previous       June 30 until you retire or your account becomes inactive. An account is considered inactive when no   contributions have been made to the account in the preceding fiscal year and no other active, correlated system or State ORP account exists

Service Retirement
 A good way to begin the planning process for retirement is to review our pre-retirement seminar, Get Set for Retirement, which is available at peba.sc.gov/bap. If you are considering retirement, you may wish to schedule a benefits consultation with our Customer Service staff. Visit peba.sc.gov/visit-us to schedule an appointment. Refer to the Applying for service retirement checklist for details. You can also calculate a benefit estimate through Member Access or request one from Customer Service. Eligibility If you meet the following requirements, you are considered eligible to retire (see Correlated systems on Page 7 if you have an account in more than one retirement system). Retiree health insurance eligibility The eligibility requirements for a service benefit and for retiree health insurance are not the same. If you are covered by the state’s employee health insurance program, be sure to read the eligibility requirements in the Insurance Benefits Guide or contact Customer Service at 803.737.6800 or 888.260.9430 for eligibility information. If your employer does not participate in the state’s employee health insurance program, contact your employer for information about insurance in retirement.

Class Two member 

Normal retirement (unreduced benefit) 

  • At least 28 years of service credit on the date of retirement, five years of which must be earned service credit; or
  • Age 65 or older on the date of retirement with at least five years of earned service credit

 Early retirement (reduced benefit) 

  • Age 60 with at least five years of earned service credit. Your benefit is permanently reduced 5% for each year of age less than 65; or
  • Age 55 or older with 25 years of service credit, five years of which must be earned service credit. Your benefit is permanently reduced 4% for each year of service credit less than 28. Benefit adjustment restrictions apply (see Page 22). 

Class Three member

Normal retirement (unreduced benefit) 

  • Meet the Rule of 90 requirement with at least eight years of earned service credit. This means that your age and years of service credit must add up to 90; or
  • Age 65 or older on the date of retirement with at least eight years of earned service credit. Early retirement (reduced benefit 
  • Age 60 with at least eight years of earned service credit. Your benefit is permanently reduced 5% for each year of age less than 65.

When to apply
You must file an application with PEBA to retire; it is not automatic. You may file your application as early as six months prior to your desired effective date of retirement but no later than 90 days afterward. We encourage you to file your application as early as possible. The fastest, most convenient way to apply for retirement is through your Member Access account. Retirement applications and other forms are also available at peba.sc.gov/forms

If you do not receive notification of PEBA’s receipt of your application within 10 days after submitting it, contact Customer Service at 803.737.6800 or 888.260.9430. Do not terminate employment until PEBA has verified your service credit and you receive written notice of your retirement eligibility from PEBA. This notice will be sent to you in the mail and is entitled, Notification of Retirement Eligibility and Estimated Benefit. Benefit estimates are projected based on information you provide and information in PEBA’s records. Benefit estimates are subject to change upon review of your account after PEBA receives your service retirement application.

State Optional Retirement Program
The State Optional Retirement Program (State ORP) is a defined contribution plan. In a defined contribution plan, you invest your funds within the plan’s investment choices and then bear the risk, or enjoy the benefit, based on the performance of your investments. Your retirement benefit is based on the balance in your account when you retire.

A Quick Look at State ORP (9.0% of your gross salary is withheld from each paycheck – The district will match 5% and both are sent to the ORP vendor that you choose and it will be invested in the funds you choose.)

  • State ORP is an alternative to SCRS..
  • If you select State ORP, an account is established in your name through the investor provider you select. Your employee contributions and a portion of your employer’s contributions accumulate in your account and are invested in the investment products you select from the products offered through your investment provider.
  • Your retirement benefit will be based on the balance in your account when you retire.
  • Once you retire, you may choose from a variety of payout options, including single-sum withdrawals, or a guaranteed monthly pension benefit based on your account balance at the time payments begin.
  • State ORP also provides portability of the money in your account, which includes the contributions made by you and your employer, and the investment earnings.

For more information on the South Carolina Retirement System or the State Optional Retirement Program, please visit www.peba.sc.gov.

Private Investments:
This is an agreement between you and the Vendor. All Employees that receive a payroll check from Sumter School District are eligible to participate in available voluntary 401K, 457 and 403(b) tax deferred savings programs. See the benefits office for a current list of participating vendors. If you sign up for one of these programs, Sumter School District will withhold the amount of money you choose and submit it to the vendor the rest is between you and the vendor.