Bill > S0297

This bill amends various sections of South Carolina retirement system laws to provide employers with more flexibility in handling employee retirement contributions for two specific retirement systems: the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) and the Police Officers Retirement System (PORS). The key provision allows employers to elect, by July 1st of each fiscal year, to pay all or a portion of their employees' required retirement contributions without reducing employees' compensation. These employer-paid contributions will be treated as employer contributions for federal tax purposes under Internal Revenue Code Section 414(h)(2), but will still be credited as employee contributions for retirement system purposes. Importantly, employees cannot choose to receive these contributions directly and the employer's election cannot be changed during the fiscal year. The bill also clarifies that these picked-up contributions are not considered part of an employee's earnable compensation or total compensation and modifies how accumulated and aggregate contributions are defined. By providing this option, the bill gives employers more administrative flexibility in managing retirement contributions while maintaining the existing structure of the retirement systems. The changes will take effect upon the Governor's approval.

Budget and Finance

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=0297&session=126&summary=B