Viewing an earlier, undated versionView current - (A) All eligible employees hired by an employer on or after July 1, 2001, shall elect either to join the South Carolina Retirement System or to participate in the State ORP under this chapter within sixty days after entry into service. If an eligible employee fails to make the initial election within the required time, the employee is considered to have elected membership in the South Carolina Retirement System. An election made pursuant to this section must be made in writing and filed with the retirement system and the appropriate officer of the employee's participating employer and is effective on the date of employment. An eligible employee electing to participate in the State ORP assumes all investment risk. The election to participate in the State ORP is irrevocable except that an eligible employee who participates in the State ORP may irrevocably elect to join the South Carolina Retirement System during the fifth calendar year after initial enrollment in the State ORP under this chapter. The optional retirement participant must make this election to participate in the South Carolina Retirement System during the months of January, February, or March of the fifth calendar year after the employee's initial enrollment in the State ORP, or failing to make the election within the allotted time, the employee is considered to have irrevocably elected to participate in the State ORP. Upon joining the South Carolina Retirement System, the employee may establish credit in the system for service earned while participating in the State ORP by making a payment to the system in an amount determined by the board. For purposes of this subsection, the date of initial enrollment in the State ORP for employees who previously participated in 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 is the date of initial enrollment in these programs.
- (B) All participants in the Optional Retirement Program for Teachers and School Administrators on July 1, 2001, and the Optional Retirement Program for Publicly-Supported Four-Year and Postgraduate Institutions of Higher Education on July 1, 2002, thereafter are participants in the State ORP.