SC House amends its pension reform plan

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House’s latest version of pension reform allows current government employees to continue factoring in unused vacation and sick days into their retirement payments.

The House chose to adopt the Senate’s version of the bill in that area, to focus instead on return-to-work retirees, an issue it didn’t address before.

Under both plans now, employees who retire then return to work would stop getting two checks once their regular pay for the year reaches $10,000. After reaching that ceiling, employees would draw only their salary. The Senate’s version says a retiree has to sit out 15 days before returning, while the House mandates 60.

The House maintains its plan to increase employees’ contribution to 1 percentage point over two years, to 7.5 percent. The Senate’s is 1.5 points.