As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:

(1) "Accumulated contribution" means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to the members individual account in the employee annuity savings fund, together with regular interest on the account, as provided in Article 9 of this chapter.

(2) "Active member" means an employee who is compensated by an employer participating in the system and who is making regular retirement contributions to the system.

(3) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the basis of mortality tables adopted by the board and regular interest.

(4)(a) "Average final compensation" with respect to Class One and Class Two members retiring on or after July 1, 1986, means the average annual earnable compensation of a member during the twelve consecutive quarters of his creditable service on which regular contributions as a member were made to the system producing the highest such average; a quarter means a period January through March, April through June, July through September, or October through December. An amount up to and including forty-five days’ termination pay for unused annual leave at retirement may be added to the average final compensation. Average final compensation for an elected official may be calculated as the average annual earnable compensation for the thirty-six consecutive months before the expiration of the elected official’s term of office.

(b) "Average final compensation" with respect to Class Three members means the average annual earnable compensation of a member during the twenty consecutive quarters of the member’s creditable service on which regular contributions as a member were made to the system producing the highest such average; a quarter means a period January through March, April through June, July through September, or October through December. Termination pay for unused annual leave at retirement may not be added to the average final compensation.

(5) "Beneficiary" means a person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance or other benefit provided under the system.

(6) "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.

(7) "Creditable service" means a member’s earned service, prior service, and purchased service.

(8)(a) "Earnable compensation" means the full rate of the compensation that would be payable to a member if the member worked the member’s full normal working time; when compensation includes maintenance, fees, and other things of value the board shall fix the value of that part of the compensation not paid in money directly by the employer.

(b) For work performed by a member after December 31, 2012, earnable compensation does not include any overtime pay not mandated by the employer.

(9) "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.

(10) "Educational service" means paid service as a classroom teacher in a public, private, or sectarian school providing elementary or secondary education, kindergarten through grade twelve.

(11) "Employee" means:

(a) to the extent compensated by this State, an employee, agent, or officer of the State or any of its departments, bureaus, and institutions, other than the public schools, whether the employee is elected, appointed, or employed;

(b) the president, dean, professor, or teacher or any other person employed in any college, university, or educational institution of higher learning supported by and under the control of the State;

(c) an employee, agent, or officer of a county, municipality, or school district, or an agency or department of any of these, which has been admitted to the system under the provisions of § 9-1-470, to the extent the employee, agent, or officer is compensated for services from public funds;

(d) an employee of the extension service and any other employee a part of whose salary or wage is paid by the federal government if the federal funds from which the salary or wage is paid before disbursement become state funds;

(e) an employee of a service organization, the membership of which is composed solely of persons eligible to be teachers or employees as defined by this section, if the compensation received by the employees of the service organization is provided from monies paid by the members as dues or otherwise, or from funds derived from public sources and if the employee contributions prescribed by this title are paid from the funds of the service organization;

(f) an employee of an alcohol and drug abuse planning agency authorized to receive funds pursuant to § 61-12-20;

(g) an employee of a local council on aging or other governmental agency providing aging services funded by the Department on Aging.

"Employee" does not include supreme and circuit court judges, any person whose services are remunerated solely by per diem payments, or any person employed by a school, college, or university at which the person is enrolled as a student or otherwise regularly attending classes for academic credit unless the person is employed as a school bus driver and is paid by the same school district in which the person is enrolled in school. In determining student status, the system may consider the guidelines of the Social Security Administration regarding student services and other criteria the system uniformly prescribes.

(12) "Employee annuity" means annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member.

(13) "Employee annuity reserve" means the present value of all payments to be made on account of an employee annuity or benefit in lieu of the employee annuity, computed on the basis of mortality tables adopted by the board and regular interest.

(14) "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.

(15) "Employer annuity" means annual payments for life derived from money provided by the employer.

(16) "Employer annuity reserve" means the present value of all payments to be made on account of an employer annuity or benefit in lieu of the employee annuity, computed on the basis of mortality tables adopted by the board and regular interest.

(17) [Reserved]

(18) "Member" means a teacher or employee included in the membership of the system as provided in Article 5 of this chapter.

(18A) "Class Three member" means an employee member of the system with an effective date of membership after June 30, 2012.

(19) "Military service" means:

(a) service in the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, or United States Coast Guard;

(b) service in the select reserve of the Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or the Coast Guard Reserve, and

(c) service as a member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard of this or any other state.

(20) "Nonqualified service" means purchased service other than public service, educational service, military service, leave of absence, and reestablishment of withdrawals.

(21) "Prior service" means service rendered as a teacher or employee before July 1, 1945, for which credit is allowable under Article 7 of this chapter.

(22) "Public school" means a school conducted within this State under the authority and supervision of a duly elected or appointed school district board of trustees.

(23) "Public service" means service as an employee of the government of the United States, a state or political subdivision of the United States, or an agency or instrumentality of any of these. "Public service" does not include "educational service" or "military service" as defined in this section. "Public service" does include paid service rendered as an employee of a postsecondary public technical college or public junior college, or a public four-year or postgraduate institution of higher education, while the member was a student at that institution.

(24) "Purchased service" means service credit purchased by an active member while an employee of an employer participating in the system.

(25) "Regular interest" means interest compounded annually at a rate determined by the board in accordance with § 9-1-280.

(26) "Retirement" means the withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the system.

(27) "Retirement allowance" means the sum of the employer annuity and the employee annuity or any optional benefit payable in lieu of the annuity.

(28) "Retirement system" or "system" means the South Carolina Retirement System established under § 9-1-20.

(28A) "Rule of ninety" means a requirement that the total of the member’s age and the member’s creditable service equals at least ninety years.

(29) "State" or "this State" means the State of South Carolina.

(30) "Teacher" means a classroom teacher employed in the public schools supported by this State as determined by the board.