(A) Sections 9-1-1680, 9-8-190, 9-9-180, or 9-11-270 apply to the creation, assignment, recognition, or enforcement of a right to any benefit payable under a retirement system with respect to a member or retired member pursuant to a domestic relations order unless the order is determined to be a qualified domestic relations order. A qualified domestic relations order may order that all or any part of any (1) retirement benefit, (2) withdrawal or refund of contributions, (3) disability benefit, or (4) death benefit that becomes payable under the retirement system on account of the member or retired member, instead be paid by the system to the alternate payee. No other benefits provided under the retirement system may be paid to an alternate payee. A domestic relations order constitutes a qualified domestic relations order if it orders the payment of only those types of benefits described in clauses (1) through (4) of this subsection and meets the requirements set forth in subsection (B).

(B) A domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relations order only if the order:

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 9-18-20

  • Alternate payee: means a spouse or former spouse of a member or retired member who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable by a retirement system with respect to such member or retired member. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Death benefit: means any benefit payable upon the death of a member under Sections 9-1-1650, 9-1-1660, 9-8-110(1), (3), or (4), 9-9-100(1), (2), or (3), 9-11-110, or 9-11-130. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • Disability benefit: means any benefit payable to a member or retired member on account of his disability under Sections 9-1-1540, 9-8-60, 9-9-65, or 9-11-80. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • Domestic relations order: means any judgement, decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement agreement, which relates to the provision of alimony payments or marital property rights to a spouse or former spouse of a member or retired member, and is made pursuant to a domestic relations law, including a law of this State or of another state. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • Member: means any person included in the membership of the retirement system. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • Qualified domestic relations order: means a domestic relations order which creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right, or assigns to an alternate payee the right, to receive all or a portion of a benefit payable with respect to a member or retired member under a retirement system, which directs that retirement system to disburse benefits to the alternate payee, and which meets the requirements of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • Retirement benefit: means any benefit payable to a retired member and which is based on the member's age, service, pay, or accumulated contributions. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10
  • system: means the South Carolina Retirement System, Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors of the State of South Carolina, Retirement System for Members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, or South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System. See South Carolina Code 9-18-10

(1) clearly specifies the retirement system to which it applies;

(2) clearly specifies the name, social security number, and last known mailing address of the member or retired member and the name, social security number, and mailing address of the alternate payee covered by the order, and states the date of marriage;

(3) clearly specifies the types of benefits described in subsection (A) to which the order applies;

(4) clearly specifies the amount or percentage of each benefit to be paid by the retirement system to the alternate payee or the manner in which the amount or percentage is to be determined;

(5) clearly specifies the number of payments or the period to which the order applies;

(6) clearly specifies whether the alternate payee is to share proportionately in benefit increases due to cost-of-living adjustments;

(7) does not require the retirement system to pay any benefit at a time or in an amount that would not otherwise have been payable at the time or in such an amount;

(8) does not require the retirement system to provide any benefit or option not otherwise provided under the provisions of law governing the system;

(9) does not require the retirement system to provide the alternate payee optional payment forms;

(10) does not require the retirement system to provide increased benefits determined on the basis of actuarial value;

(11) does not require the payment of benefits to the alternate payee which is required to be paid to another alternate payee under another order previously determined to be a qualified domestic relations order;

(12) does not require the payment of benefits to the alternate payee before the retirement of a member, the distribution of a withdrawal of contributions to a member, or other distribution to a member, retired member, or beneficiary;

(13) does not require that the alternate payee be provided the right to designate a beneficiary to receive benefits after the alternate payee’s death;

(14) does not require that a member, retired member, or beneficiary elect a particular optional payment form or make any other election, except for the designation of the alternate payee as a recipient of death benefits; and

(15) does not require a member to terminate employment, to withdraw contributions, or to apply for retirement.

(C) The retirement system may reject a domestic relations order as a qualified domestic relations order if the order:

(1) does not provide for a proportional reduction of the amount awarded to the alternate payee if payment of benefits commences before the member attains normal retirement age;

(2) does not provide clearly for each possible benefit distribution permitted under the provisions of the retirement system;

(3) requires any action on the part of the retirement system that is contrary to any provision of law;

(4) makes the award of an interest contingent on any condition other than those conditions resulting in the liability of the retirement system for payments under its provisions;

(5) awards any future benefit increases that are provided or required by law, other than ordinary cost-of-living adjustments; or

(6) does not provide for a proportional reduction of the amount awarded to the alternate payee if benefits available to the member or retired member are reduced by law.