Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 9 > Chapter 1 > Article 1 - General Provisions

• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Creditable service: means a member's earned service, prior service, and purchased service. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Employee annuity: means annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Employer annuity: means annual payments for life derived from money provided by the employer. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Member: means a teacher or employee included in the membership of the system as provided in Article 5 of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• 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. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Purchased service: means service credit purchased by an active member while an employee of an employer participating in the system. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Regular interest: means interest compounded annually at a rate determined by the board in accordance with § 9-1-280. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Retirement: means the withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the system. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Retirement allowance: means the sum of the employer annuity and the employee annuity or any optional benefit payable in lieu of the annuity. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• system: means the South Carolina Retirement System established under § 9-1-20. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Teacher: means a classroom teacher employed in the public schools supported by this State as determined by the board. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• this State: means the State of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 9-1-10
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.