Senate subcommittee weighs easing police return-to-work rules; PEBA cites $150 million cost

The Senate Finance Retirement System Subcommittee considered S119, a bill by Senator Sandra Adams to allow retired police officers to return to work after 90 days and to remove the current $10,000 earnings limitation on rehired retirees.

Senator Sandra Adams, the bill sponsor from Berkeley, said the change is intended to help departments struggling to recruit and retain officers and to allow experienced retirees to rejoin agencies sooner. "We are seeing a decrease in those who are wanting to take this job," Adams said, arguing the measure would let retirees bring experience back to agencies and mentor younger officers.

Several law-enforcement groups spoke in favor. JJ Jones, representing the South Carolina Police Chiefs Association and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association, said he retired at 47 because earlier rules made continuing a career difficult and that "this could keep people like me in the system." Sally Foster, director of the South Carolina Sheriff's Association, told the committee sheriffs support returning to a shorter break and asked several actuarial questions about contribution credits and participation rates. Jamie Helms, executive director of the South Carolina Firefighters Association, said the fire service also sees staffing shortfalls and that many returning retirees would fill training or administrative roles rather than front-line suppression.

Peggy Boykin of the Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) gave the committee the fiscal picture: the police officer retirement system holds roughly $8,000,000,000 in assets and $11,000,000,000 in liabilities, leaving about a $3,000,000,000 unfunded liability. "The fiscal impact for this bill as it's written is roughly a $150,000,000," Boykin said, and she described how actuarial assumptions about average retirement age and participant behavior drive that figure. PEBA staff told senators the cost could be addressed either by a one-time payment (about $150 million) or by increasing employer contribution rates by roughly 76 basis points, which would raise the employer rate from about 21.24% to roughly 22%.

Members pressed PEBA on how the actuary modeled participation — whether the analysis assumed most eligible retirees would take the option to retire and return — and Boykin said the actuary used detailed member-level data and historical behavior, including experience under prior policy changes, rather than a single uniform participation rate. PEBA also said the 90-day break is unlikely to eliminate the cost because shorter breaks tend to change retirement timing and increase benefit payouts.

After discussion and requests for more data on current vacancies, actuarial assumptions, and how many retirees have previously returned to work under proviso, the subcommittee voted to carry the bill over. The chair said the committee will schedule another subcommittee meeting before the full finance committee to review the requested data and to consider funding options.

The subcommittee took no final vote on S119 and carried the item over for further review.