About Us- Defined Contribution Plan


An Optional Retirement Program (ORP) was created in 1987 as an alternative to the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) for faculty members and those in certain administrative positions in four-year institutions of higher learning hired after July 1, 1987. Technical education college faculty members and those in certain administrative positions hired after July 1, 1998, could also participate.

In its 2000 session, the South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation that created a new optional retirement plan, the State Optional Retirement Plan (State ORP).

Legislation enacted during the 2001 legislative session expanded the definition (Section 9-20-10 of the SC Code of Laws) of employees eligible to participate in the State ORP to include:

1. Full-time employees of South Carolina public school districts hired after June 30, 2001;

2. Full-time employees of South Carolina state-supported colleges, universities, and technical colleges hired after June 30, 2002;

3. Full-time employees of the state of South Carolina or any of its departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions, and institutions hired after June 30, 2002; and

4. A person who was a participant in the South Carolina Higher Education Optional Retirement Program as of June 30, 2002.

In 2003, legislation further expanded State ORP eligibility to include a person hired on or after July 1, 2003, to fill a temporary or part-time permanent position with school districts, state-supported colleges, universities, or technical schools, or the state of South Carolina.

The South Carolina Retirement Systems is responsible for determining which employees are eligible to participate in the State ORP.