Service Retirement Annuity
You must retire no later than the end of the calendar year in which you reach age 72 and file an application no more than six months prior or more than 90 days subsequent to your desired effective date of retirement.
Retirement Annuity Eligibility
9-8-60(1)
To qualify for a service retirement annuity, a JSRS member must no longer be in the service of the state, except for South Carolina General Assembly employment, and must have 10 years of earned service as a justice or judge; eight years of earned service as a solicitor or a circuit public defender; or was in service as a justice, judge or a solicitor on July 1, 1984, and has:
- 25 years of service credit as a justice or judge;
- 24 years of service credit as a solicitor;
- 24 years of service credit as a circuit public defender;
- Reached age 65 with at least 20 years of service credit as a justice, judge, solicitor, or circuit public defender; or
- Reached age 70 with at least 15 years of service credit as a justice, judge, solicitor, or circuit public defender.
Please see the “Returning to Covered Employment” section for information pertaining to the option to begin receiving your retirement annuity and continue employment.
Note: If a JSRS member who named his spouse as beneficiary for his active JSRS account dies in service prior to retiring, the earned service requirement may be waived if all other retirement eligibility requirements are met for any JSRS (regular or deferred) annuity. The surviving spousal beneficiary may be offered the one-third annuity in-service death payment option.
Documents Needed at Retirement
To retire, you must complete an Application for Service Retirement Benefits (Form 6101J), a Withholding Certificate for Monthly Benefit Payments (Form 7202) and an Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization for Annuities (Form 7204).
Regardless of the payment plan you select, you must include copies of your birth certificate and your current driver’s license or state-issued identification card. Original documents will not be returned unless you request that the Retirement Systems do so. If you select the Optional Survivor Annuity Payment Plan, you must also include with your application a copy of proof of birth for each of your designated beneficiaries.