Retirement Benefits
Important information for employees that retire and return to work for Greenville County Schools
If you are a retiree who returned to work in a full‐time benefits eligible position you CANNOT be covered as a PEBA retiree. You must leave your benefits with Greenville County Schools.
If you are a retiree and return to work in a non-benefits eligible position you will be subject to provisions of the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Secondary Payor Laws. This means that you may be eligible for active benefits if you do not take a 26 week break in employment. If you or any of your covered dependents are eligible for Medicare, you CANNOT be covered as a PEBA retiree and must be enrolled as an active employee under Greenville County Schools. Please view or download Working Retiree Notice for IMPORTANT information regarding the working retiree provisions under PEBA and how it will IMPACT your retiree insurance.
Retirement/Resignation – Employees considering retirement at the end of this school year are encouraged to make an appointment with the benefits department as soon as possible. To schedule your appointment, please email Benefits for scheduling options. If you are retiring you are required to provide a written letter of resignation/retirement to your supervisor. The supervisor, or designee, must submit to HR Processing, the letter from the employee along with the district termination form. A Retirement Celebration will be held on Wednesday, May 8 for all employees eligible to attend per GCSD guidelines.
All required documentation must be submitted to Human Resources by your supervisor by March 15 in order to be invited to attend the Retirement Celebration and receive your retirement gift at the event. Employees whose documentation is received between March 16 and April 30 will be invited to attend the Retirement Celebration, but they will not receive their retirement gift until after the event. Employees whose documentation is recevied after the April 30 deadline will be recognized at the May 2025 celebration.
Employees must meet Retirement Guidelines to be invited to the Retirement Celebration.
Employee must submit a letter of resignation to their supervisor.
A Termination of Employment Form must be sent by the employee’s supervisor to Human Resources (HR).
A Retirement Information Sheet must be completed by the retiring employee and sent to the following email retirementinformation@greenville.k12.sc.us.
Contacts:
Retirement Benefits Questions and to schedule an appointment - Benefits Department, 355-0960
Retirement Benefits and Options
Retirement participation is either mandatory or optional depending on the position and terms of employment with the District. For most positions, participation is mandatory with a fixed contribution of 9.0%. You can be a member of the South Carolina Retirement System or the Optional Retirement Program.
South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS)
The South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) offers the option of a defined benefit plan to all Greenville County Schools employees. Employees are required to contribute at the specified rate (currently 9.0%). Employee contributions are on a pre-tax basis. Benefits and vesting rights are defined by SCRS. Benefits are defined by the Retirement formula. Optional membership is available to bus drivers, temporary employees and substitutes. For details, visit SCRS. Enrollment is required within 30 days of the hire date. Employees that do not make an election within 30 days will be defaulted into SCRS.
Optional Retirement Program (State ORP)
The Optional Retirement Program (ORP) is another retirement plan option available to all Greenville County Schools employees. The ORP is a defined contribution plan administered by four contracted investment providers. Employees are required to contribute at the specified rate (currently 9.0%). The District contributes 5.0% (as defined by the State) to each employee’s account. All contributions are made on a pre-tax basis and immediately vested. For details visit ORP. Enrollment is required within 30 days of the hire date. Employees that do not make an election within 30 days will be defaulted into SCRS.
Social Security/Medicare
When planning for retirement, you should consider your eligibility for social security and Medicare benefits. Information is available on the Social Security Administration’s website.
Supplemental Retirement Benefits (401k, 457, 403b)
Full-time and part-time employees may elect to participate in a variety of voluntary, tax-deferred retirement programs offered through the District via payroll deduction.
TSA Consulting Group, Inc. - 403b Annuity Plan Administrator
Greenville County Schools has contracted with TSA Consulting Group, Inc (TSACG) to provide 403(b) plan administration services. On behalf of Greenville County Schools, TSACG will be responsible for salary reduction agreement processing and the approval of transactions such as Distributions, Exchanges, Transfers, Loans, and Rollovers.
An authorized Provider list is available online at www.tsacg.com. Choose Plan Sponsor Pages. Select South Carolina from the list of states and then choose Greenville County Schools. You will find the list of Authorized Providers for the plan. To start participating or to change an existing plan contribution, you will need to complete a salary reduction agreement (SRA). To complete the agreement, please use the click here link in the Online Enrollment Process section which will take you to the ART Login Page. Under Login as, you will choose Participant. The first time you log on, your username will be your social security number with no slashes/dashes and your password will be your date of birth with no slashes/dashes and a four digit year – 04012015. You will immediately be prompted to change your username and password.
To complete the salary reduction agreement, please go to the services drop down and choose salary reduction agreement. Follow the online instructions to complete and submit the form for processing. Questions regarding the salary reduction agreement process can be directed to the SRA Department at 888-796-3786, option 5. Please note that the SRA Department’s hours of operation are Monday – Thursday, 7:00 am – 7:00 pm (CST) and on Friday 7:00 am – 5:00 pm (CST).
Important-You MUST establish an account with your selected provider prior to the date you begin the Salary Reduction. If the account has not been properly established, it could result in your contributions being returned to you and becoming taxable. Verifying that the account has been established before submitting the SRA will expedite the process and help to avoid having funds returned to you.
Disclaimer: The information on this webpage is intended to be a general summary of information. It is not intended to take the place of written law, regulations or actual documents that govern District and/or PEBA programs. Please note only PEBA can determine eligibility for retiree insurance or other benefits.