7 On Your Side Investigation: Perks Of Politics

Imagine having a retirement plan that would continue to pay you 100 percent of your salary every year after you retire.

South Carolina legislators don't have to imagine it. That's their retirement plan. It's a little-known perk of being a state lawmaker. When they're sworn-in, they're required to join the General Assembly Retirement System.

It's a more generous plan than other state employees have, including teachers and police officers who, even though they're employed locally, are part of the state retirement system.

Here's an example of the difference between lawmakers' and state employees' retirement plans. Dr. Rick Stephens is retiring after 35 years as a professor at the University of South Carolina. In retirement, he'll receive about 55 percent of his salary each year. "Let me say I feel blessed, as do a lot of long-time state employees, that they have a defined benefit plan," he says.

But when a state lawmaker retires after 22 years, he receives 100 percent of his salary and expenses each year, a total of $22,400. A lawmaker's salary is $10,400 a year, but he's also paid $12,000 a year for in-district expenses, things like his phone bill and gas to travel to meetings across his district.

"For a part-time employee, yes, I do think that's overly generous," Columbia taxpayer Will Long says of lawmakers' retirement plan. Being a state lawmaker is officially a part-time job. The General Assembly meets three days a week for just over five months.

Here's another example. The average state employee salary is about $40,000 a year. If that average employee retired after 28 years of service, he would receive about $20,300 a year in retirement benefits, meaning the average full-time state employee would get less in retirement than a part-time state legislator does.

Dr. Stephens says while he's grateful to have a retirement plan at all, "It would bother me as a taxpayer if we've got members of the General Assembly getting a package that's more robust than, say, first responders like firemen or policemen."

Police have a separate retirement system, but it is similar to the one for state employees.

Lawmakers respond

Rep. Mike Pitts can see both sides of that. He was forced to retire, because of line-of-duty injuries, after 20 years as a police officer. He's now been a member of the South Carolina House for eight years, representing Laurens, Greenwood and Abbeville counties. Lawmakers are allowed to draw benefits from the legislative retirement system after eight years, although they wouldn't draw 100 percent of their salary as they would after 22 years.

He says what's officially a part-time job is really more than full-time, since constituents call and email at all hours of the day and night. And while lawmakers do get a higher percentage of their pay in retirement than other state employees do, lawmakers' salary is much smaller during their working years.

"I can tell you that the stress of this job equals the stress of the police job," he says. "It's a different kind of stress. I've only had my life threatened once in this particular job, but the stress is extremely great."

He also says most House members don't stay in office long enough to ever draw their retirement, since the average term in office is six years but it takes eight years of service to get vested in the retirement system.

Spartanburg Sen. Glenn Reese can also see lawmakers' retirement plan from the state employees' perspective. He was a school teacher for 19 years. He's been in the state Senate for 20 years and is now drawing his state retirement benefits instead of his salary.

When asked if he thinks it's fair that lawmakers get retirement benefits equal to 100 percent of their salaries after 22 years while state employees receive just over 50 percent after 28 years, he says, “It’s extremely fair because the salary is so small; very small compared to education. And I didn’t realize when I got elected to the Senate that there was any kind of plan like that at all.”

Comparison to neighboring states

South Carolina does pay its state lawmakers less than North Carolina and Georgia pay theirs. But South Carolina's retirement benefits for lawmakers are more generous than North Carolina's and Georgia's.

Salary Retirement Benefits

• South Carolina--$10,400/year; retired $22,400/year with 22 yrs. of service
• North Carolina-- $20,659/year; retired $15,500/year maximum benefit
• Georgia--$16,200/year; retired $9,504/year with 22 years of service

Columbia taxpayer Regina Williams doesn't see a problem with the retirement benefits that South Carolina lawmakers receive. "Basically, if they've worked that long, a lot of their time has gone into the legislature and not into making their businesses probably as profitable as they could be," she says. She agrees with lawmakers that it's no longer a part-time job and that it's very stressful.

But don't state employees work hard and have stress, especially law enforcement officers? "They do," says Sen. Reese. "But they don’t have to get elected and don’t have to get the votes. I mean, you’ve got to convince thousands of people to choose you and there’s something to be said for that.”

Only perk to being in office?

There's also the intangible cost of time away from family. Rep. Dan Cooper, R-Piedmont, chairman of the power House Ways and Means Committee that writes the state budget, is resigning to spend more time with his family and on his business. He'll leave with 21 years of service, but lawmakers are also able to "buy" more years of service by paying their share of the cost, or $2,240 a year. That means he'll receive retirement benefits equal to 100 percent of his salary, but not until he turns 60 in 10 years. While state employees can start drawing their retirement benefits as soon as they have enough years of service, regardless of their age, lawmakers can't draw benefits until they're 60.

"I don't think people run so they can get to be part of the legislative retirement system," he says. "I don't think that's the reason that people run for office. I think it's probably the only perk that's left, if there are any perks to being a legislator."

You can contact your state lawmakers at the General Assembly's Web site.

A copy of the latest annual report giving details of the General Assembly Retirement System can be found here.

How Much Do They Get?

Eligibility Requirements
All members of the General Assembly in the State of South Carolina are required to participate upon taking office. A member with eight or more years of creditable service who is no longer a member of the General Assembly may remain a member of the plan by continuing to make the member contributions.

Creditable Service
Creditable service means service during which contributions have been made. This is counted in years, months, and days.
There are a number of different types of services that may be purchased by an employee under special rules, such as military service.

Earnable Compensation
The total of 40 times the daily rate of remuneration and compensation ($10,400), plus $12,000. Certain line-item additional compensation for specified offices is also included.

Service Requirement
Eligibility - Attainment of age 60, or completion of 30 years of creditable service. Members may begin receiving their retirement benefit while remaining in service at age 70 or after accruing 30 years of service.
Benefit - 4.82% of earnable compensation times creditable service.

-- From the SC Budget And Control Board