Retirement

Retirement terms

1. 401(k) Savings Plan and 457 Savings Plan Tax-deferred savings plans, both of which are offered under the South Carolina Deferred Compensation Program .
2. AICPA PFP Designation for an American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Professional Financial Planner.
3. Annuity A life insurance contract sold by insurance companies, brokers, and other financial institutions. It is usually sold as a retirement investment.
4. Asset Allocation An investment strategy that divides assets among major asset categories such as stocks, bonds, or cash, usually balancing risk and creating…
5. Asset Classes A type of investment, such as stocks, bonds, or cash equivalents.
6. Average Final Compensation (AFC) Average final compensation (AFC) is the 12 highest consecutive quarters of a member’s earnable compensation divided by three.
7. Beneficiary or Beneficiary Payee A person who is designated to receive, or is receiving, a retirement annuity or other benefit provided by the South Carolina Retirement Systems.
8. Capital Appreciation Any increase in a capital asset's fair market value is called capital appreciation.
9. Cash Equivalents Instruments or investments that are easily turned into cash and are so safe that they are virtually as good as cash.
10. Claims Procedure Act Effective July 1, 2003, The South Carolina Retirement Systems Claims Procedure Act provides remedies available in a dispute or controversy between the…
11. Contingent Beneficiary A contingent beneficiary receives the proceeds of an insurance policy, term-certain annuity, individual retirement account (IRA), employer-sponsored…
12. Correlated Systems SCRS and PORS are correlated systems. If a member has contributions in more than one of these retirement systems, the member’s service credit is…
13. Cost-of-Living Adjustment An adjustment of a salary or a retirement annuity intended to help offset the effects of inflation. Commonly referred to as COLA. COLAs are not guaranteed.
14. Deferred Annuity A deferred annuity contract allows you to accumulate tax-deferred earnings during the term of the contract and sometimes add assets to your contract over…
15. Defined Benefit Plan A defined benefit plan - popularly known as a pension - provides a specific benefit for retired employees, either as a lump sum or as income for the rest…
16. Defined Contribution Plan In a defined contribution retirement plan, the benefits - that is, what you can expect to accumulate and ultimately withdraw from the plan - are not…
17. Direct Rollover The taxable portion of a retirement plan distribution (refund) may be eligible for a tax-deferred rollover to an IRA, a 401(k) plan, a 401(a) plan, a…
18. Disability Determination Provider This provider evaluates the Retirement Systems’ disability claims and submits a recommendation to the Retirement Systems’ Medical Board.
19. Disability Retirement A retirement annuity under a defined benefit plan for active contributing members of the Retirement Systems who become disabled and whose disability is…
20. Distribution The sale of securities. Also refers to a sum payable to shareholders representing their share of profits.
21. Diversification The investment in a number of different securities. To reduce the risk of loss inherent in investing.
22. Dividend See Dividends
23. Earnable Compensation A rate of compensation purely for working one’s full normal time, not amounts paid on a cash basis.
24. Earned Service Paid employment as an employee during which regular contributions are paid to the Retirement Systems.
25. FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act (Social Security and/or Medicare).
26. Fixed Income A security that pays a specific interest rate.
27. Guaranteed Investment Contract (GIC) A guaranteed investment contract, or GIC (pronounced gick), promises to preserve your principal and to provide a fixed rate of return when you begin to…
28. Inactive Member A member who is no longer employed by a public or governmental entity that participates in one of the South Carolina Retirement Systems’ plans and does…
29. Income Includes but is not limited to the following items: earned income such as compensation for services, fees, commissions, salaries, wages and similar items…
30. Inflation A condition of increasing prices. Inflation is generally measured by the Consumer Price Index.
31. Interest The term interest is used to describe the cost of using money, a right, share, or title in property.
32. IRC Section 401(a) Tax code section authorizing a qualified retirement plan to be operated and supported by an employer and to provide retirement benefits.
33. Lump-Sum Distribution When you retire, you may have the option of taking the value of your pension, salary reduction, or profit-sharing plan in different ways.
34. member Member means any person who has been admitted to membership in the Connecticut credit union in accordance with state law.
35. Non-Member A non-member is an employee of a public or governmental entity that participates in one of the South Carolina Retirement Systems’ plans, but either…
36. Payment Plan A method of payment through which a member receives his retirement annuity and, depending on the plan chosen, may provide a survivor benefit to his…
37. Pension Plan A defined benefit retirement annuity plan under one of the following: the South Carolina Retirement System; the Police Officers Retirement System; the…
38. Police Officers Retirement System (PORS) The name of the retirement system covering police officers, firefighters, peace officers, probate judges, and magistrates. See PORS for more information.
39. Pre-Tax Any type of contribution or compensation deducted from gross pay before earnings are taxed. Commonly referred to as deferred.
40. Prospectus A legal document describing securities being offered for sale to the public. It must be prepared in accordance with provincial securities commissions…
41. Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) A court order that recognizes or creates a spouse’s or a former spouse’s right to a portion of a member’s retirement annuity.
42. Qualified Plan The South Carolina Retirement Systems’ retirement plans are qualified plans under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.
43. Refund An amount paid back because of an overpayment or because of the return of an item previously sold.
44. Retirement Annuity A monthly annuity payable to a member or his designated beneficiary. Retirement Systems This is the informal name used by the South Carolina Retirement…
45. Rollover If you move your assets from one investment to another, it's called a rollover.
46. Roth 401(k) Savings Plan After-tax retirement savings plan offered through the South Carolina Deferred Compensation Program .
47. Service Credit A member’s earned service, prior service, and/or purchased service.
48. Single-Sum Distribution Non-periodic distribution from a qualified retirement plan received before an annuity start date. TERI payouts are considered single-sum distributions.
49. South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) This is the name of the retirement system covering state employees, public school employees, public higher education personnel, and employees of other…
50. South Carolina Retirement Systems This is the name commonly used to refer to the Retirement Division of the State Budget and Control Board .
51. State Optional Retirement Program A defined contribution retirement plan offered as an alternative to SCRS . The State Optional Retirement Program ( State ORP ) is available to all state…
52. Tax deferred A tax-deferred account allows you to postpone income tax that would otherwise be due on employment or investment earnings you hold in the account until…
53. Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive (TERI) Program Active SCRS members eligible for service retirement may participate in the TERI program , which allows an SCRS member to retire and begin accumulating his…
54. Volatility The term volatility indicates how much and how quickly the value of an investment, market, or market sector changes.
55. Workers’ Compensation A program through which an employee may receive compensation in the event of an accidental, employment-related injury.
56. Yield Yield is most commonly associated with a money market fund's return. "Current Yield" is based on daily return, "Effective Yield" on the annual compounded…