Disability

Horry County Schools has established a Sick Leave Bank for active-duty employees who earn sick leave. Participation is on a voluntary basis. The purpose of the bank is to provide leave for employees who experience a catastrophic illness that requires absences which exceed their accrued leave but do not activate long-term disability insurance provisions. Employees donate sick leave to the Bank for use by Bank members. An open enrollment period for the Bank is held each year during the month of October or within the first 31 workdays on the job for new hires.

Basic Long-Term Disability 

Horry County Schools provides to each full-time, permanent employee who is enrolled in any of the health insurance programs Basic Long-Term Disability (BLTD) coverage. BLTD has a 90-day benefit waiting period during which no benefits are paid. The monthly BLTD benefit is 62.5% of your base salary up to a maximum of $800 per month.

Supplemental Long-Term Disability
SLTD can be purchased as part of the State Insurance Plan with premiums dependent on your age, plan selection, and your monthly earnings. The monthly SLTD benefit is 65% of the first $12,307 of your pre-disability earnings with a minimum monthly benefit of $100 per month and a maximum of $8,000 per month.

South Carolina Disability Retirement

For applications received by PEBA after December 31, 2013, a member of SCRS may be approved for disability retirement benefits from SCRS only if the member has first been approved for disability benefits from the federal Social Security Administration, which generally requires an incapacity to perform any gainful occupation

Who May Apply?

For All Applications
Becoming disabled does not automatically qualify you for a disability retirement annuity; you must file an application and go through the review process. You must be “in service” with a covered employer in order to file an application for disability retirement benefits. You are considered “in service” if you have not yet retired from SCRS and it has not been more than 90 days since you were last on the payroll of a covered employer. If PEBA does not receive your application while you are “in service,” you will not be eligible to receive any disability retirement benefits from SCRS. Retired members who work for a covered employer, including TERI participants, are not eligible to apply for a disability retirement annuity.

In addition to being “in service,” you must also meet certain earned service requirements to apply for disability retirement benefits. If you are a Class Two member, you must have at least five years of earned service credit toward retirement unless your disability is the result of an injury arising out of and in the course of the performance of your job duties. If you are a Class Three member, you must have at least eight years of earned service credit toward retirement unless your disability is the result of an injury arising out of and in the course of the performance of your job duties.