South Carolina SCRS Early Retirement: 5% a Year Under 65

A full pension comes at

The rules depend on your class:

Class Two

28 years of service credit (5 earned)
Age 65 with 5 years of earned service

SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Class Two member: Normal retirement (unreduced benefit)

Class Three

Rule of 90: age + service credit = 90 (8 earned)
Age 65 with 8 years of earned service

SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Class Three member: Normal retirement (unreduced benefit)

Example from the handbook: 56 years old with 34 years of service is 90, so a Class Three member gets a full pension. SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Example [56+34=90]

Part years in the Rule of 90 Check with PEBA

The Rule of 90 adds your age and years of service. How PEBA counts part years of age isn't published.

We count your age in completed months and your service to the day.

S.C. Code 9-1-10(28A); SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16

Early at 60: 5% for each year under 65

Permanently reduced 5% for each year of age less than 65 (handbook). Statute: 5/12 of 1% for each month, prorated for part months, by which the retirement date precedes the 1st of the month on or after the 65th birthday. SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Early retirement (reduced benefit); S.C. Code 9-1-1550(B)(2), (C)(2)

This applies to both classes (Class Two with 5 earned years, Class Three with 8).

Class Three (South Carolina SCRS)
Age at retirement	You keep	On $1,274 a month
60	75%	$956
61	80%	$1,019
62	85%	$1,083
63	90%	$1,147
64	95%	$1,210

Percent of the formula benefit at whole-year ages born on the 1st of a month, derived from the 5%-per-year rule; the sources do not print a table. The dollar column is our illustration on the handbook's Class Two formula example ($30,000 AFC, 28 years, $1,274 a month). SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Early retirement (reduced benefit)

Class Two only: 55 with 25 years

Age 55 / 25 years (Class Two only): permanently reduced 4% for each year of service credit less than 28, in lieu of any other reduction factor. SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Class Two member: Early retirement (reduced benefit); S.C. Code 9-1-1515(B)

Class Two only: 55 with 25 years (South Carolina SCRS)
Years of service	You keep
25	88%
26	92%
27	96%

For example, 55 with 25 years on a $30,000 AFC: $1,137.50 × 88% = $1,001.00 a month. Part years are prorated, so the cut shrinks day by day as you approach 28.

If eligible for both early retirement options, the option that reduces the benefit the least is applied. Get Set for Retirement: Service retirement (FY2027), PDF p. 1, SCRS retirement eligibility; Retirement processes: service retirement (FY2027), PDF p. 1

55/25 costs more than the cutClass Two members who retire at 55 with 25 years: not eligible until the earlier of the second July 1 after reaching age 60 or the second July 1 after the date they would have had 28 years of service had they not retired. SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 22, Benefit adjustments; S.C. Code 9-1-1515(C) Class Two members who retire under 55/25 pay the full premium until the earlier of age 60 or the date they would have reached 28 years of service. Get Set for Retirement: Retiree insurance and eligibility funding (2026), PDF p. 4, 55/25 year rule; S.C. Code 9-1-1515(D)

4% or 5%?

The two cuts are easy to mix up. The age route is 5% a year (5/12 of 1% a month) in PEBA's handbook, its seminar slides and the statute. The 4% figure is only for Class Two's 55/25 route, and it's per year of service short of 28. SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Early retirement (reduced benefit); S.C. Code 9-1-1550(B)(2), (C)(2); S.C. Code 9-1-1515(B)

Part months and part years Check with PEBA

The handbook gives the reduction per year. State law says it's prorated for part years and months; exactly how PEBA prorates isn't published.

We prorate by month (5/12% each) up to the 1st of the month on or after your 65th birthday, plus part of a month by days, and prorate the 4% service reduction to the fraction of a year.

S.C. Code 9-1-1550(B)(2), (C)(2); S.C. Code 9-1-1515(B)

Sick leave and 55/25 Check with PEBA

If you're Class Two and retire at 55 with 25 to 27 years, it isn't clear whether unused sick leave credit shrinks the 4%-per-year reduction.

We don't let sick leave shrink that reduction, but we do add it to the service in your benefit formula.

SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 19; S.C. Code 9-1-1140(M), 9-1-1515(B)

From the sources

Class Two: you can retire with no reduction after 28 years of service at any age, or at 65 with at least five years of earned service.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Class Two member: Normal retirement
Class Three: you can retire with no reduction when your age plus your years of service add up to 90 (the Rule of 90), or at 65. Either way you need at least eight years of earned service. For example, 56 years old with 34 years of service = 90.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Class Three member: Normal retirement, Example
Apply through Member Access from six months before your retirement date up to 90 days after it. Don't quit until PEBA has confirmed your eligibility in writing.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 17, When to apply
Service from the Police Officers or General Assembly systems counts toward SCRS eligibility. Each system pays its own benefit on its own service.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 7, Correlated systems
Class Two and Class Three members can retire early at 60 (with five or eight years of earned service). The benefit is permanently reduced 5% for each year you're under 65, so 75% at 60 and 95% at 64.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Early retirement (reduced benefit)
State law counts the reduction by month: 5/12 of 1% for each month before the 1st of the month on or after your 65th birthday, prorated for part months.S.C. Code 9-1-1550(B)(2), (C)(2)
Class Two only: you can also retire at 55 with 25 years of service. The benefit is permanently reduced 4% for each year short of 28 years: 88% with 25 years, 92% with 26, 96% with 27.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16, Class Two member: Early retirement; S.C. Code 9-1-1515(B)
If you qualify both ways, PEBA uses the route that reduces your benefit less.Get Set for Retirement: Service retirement (FY2027), PDF p. 1
Retiring under 55/25 has two more costs. Your yearly increase doesn't start until the second July 1 after the earlier of turning 60 or the date you'd have reached 28 years. You also pay the full retiree health premium until that earlier date.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 22, Benefit adjustments; Get Set for Retirement: Retiree insurance (2026), PDF p. 4
Class Three has no 55/25 route and no 28-year rule. Before 60 you need the Rule of 90.SCRS Handbook FY2027, p. 16; Past Pension Reform Legislation, PDF p. 1

Questions

Does the cut go away at 65?

No. The handbook says the early benefit is permanently reduced.

I'm Class Two, 61, with 27 years. Which cut applies?

Both routes are open. The age route keeps 80%; 55/25 keeps 96%. PEBA applies the one that reduces your benefit less, so 96%.

Can a Class Three member retire at 55?

Only under the Rule of 90 (for example 55 with 35 years). There's no 55/25 route for Class Three, and early retirement starts at 60.

Related: each year you wait shrinks the cut; see what one more year adds.

See your own dates →

Source: South Carolina Retirement System Member Handbook, Fiscal year 2027 (SCPEBA 082026, expires June 30, 2027), pp. 7, 16, 17, 22. Also: Get Set for Retirement: Service retirement (FY2027); Retirement processes: service retirement (FY2027); Get Set for Retirement: Retiree insurance and eligibility funding (2026); Get Set for Retirement: Retiree insurance (2026); Past Pension Reform Legislation; S.C. Code 9-1-1510, 9-1-1515, 9-1-1550. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.