TO AMEND SECTION 9-10-30, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PENSIONS FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD OF SOUTH CAROLINA, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF THE PENSION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 9-10-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 9-10-30.    (A)    Every member of the National Guard of South Carolina who became a member of the National Guard of South Carolina before July 1, 1993, and meets the requirements set forth in this section shall receive from the National Guard Retirement System, commencing at age sixty, a pension of fifty one hundred dollars a month for twenty years creditable military service with an additional five ten dollars per each month for each additional year of creditable military service. However, the total pension may not exceed one two hundred dollars a month. The requirements for the pension are that each member shall have:

(1)    served and qualified for at least twenty years creditable military service, including National Guard, reserve, and active duty, under the same requirement specified for entitlement to retired pay for nonregular service under pursuant to Chapter 67, Title 10, United States Code;

(2)    at least fifteen years of the service described in item (1) of this subsection as a member of the National Guard of South Carolina with the final or last ten years of service immediately before retirement in the National Guard of South Carolina;

(3)    received an honorable discharge from the National Guard of South Carolina.

(B)    Notwithstanding the pension amounts set forth in subsection (A), on July 1, 2022, and every third July first thereafter, the pension amounts and pension limit must be increased by the increase in the average of the twelve monthly consumer price indices for the most recent thirty-six month period consisting of January through December of the preceding three calendar years. If the average of the consumer price indices experiences a negative percentage, the average is deemed to be zero."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect July 1, 2019.