Correctional Officers' Retirement System - Dorchester County

Dorchester detention officers change retirement plans

The law takes effect June 1, 2026, covering Dorchester County detention officers who held their jobs before and through that date. If the county joins the Correctional Officers’ Retirement System, these officers must join too. Their earlier county work counts toward both retirement eligibility and benefit calculations in that system. Once they join and receive this credit, their Employees’ Pension System membership and all further benefit rights end. For officers transferring from that pension system, Title 37’s service-credit transfer rules do not apply. Section 31–2B–05(C) governs the transfer and crediting of retirement assets on the law’s effective date if the county joins.