Title 3 — PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

The rights of a person to a benefit, and the benefit itself, payable under this part are hereby exempt from any state, county, municipal, or other local tax and may not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment, operation of bankruptcy or insolvency laws, or any other proc…

In resolving any conflict between provisions of this part, and in resolving any other uncertainty as to the meaning or intention of any provision of the qualified benefit preservation arrangement, the prevailing interpretation shall be the one that causes: (1) The qualified benef…

Neither the establishment or maintenance of the qualified benefit preservation arrangement, nor any amendment to the qualified benefit preservation arrangement, nor any act or omission under the qualified benefit preservation arrangement or resulting from the operation of the qua…

Any benefit payment that should not have been made, according to the terms of the qualified benefit preservation arrangement and the benefits provided under the qualified benefit preservation arrangement, may be recovered as provided in §

Any payment to any participant shall, to the extent paid, be in full satisfaction of the participant's claim being paid and may be conditioned on the delivery by the participant of the duly executed receipt and release in a form determined by the system. Source: SL 2020, ch 14 , …

The Legislature reserves the right at any time and, from time to time, to modify or amend, in whole or in part, any or all of the provisions of the qualified benefit preservation arrangement. No member of the system and no beneficiary of a member acquires any vested right to a pa…

The system shall pay all benefits in accordance with a good faith interpretation of the requirements in § 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations in effect under that section, as applicable to a governmental plan within the meaning of section 414(d) of the Inte…

If a member dies after the required distribution of benefits has begun, the remaining portion of the member's interest shall be distributed at least as rapidly as under the same method of distribution before the member's death. Source: SL 2021, ch 28 , § 3.

If a member dies before required distribution of the member's benefits has begun, the member's interest shall be distributed as follows: (1) If the member has a surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall receive benefits over the life of the surviving spouse beginning as soon a…

The death and disability benefits provided by the system are limited by the incidental benefit rule set forth in § 401(a)(9)(G) of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulation § 1.401-1(b)(1)(i). As a result, the total death or disability benefits payable may not exceed twen…

Notwithstanding the other provisions of §§ 3-12C-1901 to 3-12C-1904 , inclusive, or the provisions of United States Treasury regulations, benefit options may continue so long as the option satisfies § 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code based on a reasonable and good faith int…

This chapter shall be cited as the South Dakota Retirement Act. Source: SL 1974, ch 35 , § 84; SDCL § 3-12-128 ; SL 2019, ch 22 , § 1.

The system shall be under the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall be held to the standard of conduct of a fiduciary and shall carry out its functions solely in the interest of the members and benefit recipients and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and de…

There is created a governing authority of the system known as the Board of Trustees. Voting representation on the board must be the following: (1) Two state employee members; (2) Two certified school employee members; (3) A participating municipality member; (4) A participating c…

Each group of retirement system members who are vested or are currently contributing or employers as set out in § 3-12C-203 shall elect its own trustee or trustees in a separate election. The board shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , to carry out the elections. The…

If any trustee no longer serves in the capacity that qualified the trustee for membership on the board, the trustee is considered to have resigned from the board on June thirtieth of the following calendar year. The vacancy created by the resignation shall be filled through the a…

The executive director must be notified of a vacancy on the board by the vacating trustee, by the trustee's participating unit's governing body, by the trustee's employer, or by any other trustee. Upon the executive director's receipt of notice, the procedure to fill the vacancy …

Each trustee, after being appointed or elected, shall take and file in the Office of the Secretary of State the oath required by §

Each trustee shall receive per diem compensation and allowable expense reimbursement, pursuant to §

The board shall meet at least twice each year, and shall adopt its own rules of procedure. A majority of trustees constitutes a quorum. At the first meeting of each fiscal year the board shall elect from the board's membership a chair and a vice chair. At least eight concurrent v…

The board shall appoint an executive director, qualified by training and experience, to serve at the pleasure of the board. The board shall fix the compensation for the executive director. The compensation must be based on a compensation policy, adopted by the board, which consid…

The South Dakota Retirement System expense fund is continued and the board is authorized to transfer from the South Dakota Retirement System fund an annual amount not to exceed three percent of the annual contributions received by the system, and the money transferred is appropri…

The Board of Trustees may promulgate rules necessary to establish uniform procedures for the administration of the system and to insure uniformity of application of the provisions of this chapter. Rules may be adopted in the following areas: (1) Membership and class of membership…

An application for membership, a refund of the member's accumulated contributions, or any benefit must be made to the executive director on a form approved by the system. Source: SL 1974, ch 35 , § 14; SL 2016, ch 31 , § 3; SDCL § 3-12-56; SL 2019, ch 22 , §§ 12, 45; SL 2021, ch …

Any person aggrieved by a final determination made by the system's staff may request review of the final determination and a decision by the executive director if the request is made in writing within thirty days after receiving the final determination. The person, if then aggrie…

If any change or error in the records of the system or any participating unit results in any person receiving from the system less than the person would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the executive director must correct the error and, as far as practi…

Any member required to repay an overpayment of benefits may choose one of the following repayment methods: (1) Immediate repayment in a lump sum from other funds; (2) Repayment by monthly installments over a period not to exceed three years, plus interest at the system's assumed …

Any person other than a member who is required to repay an overpayment of benefits may choose one of the following repayment methods: (1) Immediate repayment in a lump sum from other funds; (2) Repayment by monthly installments over a period not to exceed three years, plus intere…

Member information is confidential. Member information may be disclosed only in the following circumstances: (1) To the member or with the member’s consent; (2) For the purpose of, and only to the extent necessary for, the administration of this chapter and chapters 3-13 and 3-13…

The rights of a person to a benefit, return of accumulated contributions, the benefit itself, any optional benefits and any other right accrued or accruing under the provisions of this chapter and all moneys belonging to the system are hereby exempt from any state, county, munici…

For purposes of § 3-12C-216 , the system shall determine if a domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relations order. Upon receipt of a domestic relations order, the system shall promptly issue a written notice of receipt to the member and any alternate payee. Within a …

If a qualified domestic relations order provides that a member's former spouse must be treated as a beneficiary for any payment pursuant to § 3-12C-409 , the provision must supersede any contrary beneficiary designation by the member. The provision of the qualified domestic relat…

The provisions of a qualified domestic relations order are prospective from the date of the order. Any division of benefits paid prior to the date of the order, service of the order upon the system, or qualification of the order by the system, whichever is later, must be the resp…

The benefit to a surviving spouse upon the death of a member who had retired or reached normal retirement age is an independent benefit belonging to the surviving spouse for the purpose of administering an existing qualified domestic relations order. Source: SL 2025, ch 27 , § 22…

The Board of Trustees shall transact all business and hold all cash in the name of the South Dakota Retirement System. The state treasurer shall be the treasurer of the system. Source: SL 1967, ch 303 , § 3 (3); SDCL § 3-12-13; SL 1968, ch 216 , § 1; SL 1974, ch 35 , §§ 1, 17; SD…

No part of the fund created by this chapter may be used for any purpose other than for the exclusive benefit of members and their beneficiaries, payment of reasonable administrative expenses of the system, and reimbursement of overpayments made by employers. No participating unit…

In order to ensure employee confidence in the preservation and management of the South Dakota Retirement System, it is legislative policy that there should be no legislative enactment nor administrative action which would have the effect, directly or indirectly, of diverting any …

If the system is terminated, or if contributions to the system are discontinued, the rights of all members to benefits that have accrued as of the date of termination or discontinuation of contributions shall vest. A member's recourse against the fund shall be limited by the exte…

Forfeitures arising because of termination of employment before the member becomes eligible for benefits or for any other reason shall be applied to reduce the costs of the system and not to increase the benefits otherwise payable to members. Source: SL 1984, ch 23 , § 5; SDCL § …

The State Investment Council as provided in § 4-5-12 is responsible for the investment of the assets of the system. The Investment Council may pool the several retirement funds for investment purposes and the investment of the funds is not restricted by the provisions of § 4-5-26…

The board shall retain the services of an independent contractor, not involved in the investment process, to make a report to the board not less than every four years on the investment performance results of the assets of the retirement funds. Source: SL 1974, ch 35 , § 72; SL 20…

In the event the investment return on the common stock portfolio or bond portfolio is lower than the average return achieved by other institutional investors of pension funds, then the Investment Council shall review the way in which the assets are being invested and the sources …

To determine and verify the adequacy of any member and employer contributions to the system, an actuarial valuation of the system must be made annually by an approved actuary. The actuarial valuation must provide: (1) A demonstration of the relationship of any current member and …

The actuarial valuation required by § 3-12C-226 , must be based on actuarial assumptions adopted by the board, as a result of an actuarial experience analysis. The board may not make any change in the actuarial assumptions unless the approved actuary retained to make the actuaria…

The board shall review the funding of the system and shall make a report to the Governor and the Retirement Laws Committee if the funding of the system does not meet both of the following conditions: (1) The fair value funded ratio is greater than or equal to one hundred percent;…

At the beginning of each legislative session, the board shall provide the Governor and the Legislature with an annual report of the funded status of the system for the fiscal year that ended the previous June thirtieth. Source: SL 2017, ch 27 , § 3; SDCL § 3-12-122.1 ; SL 2019, c…

The board shall keep complete records of its proceedings which shall be open to public inspection. The board shall prepare an annual report setting forth its financial information for the previous fiscal period including the amount of the accumulated cash and securities of the sy…

All of the following full-time employees are included as members in the system: (1) All state employees; (2) All certified school employees; (3) All justices, judges, and magistrate judges; (4) All police officers and firefighters of participating municipalities; (5) All general …

Membership in the system shall exclude the following: (1) All elective officials except justices and judges, unless the official is currently contributing or has previously contributed to the system or the official has elected and is otherwise qualified to become a member of the …

A newly-elected official, who is a full-time employee of a participating unit and not a member of the system, may elect to become a member. However, the official shall make the election when the official is first eligible to participate in the system, and the official's election …