Top cop takes 2-week retirement to protect pension
Randy Scott will return to his job as Columbia’s police chief today after a brief retirement, the city announced Tuesday.
Scott retired earlier this month, on Jan. 1, saying in a letter to the department that he was leaving to avoid changes to the South Carolina Police Retirement System. Those changes, implemented this month, would limit his retirement earnings down the road, he wrote.
Under state law, Scott was required to leave the police department for a minimum of 15 days, which he described in the letter as “the longest 15 days of my life.” He’d been in the position since 2010.
Two people applied for the opening, according to a city release, and both were interviewed for the job. The release doesn’t list who the second applicant is, and Pamela Benjamin, the city’s human resources director, wasn’t available for an interview Tuesday afternoon.
On his return, Scott will make $112,200 a year, according to the release, which is what he made before his departure.
Last year, Columbia’s fire chief, Aubrey Jenkins, also retired as a result of the changing rules.