If your employer doesn't offer a 401(k), then you can't enroll in one. State employees in SC don't have access to 401(k) plans. If you want to save towards your retirement and don't like what's offered (if anything), then look into traditional or Roth IRAs.

Unless you have another source of income other than the South Carolina Department of Corrections, you CANNOT enroll in a 401(k) plan. The main reason is that they do not have a 401(k) plan - the reason for this is because federal regulations do not allow government agencies to specifically create a 401(k) plan.

On the other hand, if you actually meant their optional form of pension (the ORP, Optional Retirement Plan, which has certain similarities to a 401(k) plan), then you would need to talk with your HR department about enrolling. Be sure to ask when enrolling for you is allowed (there may be certain dates available each year) and all pieces of paperwork that are needed to complete enrollment (it could be quite a few).

Since we perform most of our work in Ohio, our knowledge of South Carolina's defined contribution-style of retirement plan (ORP) is rather limited. However, it is apparent that, once you begin investing in the ORP, you have some amount of choice as to what your contributions can be invested in.

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