STATE PENSION FUND LEADER QUITS POST AMID INFIGHTING
Once again, turmoil is enveloping the chronically underperforming, overpaying and infinitely corrupt S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission (SCRSIC).
Late Thursday afternoon Sarah Corbett – who had been recently promoted to agency head – resigned from her $175,000 a year job. Corbett was promoted in mid-June and had been at her new position for only one month. Previously she had been the commission’s deputy chief of operations, and had been at the agency for two decades.
Corbett had effectively been running the SCRSIC for the last eight months as the commission’s actual chief of operations, former S.C. Sen. Greg Ryberg, was hired to engage in nonstop political warfare with S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis – who has been courageously exposing a myriad of problems with the fund.
Ryberg, a multimillionaire, received $161,000 a year (not counting benefits) to do a job he was not remotely qualified to do. Meanwhile taxpayers shelled out another $98,000 a year (again, not counting benefits) to his sidekick, Danny Varat.
Neither kept regular office hours, we’re told – treating the positions as “ownership” roles rather than actual jobs.
According to our sources, several senior investment staff have begun looking for other employment – but are finding their high salaries to be impediments when it comes to securing new positions. Corbett reportedly butted heads extensively with Hershel Harper, the $600,000 a year chief investment office of the $25 billion fund, as well as Robert Fienstien, the $250,000 a year chief counsel.
More importantly, she had become less responsive to her patron, Reynolds Williams, the godfather of the Commission and Senator Hugh Leatherman’s appointee.
Corbett was a favorite of Williams – long known for doing his bidding.
According to our sources at the agency, the SCRSIC’s investment returns will once again be in the bottom thirty percent of the public pensions plans – and that the estimated $17 billion dollar unfunded liability (debt) of the retirement system is poised to rise again.
South Carolina’s fund pays out the highest fees in the nation – yet it ranks among the bottom third of large public pension funds in its return on investment. That’s abysmal. Of course despite this atrocious performance, the fund’s managers recently doled out $1.4 million in bonuses to its top employees – a story which broke exclusively here on FITS.
127 comments
Finally FITS is covering something w/ some integrity, on the side of the good guy.
as Norman implied I am inspired that a mom able to get paid
$5514 in one month on the computer . How ??? .. click FINANCIAL REPORT
in ………. P????P.???
GrandTango, please, tell us who is the good guy? Get your information and tell us for we want to know. Be sure to ask Fits for he knows for sure. Cannot have any loss in transferring information for there is little space between the 2 of you!
Loftis
That’s hilarious!
Loftis is a self important piece of shit.
Fits and integrity? You are joking. Unfair, imbalanced, pay to say Fits..Pay to say for Ravenel, pay to say for Curtis Loftis… Integrity, it is not
Fits, please, tell us about the drinking buddies and cocaine friends.! We need to know. Integrity, we want.
Budget and Control Board site shows Danny Varit is now making over $112,000 per year. About double the average state public information officer. Completely unjustifiable especially as he spends most of his time in Greenville. I did not even know his job was in Columbia till a friend mentioned it in a off handed manner.
I wish I could be a history major, making in $112,00 in media relations, about finance. It just shows how important to kiss the right asses.
Unbelievable. He is lazy, not well liked, and is always flitting around Greenville in the middle of the day running errands and the like. Show me that “right ass” and I will be smacking it till the jaws of like drags me off of it-I can kiss some but for a $112,000 part time job!
Sounds like a coup to me. As Vito Corleone would say, see who becomes the next boss and that will tell you who the coup planners were.
I checked salaries in NC and Ga and they are nearly as high. Why do we pay so much more?
Don’t know about GA’s, but NC’s retirement system is in almost a big a mess as ours…that’s why I’m telling you, this is a right wing conspiracy to tank ALL defined benefit pension plans and turn them into 401Ks for the Wall Streeters to play with.
Fat fingers in vaseline again They are nearly or They are not nearly? We know you.. Fat fingers in vaseline.. Cannot use the State Computers to post here. More problems to use your cell phone! LOL
Curtis loftis’ public info guys made between $75,000 & $90,000. That’s hardly 1/2 of $112.000. While you’re at it, look at the other salaries paid in his office. Truth hurts.
Curtis will take him to NY or Boston. They will go to the gay bars and come back not speaking and he will resign that night! Many PR guys have resigned ! Wonder what Loftis does with them!
Young men, if you care about your reputation and your future, do not intern for Curtis Loftis, do not go to work for or with Curtis Loftis!! He will exploit you and soil you…I know..
This is some sick crap. Shows the mentality of the Loftis haters.. I suppose they are the same people that make lewd comments about Haley, Scott, etc. I suppose haters gonna hate. That is what they do.
No, they do not hate Curtis Loftis. They do a search on the internet and they find some sick crap about him, from way back. 2004 was an interesting year. Go way back.. Does a leopard change its spots? No, a leopard cannot change its spots.. never
These smutty comments tell one a lot about the Investment Commission and their supporters. They seem a vulgar bunch and obviously they have no regard for the truth. One must assume that they are ethically indifferent and should not be the guardians of the retirement fund.
Then again, what if they are dead on. Just how many of Loftis’s PR guys have resigned? How about attorneys? Turnover at the top of Loftis staff structure is quite high. When people of some integrity work for Loftis and realize the irrational and inappropriate demands made of them, they quit. I don’t blame them, in fact, admire them. The guy is a few degrees off dead center and it shows in his distortions of reality. Besides, the remarks you are commenting on have nothing to do with the Investment Commission. They have to do with Loftis’s unfortunate staff.
Sam Griswold, you are truly a lost soul. You are too be pitied.
M326 is Sam Griswold, by the way.
And most of the other posters on here too. Along with a couple of other surrogates of Reynolds Williams. This filth is directly from the mind of Reynolds Williams of Wilcox Buyck and Williams, Atty, Florence SC.
Looks like we got to you, Curtis. Of course, that was the idea. Now we have flushed you out, you can identify yourself. Or are you scared?
Oh Mr. Sam, you are such a pitiful thing. all bluster and a soul full of shame and fury and deceit. Your problem is that in secret you are obsessed with Curtis. Try reading or perhaps medication. Co-dependent I think is the term. You can exist without Curt, surely you know that?
As for that book, try the bible. You might be surprised at the wisdom of it.
By Sammy, I must leave now. Dinner plans and all that. Please be on your best behavior and don’t forget, change is always possible, even if it requires meds.
Life moves on. Sam, so here is a little clue about my identity. Remember the trouble you had at HHS?You never did figure out who ratted you out, but my pal Sam, it was me. (Think CMS!)
Glad we got to you, Curtis. Enjoy your meal.
Not a clue what you are talking about. But being a rat is never a glorious appellation.
By Sammy?.. Fat fingers in vaseline again. We know you and you are no pal….Fat fingers in vaseline has lost of credibility… Spelling mistakes, insane rants , false accusations,,, We know YOU
I am a big fan of wisdom.
Curt, get your medication. You are sick and the people of SC are sick of you! The legislature will put an end to your crap. The people of SC will be better off. You have cost the State a lot of money. The people cannot wait till Curtis Loftis is caught! What a relief it will be..What a relief.
You remind me of a wild cat caught in a trap! LOL
I don’t hide behind multiple identities as you do, Curtis. Half these posts if not more are you answering yourself. Be a man. Identify yourself. Hope you are not on a state computer. I’m coming….
I am just a friend of Curt. No matter what you do, Sam Griswold, you are to be pitied. You are led around like a peasant traveler, barking at the moon with accusations about Curtis and anyone he knows or likes. You are a poor, poor excuse for a man and you deserve to be pitied. May God have mercy on your soul.
God and I have a fine relationship and you know nothing about it. All I am doing is his work: rooting out evil and corruption. You, Curtis, do harm. Please, as kind advice, get some help.
Curtis has a friend?
What a poetic vision. A peasant traveler. the moon, God created this… You are no friend of Curt and no friend of mine. You are a poor excuse for a man and deserve to be pitied. May God have mercy on your soul. I love the moon and I do not bark at the moon… Never did, never will..
You hate Danny Varat, Senator Ryberg, Reynolds Williams, Sam Griswold, Sarah Corbett, Ed Giobbi …Why? Because they expose you for what you are.. A lost soul to be pitied with a very dangerous temper. You do harm, Curt. A lot of harm..
It’s actually easier to name the people Curtis doesn’t hate. There are fewer of them.
Curt has lot’s of friends, himself and everyone who agrees with him.
The truth is obvious. I have check his office and people who left. They quit, with no job waiting for them. Why? The answer is clear. Loftis is a sick man , demands and insane requests, temper beyond control, false accusations and much more..The man must go back to what he does best and that is not helping the people of SC.
These Loftis haters are amazing. They just make it up as they go along. I have never seen anything like it.
Nah, they do not hate Loftis. Just expose him for what he is. He will never learn! What an ass..
Look it up. Or does the budget & control salary database lie, too, Curt?
What public information officer in such a small agency with almost no news except controversy requires someone to have a pair of 112k? It’s not like he’s the White House press secretary. the governor’s own press secretary makes less than he does by quite a large margin.I mean, get real.
A pair of 112k? What is that? Fat fingers laced with vaseline.
Danny Varat began as Ryberg’s research director at the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. His salary was approximately 73k and upon Ryberg’s departure as chairman, he pulled strings and got him a job at Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) as their public information officer (unqualified) making approximately 84k since he had no employment. He apparently was able to continue to do this work from his PERMANENT residence in Greenville, SC on Douglas Drive in the area’s posh 29605 zip code off Augusta Road. However, he did not want to continue to go to the offices out off of Fairfield Road in Columbia…rarely from what I understand. Ryberg pulled additional strings and got him moved to SCRIC as their public information officer first making 98k and since this spring he received a raise to 112k! With all of the controversy swirling at the agency has anyone seen a press release from Varat??? What the hell does he do….again remotely from Greenville…justifying that pay? I have two friends who live around the corner from him in Greenville and he is seen casually during business hours, running errands, and not working. The job is located in Columbia, not in Greenville. The SCRIC does not have an office in the upstate. The SC Inspector General needs to investigate this and soon. How is it that he can do a timesheet and justify he is doing ANY public information work for the agency which has endless controversy??? Oh, he must be doing State Board of Education work on commission time because he is a member of that board…yes, another political hack. It might be mentioned that while he was in the SC Senate as a staffer, he constantly supported cuts in government spending, derided wasteful expenditures. He is sitting and benefiting from exactly what he criticized. He and Ryberg are the height of hypocrisy. No public information director comes even close to that salary, regardless that he has a doctorate in history…please.
SO??
If you want feel poor, look at he Budget and Control Board salary website that shows the Retirement System Investment Commission salaries. WOW.
(if link does not work, Google it.)
http://transparency.sc.gov/BCB/transparency/BCB-state-salary-query.phtm?Agency=RETIREMENT+SYS+INVESTMENT+COMM&JobTitle=All&Surname=&f_submit=Submit
That place needs adult leadership.
Unlimited money and no oversight. A prescription for disaster.
That place needs to get rid of Curtis Loftis and send him home to play at his self-proclaimed “republic of Curtland”. What a weirdo. Grow up.
I AGREE. Curtis Loftis lives in the wicked land of “republic of Curtland. And he posts pictures of churches on his Facebook and he never goes to church… never, since he was exposed as an impostor in 2004. A weirdo to say the least.
u think ?
You are of course referring to the Treasurer’s office.
Who would leave a state job making that much money. That’s pimping money!
Not me. I am a CPA and am working on my Masters and I make $56,200. I have excellent yearly reviews and ask for extra work. When will the job be advertised?
You’re not a CPA and you’re not working on your masters degree.
Until he was faced with a serious senate opponent, Ryberg wore a fu-manchu moustache and hand-made alligator cowboy boots to work, looking like no other legislator, a completely self-absorbed egomaniac. Then he got religion, got scared, shaved off the moustache, ditched the expensive boots, and presents himself as a perfect conservative “republican” — a man of the people. Underneath, yes, he’s a street pimp.
Many of our state senators are “colorful” characters. That has been a characteristic of our system for generations. You just don’t like Ryberg because he called your bluff.
Reminder: Ryberg, the millionaire, recently pressured the SCDOT to repair — at state taxpayers’ expense ($200,000 +) — a bridge in his PRIVATE, GATED RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY.
Ryberg’s comment to news media: None / silence.
The hypocrite.
Ryberg made a help of a lot of money off the government. Hauling fuel on no bid contracts. Must be once to be a conservative, railing away against government while making a fortune off the very same government.
A help of… must be once.. Curtis Loftis, please, check your spelling…Your spelling mistakes, your rant against the commission, broken record, over and over again, this gives you away.. Curtis Loftis, you are boring, very boring..
In looking at the webpage it seems the $1.4 million in bonuses does not include performance bonuses and cost of living pay increases. This year the bonuses for the Investment Commission will be approximately 2 million dollars. Commissioners make $20,000 and per diem. Even the staff laughs about how good the pay is. I wonder if they get shares in these firms. Is that part of their compensation?
So much for the canard about low paid state employees.
My canard Is swimming in my pond. LOL
Corbett was a fine professional. It is very unfortunate that she will no longer be at the Investment Commission. I suspect she will be hard to replace.
Who cares. She is just another overpaid bureaucrat and certainly she will find another overpaid opportunity in government. These people never go away, they just find another patron they can sick up to and that will provide mucho tax dollars to the bureaucrat.
What an unkind remark! I am sure your employer thinks much the same about you. Matter of fact, I know they do.
Best I can tell, Ms. Corbett left for the same reason Derry Olliver left: intolerable demands and difficulty in working relationships with Curtis Loftis. He should never be on the Investment Commission. Perhaps the Legislature will finally fix that. He is unbalanced and paranoid. He is in no mental condition to be managing the amounts of money that he does as Treasurer. It is a matter of time until even his talented staff (accumulated by previous treasurers) will be unable to bail him out of his messes. And we will pay the bill. Mark my words, it will not be cheap!
The legislature must fix that. Curtis Loftis and his behavior beyond control must end. Enough of that crap! Curtis Loftis cannot work with people in the commission and his own staff. He has done a lot of harm, a lot of harm.. The legislature will fix that for the good of the State of SC. Cannot happen soon enough!
If they don’t fix it taxpayers will be on the hook for billions.
Sarah needs to tell the truth about Curtis Loftis. Not easy to do but we have already seen his angered distorted face on tape during the hearings with Sarah and senators Bryant and Laurie. A face of rage and violence. This must stop now.
So we can expect another lawsuit, such as that which Derry Oliver filed, therefore it should be noted that Loftis is costing the state quite a bit of money in all of the lawsuit settlements. A much for being a watchdog for the taxpayer, hmm? Not to mention the notorious BONY lawsuit that he screwed up.
Rumors say that Curtis Loftis bullied her, threatened her, scared her. We have seen him in action before. We have facts that he used violence against women before and this is in public documents. So, who cares? We do. Let”The truecurtisloftis.com” be seen by all. Violence against women cannot stand.. ever.
“Ryberg, a multimillionaire, received $161,000 a year (not counting benefits) to do a job he was not remotely qualified to do.”
If, as you say, Ryberg was “…hired to engage in nonstop political warfare with S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis…” then I would say he was quite qualified to do this. And he did it very successfully.
Same thing as McConnell sitting in a fat paying job at the College of Charleston. He is far from being qualified to run anything. And his resume’ proves it.
Sort of like Curtis Loftis sitting in a fat paying job as State Treasurer. I’d like to see his resume’ and the qualifications he has for his job.
Loftis thinks that he has no opposition in the General Election but talk is there will be a credible write in candidate from Lexington County who will be strongly supported by the state employee and teacher associations. They are fed up with Loftis’ shenanigans.
NameAgencyJob TitleCompensation without BonusesBonusesTotal
CompensationHERSHEL HARPERRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 306,000.00 $ 300,000.00 $ 606,000.00DAVID PHILLIPSRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 239,700.00 $ 190,000.00 $ 429,700.00ROBERT FEINSTEINRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 218,524.00 $ 0.00 $ 218,524.00SARAH CORBETTRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER $ 178,500.00 $ 42,500.00 $ 221,000.00GEOFFREY BERGRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 168,300.00 $ 140,000.00 $ 308,300.00ANDREW CHERNICKRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 161,670.00 $ 0.00 $ 161,670.00ADAM JORDANRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 147,900.00 $ 45,038.00 $ 192,938.00MONICA HOUSTONRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 145,860.00 $ 0.00 $ 145,860.00BETTY BURNRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 144,840.00 $ 0.00 $ 144,840.00JON RYCHENERRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 132,600.00 $ 0.00 $ 132,600.00SCOTT FORRESTRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 132,600.00 $ 0.00 $ 132,600.00ERIC ROVELLIRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 127,500.00 $ 92,000.00 $ 219,500.00LOUIS DARMSTADTERRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 122,400.00 $ 96,000.00 $ 218,400.00JAMES MANNINGRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 117,300.00 $ 0.00 $ 117,300.00MICHAEL ADDYRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 114,240.00 $ 84,800.00 $ 199,040.00BRYAN MOORERETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 112,200.00 $ 76,000.00 $ 188,200.00WEIYI NINGRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 112,200.00 $ 0.00 $ 112,200.00DANIEL VARATRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 112,200.00 $ 0.00 $ 112,200.00DOUGLAS LYBRANDRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 110,959.00 $ 87,027.00 $ 197,986.00DELORES DITTYRETIREMENT SYS INVESTMENT COMMSTAFF – RSIC $ 107,100.00 $ 0.00 $ 107,100.00
Well that’s easy to read.
wow…look at those salaries! Out of sight!
You misspelled my name also…
What’s the felony I’m LQQKing at?
You misspelled my name…..
Danny is not the only unqualified and over payed employee..there is an Employee that makes over 80,000 with a high school diploma with no direct experience in acctg, finance ir securities…..there is an emploeye with a master’s in gym who is a head of a department. Who makes over 107,000.
It’s who you know..kiss but and flaunt to get a job there. Has anyone look at credentials?
How can anyone accept this?
When I read a post like this a couple of things come to mind: 1. I am not a fan of Greg Ryberg 2. Curtis Loftis is an embarrassment, a crazy incompetent who should not be on this commission and definitely should not be State Treasurer. My big takeaway, however, concerns FITS. Posting a story like this with almost no facts behind it reminds me why I change the channel when either Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow are on TV – both of them do the same thing all the time!
Dear SC…on…SET….987,
Well….it is stories like this that actually get concerned men in Sunday school to look their fellow political friend in the class in the EYE and ask questions that no other paper in our STATE is willing to ask…!?
Like…..
“Wow, that was great prayer Tim Scott, sure hope it helps out the kids on the border…!!! ”
“Wow, Mayor Riley, that scripture you just read about Moses and Slavery reminds me of just how we are all SLAVES to fossil OIL since YOU have been in office. What are you doing to lead the citizens of Charleston like Moses did GOd’s children…”??
“WOW, Lindsey Graham, that Jesus sure was adamant about giving unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s. DO you consider yourself Ceasar..? How do your real estate campaign donors in Port Royal address you…?”
Dear Senator Tom Davis……………( we hope you have got on your “helmet”…)
DO you dare wonder why Wil Folks waited until TODAY to whip up this article..? DO you..? Do you think that he is that blind to not see the connection between this article and the one running in the Post and Courier and the Island Packet…!? We hope to God that Sarah Corbett knows how to do some “cloud storage”…!! Tom do you think that Thomas Ravenel has any real clue about the real “investment” behind the SC Port Authority land being put up for sale and being bidded on by Mr. Dick Stewart..? Well….just read here … http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140801/PC05/140809957/1177/developer-offers-4-million-for-port-royal-land
and here…..
http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/07/31/3235834/developer-makes-4-million-offer.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Do you think that 4 MILLION dollars is a good price for the taxpayers of South Carolina…?? or the Black citizens in Jasper County…!?
Do you think that Jim Clyburn’s daughter can understand easement value of this property that makes it way more valuable than 4 MILLION dollars..!? We feel Mr. Wil Folks knows how valuable this land is…!!!
With land deals like this no wonder a PENSION investment fund pays squat…!!!!!
Tom Davis, by GOD, do you dare wonder how a preacher in Port Royal would react if his flock was to suddenly realize how valuable a piece of property really was in tax revenue..!?
I have no clue how many boat slips will be approved for a Marina….BUT….I highly wager that Wil Folks and GRAND TANGO can both do some basic math with Data tap in fees for each boat moored in a Marina alone…!!!
Dare to wonder how much energy can be produced on 300 acres of land that the Electric Utility has to buy back by law…????? (…and that does not include tidal energy from the bottom of the marina footprint…!!!
Tom Davis……………..you had better pick up a cell phone because Thomas Ravenel is going to use Mr. Dick Stewart to crucify Lindsey Graham….!!!!
….and Tim Scott………..
….and Jim Clyburn’s FCC……..”tap in” expert….!!!!
Mr. Davis…………if you have no clue what I am talking about……….LOOK OUT..!!
I just hope Curtis Loftis is using his own (not the State’s) computer today. Since he is posting and answering himself for 80% of these posts I expect he is on annual leave today, at home, using his own computer. He spent one full afternoon deleting items on his state computer after being questioned about its use.
Word on the street is an FOI request was filed with the Treasurer’s office asking for information related to the use of state computers to post on FITS and that Mr. Transparency has been trying to hide the evidence.
Yes, his staff and interns witnessed Mr. Transparency hiding the evidence! Delete, delete.. from his state computer, in his state office! on the tax payers time!
Loftis is so stupid he doesn’t even realize computer backups are kept off-site so he can never truly “hide” the evidence. He cant delete records he doesnt control. A little court order can “find” those documents in a matter of minutes. Just need to get the FOIA requests in the right hands. Besides Loftis never responds to FOIA requests so you’re wasting your time there. Need to go to higher sources.
Good advice.
I work at USC and I hear Corbett has a job at USC, that was negotiated before she took the job at the Investment Commission. That smells bad, even my boss says so and she has seen a whole lot more than I have.
You don’t work at USC. Sarah has been at the Commission for years so it’s pretty tough to negotiate a job 3+ years in advance.
She had her last job for a month. USC made arrangement for Corbett prior to that. I am just saying.
SO, PLEASE EXPLAIN . I AM SO CONFUSED ABOUT THE BAD ABOUT THIS? YOU KNOW MORE THAN I DO. INFORM ME..
The beauty of high finance is that no one understands it. These crooks are unseen until it is too late. These criminals smile and dress well. These thrives live in nice houses and drive the right cars. They are the guy at the computer terminal right next to the trading boss, but no one knows he or she is a crook till it is too late. The best ones never leave a trail and pul off the perfect crime over and over.
This PI has seen it many times.
You’re not a PI. You have no experience in high finance either.
He has no experience in high finance and sure cannot understand the process. Ask the bank of NY. They are laughing all the way to the bank and are laughing at good old boy Curtis of West Columbia! 200 mill. lost and in the pockets of the the bank of NY!!
You are correct. But when the crook is the State Treasurer, rest assured, he will be caught.
Ravenel was caught.. Curtis Loftis will be caught also… 2 peas in the pod..
Danny Varat began as Ryberg’s research director at the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. His salary was approximately 73k and upon Ryberg’s departure as chairman, he pulled strings and got him a job at Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) as their public information officer (unqualified) making approximately 84k since he had no employment. He apparently was able to continue to do this work from his PERMANENT residence in Greenville, SC on Douglas Drive in the area’s posh 29605 zip code off Augusta Road. However, he did not want to continue to go to the offices out off of Fairfield Road in Columbia…rarely from what I understand. Ryberg pulled additional strings and got him moved to SCRIC as their public information officer first making 92k and since JUST spring he received a raise to 112k! With all of the controversy swirling at the agency has ANYONE seen a press release from Varat??? What the hell does he do….again remotely from Greenville…justifying that pay? I have two friends who live around the corner from him in Greenville and he is seen during the week with regularity and NOT working. The job is located in Columbia, not in Greenville. The SCRIC does not have an office in the upstate. The SC Inspector General needs to investigate this and soon. How is it that he can do a timesheet and justify he is doing ANY public information work for the agency which has endless controversy??? Oh, he must be doing State Board of Education work on commission time because he is a member of that board…yes, another political hack. It might be mentioned that while he was in the SC Senate as a staffer, he constantly supported cuts in government spending, derided wasteful expenditures. He is sitting and benefiting from exactly what he criticized. He and Ryberg are the height of hypocrisy. No public information director comes even close to that salary, regardless that he has a doctorate in history…please.
Loftis, why don’t you shut the f*ck up. Why are you so obsessed with Dr. Varat? Is it because he actually has an earned degree? If any organization should be investigated it is you for using state resources to attack private non profit organizations, for using state resources and computers to post messages to FITS, and for arranging a legal settlement to give his friend and personal attorney $2 million. Talk about hypocrisy, You are the embodiment of hypocrisy.
Varat takes notes at commission meetings and does admin clerk duties from what I hear and can tell. Wow, that’s certainly worthy of 112k. That history degree definitely places him as the highest paid part-time minutes clerk in the country.
He’s a dick, but at least he has a degree.
So do I and it is from a much better school than his. Just because you have a degree or and advanced one doesn’t mean that you possess any form of superior intellect. Your argument is completely specious.
Most, if not all studies would disagree with your statement. While you can always find a diamond in the rough, higher education levels are generally correlated with higher intelligence levels. Of course, if you do not have a higher degree, you might not know that and make a silly statement like yours.
No one made that argument. But Curtis since you brought it up, a phd does in fact mean that you “possess” a “form” of superior intellect. That’s why dumb people and lazy people dont get thei phd (or even complete their bachelors degree)
I’m not Loftis you idiot. In my professional experience both in private and public industry just because you get an MA, PhD, JD, etc. Does NOT, NOT mean you have superior intellect, at all. it comes down to connections, the type of degree you get, the institution and the people who grade your dissertation. Not to mention the rigor of the program. I’m just stopping here because Mark Twain said it best..”Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” You epitomize that comment.
™, can’t you see, everybody is Loftis. The Loftis haters, all five of them, are arguing both sides of the post. They create a fiction, argue it amoungst themselves and thereby enlarge the original lie. The haters actually think they are contributing to the narrative but instead they are debasing the Retirement System and elevating Loftis.
Those that willingly bear false witness against another do so against the commandment of God. They are to be pitied, not hated, for they are lost souls.
Let it begin with you Curt
A much better school? Let me guess…The west Columbia school of bugs control and extermination. Yes, that make you the bugman of West Columbia. Superior intellect you are not.
Because there is no other organization like it in state government and because the Act creating the Investment Commission gave the Commission the authority to set salaries at a competitive level with the private sector.
I suppose that a competitive salary for public information officer that never makes a statement to the public is 112k, right? You really defy logic.
Loftis, your original post referred to salaries, not the salary of a single individual. Get over your obsession with Dr. Varat, it is not healthy.
Curtis, why do you obsess so about Danny Varat? He is married with kids. Not available.
The Act grants them the authority but as in the private sector, under-performance does not warrant continued stratospheric increases in pay. Especially for those in support and administrative functions not connected to the investment of state employee retirement funds. IF SC performed, then I would have no problem. You do in fact get what you pay for no doubt. However, look at other states and their performance and the rates of compensation. You’re absolutely correct about the Act, but dead wrong about the their performance.
Exactly how do you define performance? Actuarial projections indicate the fund must earn a return of 7.5% to remain solvent and pay down the unfunded liability. The earnings of the Commission significantly exceed that. The portfolio is designed to earn that return while being very conservative through diversification and controlling risk so as to minimize losses during bad times. By those measures, which were mandated in law, the Investment Commission is very successful. As a retiree who is concerned about the long term health of the retirement system, not just immediate returns, I applaud the approach they have taken and urge them to continue. Loftis even voted for this approach (it was a deliberate policy decision by the Commission) and now criticizes it when it works. Can’t have it both ways, Bo. By the way, how are the returns on that education program the Treasurer administers and uses as a TV campaign ad?
Check out the Wall Street Journal article where SC figures prominently on paying the highest fees.
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324436104578581503322480638?mobile=y
These people intend to tank the SC Retirement System to further the right wing goals of eliminating all defined benefit pensions and force all employees into 401Ks to fund the salaries of the gamblers on Wall Street.
Keep voting Republican, state employees. Keep voting for your own bankruptcy.
I agree with you. Underperforming public pension plans are the reasons that DB plans are under attack.
Governor Haley is on record wanting to do away with the defined benefit pension plans. Her appointee is the Commission Chairman, Ed Giobbe of Aiken. He was on Wall Street for 30 years. You will see more turmoil, more underperformance and the end of this plan as we know it. Many people will make huge fortunes in the “turn-over”. Many political contributions will be made.
It is a trend across the country. And we, as state employees, had better get clued in. Wall Street and their politician assistants are.
Is that a record, I swear its been almost a month since a paid ad, oh I mean “story” has come out on this site that praised Loftis. Least those irritating Loftis commercials that ran on this site non stop during the primaries are gone.
You gotta be kidding. Hugh and Nikki, not saying the truth ? What a Pub SCAM, we all know, SC is a craphole for stupid people, please come here. We spent the money on STUPID SHIT ! Get It ??? You SC idiots are to blame !!!
Well, it’s no telling what Reynolds wanted her to sign off on. The odds of fraud at that place are 100%. They turned over $26 billion to a crew of trustees who have taken $14 billion or so out of State custody. Whether you like Curtis or not, if you are a member of that plan, you’ve got to like it that he can be held responsible for the funds that remain in his custody, which I understand he is taking good care of.
But for the alternative investments that are not in State custody–who can you hold responsible if that disappears?
There were strict controls on those funds for a reason. And what is the first thing the RSIC board does after the board is created? They pushed for a change in law that would allow them to get the money out of the safe.
If you are gonna get the money, you got to get it out of the State Treasurer’s accounts.
It is no telling what Reynolds wanted Ms. Corbett to sign off on but it’s good for her that she is gone.