HB 5007 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to state -administered retirement 2
systems; amending s. 121.091, F.S.; authorizing 3
certain members to elect to participate in the 4
deferred retirement program for an additional 36 5
months; amending s. 121.71, F.S.; revising required 6
employer retirement contribution rates for each 7
membership class and subclass of the Florida 8
Retirement System; amending s. 121.72, F.S.; revising 9
allocations to investment plan member accounts; 10
providing a declaration of important state interest; 11
providing an effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of section 16
121.091, Florida Sta tutes, is amended to read: 17
121.091 Benefits payable under the system. —Benefits may 18
not be paid under this section unless the member has terminated 19
employment as provided in s. 121.021(39)(a) or begun 20
participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Progra m as 21
provided in subsection (13), and a proper application has been 22
filed in the manner prescribed by the department. The department 23
may cancel an application for retirement benefits when the 24
member or beneficiary fails to timely provide the information 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
and documents required by this chapter and the department's 26
rules. The department shall adopt rules establishing procedures 27
for application for retirement benefits and for the cancellation 28
of such application when the required information or documents 29
are not received. 30
(13) DEFERRED RETIREMENT OPTION PROGRAM. —In general, and 31
subject to this section, the Deferred Retirement Option Program, 32
hereinafter referred to as DROP, is a program under which an 33
eligible member of the Florida Retirement System may elect to 34
participate, deferring receipt of retirement benefits while 35
continuing employment with his or her Florida Retirement System 36
employer. The deferred monthly benefits shall accrue in the 37
Florida Retirement System on behalf of the member, plus interest 38
compounded monthly, for the specified period of the DROP 39
participation, as provided in paragraph (c). Upon termination of 40
employment, the member shall receive the total DROP benefits and 41
begin to receive the previously determined normal retirement 42
benefits. Participation in the DROP does not guarantee 43
employment for the specified period of DROP. Participation in 44
DROP by an eligible member beyond the initial 60 -month period as 45
authorized in this subsection shall be on an annual contractual 46
basis for all particip ants. 47
(b) Participation in DROP. —Except as provided in this 48
paragraph, an eligible member may elect to participate in DROP 49
for a period not to exceed a maximum of 60 calendar months. 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1.a. An eligible member may elect to participate in DROP 51
for a period not to exceed a maximum of 60 calendar months. 52
However, Members who are instructional personnel employed by the 53
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and authorized by the 54
Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the 55
Blind, who are instructional personnel as defined in s. 56
1012.01(2)(a)-(d) in grades K-12 and authorized by the district 57
school superintendent, or who are instructional personnel as 58
defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a) employed by a developmental research 59
school and authorized by the school's director, or if the school 60
has no director, by the school's principal, may participate in 61
DROP for up to 36 calendar months beyond the 60 -month period. 62
Effective July 1, 2018, instructional personnel who are 63
authorized to extend DROP participatio n beyond the 60-month 64
period must have a termination date that is the last day of the 65
last calendar month of the school year within the DROP extension 66
granted by the employer. If, on July 1, 2018, the member's DROP 67
participation has already been extended f or the maximum 36 68
calendar months and the extension period concludes before the 69
end of the school year, the member's DROP participation may be 70
extended through the last day of the last calendar month of that 71
school year. The employer shall notify the divis ion of the 72
change in termination date and the additional period of DROP 73
participation for the affected instructional personnel. 74
b. Administrative personnel in grades K -12, as defined in 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
s. 1012.01(3), who have a DROP termination date on or after July 76
1, 2018, may be authorized to extend DROP participation beyond 77
the initial 60 calendar month period if the administrative 78
personnel's termination date is before the end of the school 79
year. Such administrative personnel may have DROP participation 80
extended until the last day of the last calendar month of the 81
school year in which their original DROP termination date 82
occurred if a date other than the last day of the last calendar 83
month of the school year is designated. The employer shall 84
notify the division of th e change in termination date and the 85
additional period of DROP participation for the affected 86
administrative personnel. 87
c. Effective July 1, 2022, a member of the Special Risk 88
Class who is a law enforcement officer who meets the criteria in 89
s. 121.0515(3)(a) may participate in DROP for up to 36 calendar 90
months beyond the 60 -month period if he or she enters DROP on or 91
before June 30, 2028. 92
2. Upon deciding to participate in DROP, the member shall 93
submit, on forms required by the division: 94
a. A written election to participate in DROP; 95
b. Selection of DROP participation and termination dates 96
that satisfy the limitations stated in paragraph (a) and 97
subparagraph 1. The termination date must be in a binding letter 98
of resignation to the employer establishin g a deferred 99
termination date. The member may change the termination date 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
within the limitations of subparagraph 1., but only with the 101
written approval of the employer; 102
c. A properly completed DROP application for service 103
retirement as provided in this s ection; and 104
d. Any other information required by the division. 105
3. The DROP participant is a retiree under the Florida 106
Retirement System for all purposes, except for paragraph (5)(f) 107
and subsection (9) and ss. 112.3173, 112.363, 121.053, and 108
121.122. DROP participation is final and may not be canceled by 109
the participant after the first payment is credited during the 110
DROP participation period. However, participation in DROP does 111
not alter the participant's employment status, and the member is 112
not deemed retired from employment until his or her deferred 113
resignation is effective and termination occurs as defined in s. 114
121.021. 115
4. Elected officers are eligible to participate in DROP 116
subject to the following: 117
a. An elected officer who reaches normal reti rement date 118
during a term of office may defer the election to participate 119
until the next succeeding term in that office. An elected 120
officer who exercises this option may participate in DROP for up 121
to 60 calendar months or no longer than the succeeding term of 122
office, whichever is less. 123
b. An elected or a nonelected participant may run for a 124
term of office while participating in DROP and, if elected, 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
extend the DROP termination date accordingly; however, if such 126
additional term of office exceeds the 60 -month limitation 127
established in subparagraph 1., and the officer does not resign 128
from office within such 60 -month limitation, the retirement and 129
the participant's DROP is null and void as provided in sub -130
subparagraph (c)5.d. 131
c. An elected officer who is dua lly employed and elects to 132
participate in DROP must terminate all employment relationships 133
as provided in s. 121.021(39) for the nonelected position within 134
the original 60-month period or maximum participation period as 135
provided in subparagraph 1. For DROP participation ending: 136
(I) Before July 1, 2010, the officer may continue 137
employment as an elected officer as provided in s. 121.053. The 138
elected officer shall be enrolled as a renewed member in the 139
Elected Officers' Class or the Regular Class, as provide d in ss. 140
121.053 and 121.122, on the first day of the month after 141
termination of employment in the nonelected position and 142
termination of DROP. Distribution of the DROP benefits shall be 143
made as provided in paragraph (c). 144
(II) On or after July 1, 2010, t he officer may continue 145
employment as an elected officer but must defer termination as 146
provided in s. 121.053. 147
Section 2. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 121.71, 148
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 149
121.71 Uniform rates; process; calculations; l evy.— 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(4) Required employer retirement contribution rates for 151
each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement 152
System for both retirement plans are as follows: 153
154
Membership Class
Percentage of
Gross
Compensation,
Effective
July 1, 2022 2021
155
156
Regular Class 5.96% 4.91%
157
Special Risk Class 16.44% 15.27%
158
Special Risk
Administrative
Support Class 10.77% 9.73%
159
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor,
Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys, 9.31% 8.49%
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Public Defenders
160
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 14.41% 13.38%
161
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 11.30% 10.28%
162
Senior Management Service Class 7.70% 6.49%
163
DROP 7.79% 7.23%
164
(5) In order to address unfunded actuarial liabilities of 165
the system, the required employer retirement contribution rates 166
for each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement 167
System for both retirement plans are as follows: 168
169
Membership Class
Percentage of
Gross
Compensation,
Effective
July 1, 2022 2021
170
171
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Regular Class 4.23% 4.19%
172
Special Risk Class 9.67% 8.90%
173
Special Risk
Administrative
Support Class 26.16% 26.31%
174
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor,
Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys,
Public Defenders 56.76% 53.52%
175
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 27.64% 25.81%
176
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 43.98% 39.42%
177
Senior Management Service Class 22.15% 20.80%
178
DROP 9.15% 9.45%
179
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 3. Subsection (5) of section 121.72, Florida 180
Statutes, is amended and subsection (6) is added to that section 181
to read: 182
121.72 Allocations to investment plan member accounts; 183
percentage amounts.— 184
(5) Effective July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2022, 185
allocations from the Florida Retirement System Contributions 186
Clearing Trust Fund to investment plan member accounts are as 187
follows: 188
189
Membership Class Percentage of
Gross
Compensation
190
191
Regular Class 6.30%
192
Special Risk Class 14.00%
193
Special Risk Administrative Support Class 7.95%
194
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor, Cabinet Officers, 9.38%
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
State Attorneys, Public Defenders
195
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 13.23%
196
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 11.34%
197
Senior Management Service Class 7.67%
198
(6) Effective July 1, 2022, allocations from the Florida 199
Retirement System Contributions Clearing Trust Fund to 200
investment plan member accounts are as follows: 201
202
Membership Class Percentage of
Gross
Compensation
203
204
Regular Class 9.30%
205
Special Risk Class 17.00%
206
Special Risk Administrative Support Class 10.95%
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
207
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor, Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys, Public Defenders 12.38%
208
Elected Officers' Class—
Justices, Judges 16.23%
209
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 14.34%
210
Senior Management Service Class 10.67%
211
Section 4. The Legislature finds that a proper and 212
legitimate state purpose is served when employees, officers, and 213
retirees of the state and its political subdivisions, and the 214
dependents, survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees, 215
officers, and retirees, are e xtended the basic protections 216
afforded by governmental retirement systems. These persons must 217
be provided benefits that are fair and adequate and that are 218
managed, administered, and funded in an actuarially sound manner 219
as required by s. 14, Article X of t he State Constitution and 220
part VII of chapter 112, Florida Statutes. Therefore, the 221
Legislature determines and declares that this act fulfills an 222
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
important state interest. 223
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 224