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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 the Florida Retirement System; 2
amending s. 121.053, F.S.; authorizing certain elected 3
officers to receive a specified payment while 4
remaining in office; amending s. 121.091, F.S.; 5
authorizing certain retirees to be reemployed after 6
terminating employment; providing conditions for such 7
reemployment; requiring reimbursement of certain 8
payments in specified circumstances; revising an 9
obsolete provision; amending s. 121.1001, F.S.; 10
prohibiting new participation in a specified plan 11
beginning on a specified date; amending s. 121.101, 12
F.S.; revising the calculation for the cost -of-living 13
factor for certain members; requiring the Department 14
of Management Services to annually adjust a specified 15
value beginning on a specified date; providing 16
applicability; requiring the Division of Retirement to 17
annually submit a specified analysis beginning on a 18
specified date; revising a provision requiring the 19
expiration of a specified formula; amending s. 121.71, 20
F.S.; increasing employee contributions to the Flo rida 21
Retirement System; amending s. 121.72, F.S.; 22
increasing the allocations to investment plan member 23
accounts; amending s. 121.591, F.S.; conforming a 24
cross-reference; providing a declaration of important 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
state interest; providing an effective date. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
29
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (7) of section 30
121.053, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (d) is added to 31
that subsection, and paragraph (b) of that subsection is 32
republished to read: 33
121.053 Participation in the Elected Officers' Class for 34
retired members.— 35
(7) A member who is elected or appointed to an elective 36
office and who is participating in the Deferred Retirement 37
Option Program is not subject to termination as defined i n s. 38
121.021, or reemployment limitations as provided in s. 39
121.091(9), until the end of his or her current term of office 40
or, if the officer is consecutively elected or reelected to an 41
elective office eligible for coverage under the Florida 42
Retirement System, until he or she no longer holds an elective 43
office, as follows: 44
(b) An elected officer may voluntarily terminate his or 45
her elective office at any time and receive his or her DROP 46
proceeds. However, until termination occurs, an elected officer 47
whose termination limitations are extended by this section is 48
ineligible for renewed membership in the system and may not 49
receive pension payments, DROP lump sum payments, or any other 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
state payment other than the statutorily determined salary, 51
travel, and per diem for the elective office. 52
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d), upon termination, 53
the officer shall receive his or her accumulated DROP account, 54
plus interest, and shall accrue and commence receiving monthly 55
retirement benefits, which must be paid on a prospective basis 56
only. 57
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), an elected officer who 58
qualifies under this subsection as of June 30, 2023, and who has 59
completed his or her DROP participation period as of June 30, 60
2023, may remain in elective office and receive his or her 61
accumulated DROP proceeds, including interest. 62
Section 2. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (9) of 63
section 121.091, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 64
paragraphs (e) and (f), respectively, paragraph (c) and present 65
paragraph (f) are amended, and a new paragraph (d) is added to 66
that subsection, to read: 67
121.091 Benefits payable under the system. —Benefits may 68
not be paid under this section unless the member has terminated 69
employment as provided in s. 121.021(39)(a) or begun 70
participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Program as 71
provided in subsection (13), and a proper application has been 72
filed in the manner prescribed by the department. The department 73
may cancel an application for retirement benefits when the 74
member or beneficiary fails to timely provide the information 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
and documents required by this chapter and the department's 76
rules. The department shall adopt rules establishing procedures 77
for application for retirement benefits and for the cancellation 78
of such application when the required information or documents 79
are not received. 80
(9) EMPLOYMENT AFTER RETIREMENT; LIMITATION. — 81
(c) Any person whose retirement is effective on or after 82
July 1, 2010, or whose participation in the Deferred Retirement 83
Option Program termina tes on or after July 1, 2010, who is 84
retired under this chapter, except under the disability 85
retirement provisions of subsection (4) or as provided in s. 86
121.053, may be reemployed by an employer that participates in a 87
state-administered retirement system and receive retirement 88
benefits and compensation from that employer. However, a person 89
may not be reemployed by an employer participating in the 90
Florida Retirement System before meeting the definition of 91
termination in s. 121.021 and may not receive both a salary from 92
the employer and retirement benefits for 6 calendar months after 93
meeting the definition of termination, except as provided in 94
paragraph (d) (f). However, a DROP participant shall continue 95
employment and receive a salary during the period of 96
participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Program, as 97
provided in subsection (13). 98
1. The reemployed retiree may not renew membership in the 99
Florida Retirement System, except as provided in s. 121.122. 100
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2. The employer shall pay retirement contribut ions in an 101
amount equal to the unfunded actuarial liability portion of the 102
employer contribution that would be required for active members 103
of the Florida Retirement System in addition to the 104
contributions required by s. 121.76. 105
3. A retiree initially reemployed in violation of this 106
paragraph and an employer that employs or appoints such person 107
are jointly and severally liable for reimbursement of any 108
retirement benefits paid to the retirement trust fund from which 109
the benefits were paid, including the Florida Retirement System 110
Trust Fund and the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan 111
Trust Fund, as appropriate. The employer must have a written 112
statement from the employee that he or she is not retired from a 113
state-administered retirement system. Retir ement benefits shall 114
remain suspended until repayment is made. Benefits suspended 115
beyond the end of the retiree's 6 -month reemployment limitation 116
period shall apply toward the repayment of benefits received in 117
violation of this paragraph. 118
(d) Any person whose retirement is effective on or after 119
July 1, 2024, or whose participation in the Deferred Retirement 120
Option Program terminates on or after July 1, 2024, who is 121
retired under this chapter, except under the disability 122
provisions of subsection (4) or as provided in s. 121.053, may 123
be reemployed by an employer that participates in a state -124
administered retirement system and receive retirement benefits 125
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and compensation from that employer. However, a person may not 126
be reemployed by an employer participating i n the Florida 127
Retirement System before meeting the definition of termination 128
in s. 121.021. A DROP participant shall continue employment and 129
receive a salary during the period of participation in the 130
Deferred Retirement Option Program, as provided in subse ction 131
(13). 132
1. The reemployed retiree may not renew membership in the 133
Florida Retirement System, except as provided in s. 121.122. 134
2. The employer shall pay retirement contributions in an 135
amount equal to the unfunded actuarial liability portion of the 136
employer contribution that would be required for active members 137
of the Florida Retirement System in addition to the 138
contributions required by s. 121.76. 139
3. A retiree initially reemployed in violation of this 140
paragraph and an employer that employs or appo ints such person 141
are jointly and severally liable for reimbursement of any 142
retirement benefits paid to the retirement trust fund from which 143
the benefits were paid, including the Florida Retirement System 144
Trust Fund and the Florida Retirement System Investm ent Plan 145
Trust Fund, as appropriate. The employer must have a written 146
statement from the employee that he or she is not retired from a 147
state-administered retirement system. Retirement benefits shall 148
remain suspended until repayment is made. Benefits suspen ded 149
beyond the end of the retiree's 6 -month reemployment limitation 150
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period shall apply toward the repayment of benefits received in 151
violation of this paragraph. 152
(f) A retired law enforcement officer may be reemployed as 153
a school resource officer by an em ployer that participates in 154
the Florida Retirement System and receive compensation from that 155
employer and retirement benefits after meeting the definition of 156
termination in s. 121.021, but may not receive both a salary 157
from the employer and retirement bene fits for 6 calendar months 158
immediately subsequent to the date of retirement. The reemployed 159
retired law enforcement officer may not renew membership in the 160
Florida Retirement System, except as provided in s. 121.122. 161
Section 3. Subsection (5) is added to section 121.1001, 162
Florida Statutes, to read: 163
121.1001 Florida Retirement System Preservation of 164
Benefits Plan.—Effective July 1, 1999, the Florida Retirement 165
System Preservation of Benefits Plan is established as a 166
qualified governmental excess benefi t arrangement pursuant to s. 167
415(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Preservation of 168
Benefits Plan is created as a separate portion of the Florida 169
Retirement System, for the purpose of providing benefits to a 170
payee (retiree or beneficiary) of the Florida Retirement System 171
whose benefits would otherwise be limited by s. 415(b) of the 172
Internal Revenue Code. 173
(5) CLOSURE TO NEW MEMBERS. —Effective July 1, 2026, the 174
Florida Retirement System Preservation of Benefits Plan is 175
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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
closed to new members. 176
Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) and subsection 177
(5) of section 121.101, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 178
121.101 Cost-of-living adjustment of benefits. — 179
(4) For members whose effective retirement date is on or 180
after July 1, 2011, the benefit of each retiree and annuitant 181
shall be adjusted annually on July 1 as follows: 182
(c) Beginning July 1, 2024, the department shall calculate 183
a cost-of-living factor for each retiree and beneficiary 184
retiring on or after July 1, 2011. This factor shall : 185
1. For a member initially enrolled before July 1, 2011, 186
equal 3 percent for the first $150,000 of benefit payable 187
annually, and for any additional benefit payable shall equal the 188
product of 3 percent multiplied by the quotient of the sum of 189
the member's service credit earned for service before July 1, 190
2011, divided by the sum of the member's total service credit 191
earned. The $150,000 amount shall be adjusted annually by the 192
department to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index 193
compiled by the United States Dep artment of Labor. Any benefits 194
paid in accordance with this subparagraph shall only be made 195
prospectively. 196
2. For a member initially enrolled on or after July 1, 197
2011, equal the product of 3 percent multiplied by the quotient 198
of the sum of the member's s ervice credit earned for service 199
before July 1, 2011, divided by the sum of the member's total 200
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service credit earned. 201
(5) Beginning July 1, 2033, and annually thereafter, the 202
division shall submit an actuarial analysis to the Legislature 203
on the feasibility and cost of providing a cost -of-living 204
adjustment for employees that initially enrolled in the Florida 205
Retirement System after July 1, 2011 Subject to the availability 206
of funding and the Legislature enacting sufficient employer 207
contributions specificall y for the purpose of funding the 208
expiration of the cost -of-living adjustment specified in 209
subsection (4), in accordance with s. 14, Art. X of the State 210
Constitution, the cost -of-living adjustment formula provided for 211
in subsection (4) shall expire effectiv e June 30, 2016, and the 212
benefit of each retiree and annuitant shall be adjusted on each 213
July 1 thereafter, as provided in subsection (3) . 214
Section 5. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section 215
121.71, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 216
121.71 Uniform rates; process; calculations; levy. — 217
(3) Required employee retirement contribution rates for 218
each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement 219
System for both retirement plans are as follows: 220
221
Membership Class
Percentage of
Gross
Compensation,
Effective
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July 1, 2024 2011
222
223
Regular Class 4.00% 3.00%
224
Special Risk Class 5.00% 3.00%
225
Special Risk
Administrative
Support Class 4.00% 3.00%
226
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor,
Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys,
Public Defenders 6.00% 3.00%
227
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 6.00% 3.00%
228
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 6.00% 3.00%
229
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Senior Management Service Class 4.00% 3.00%
230
DROP 0.00%
231
(4) Required employer retirement contribution rates for 232
each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement 233
System for both retirement plans are as follows: 234
235
Membership Class
Percentage of
Gross
Compensation,
Effective
July 1, 2024 2023
236
237
Regular Class 7.91% 6.73%
238
Special Risk Class 21.02% 18.66%
239
Special Risk
Administrative
Support Class 13.37% 11.54%
240
Elected Officers' Class — 12.28% 10.45%
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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
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor,
Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys,
Public Defenders
241
Elected Officers' Class—
Justices, Judges 17.06% 14.90%
242
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 13.89% 12.39%
243
Senior Management Service Class 9.88% 8.56%
244
DROP 10.12% 8.49%
245
(5) In order to address unfunded actuarial liabilities of 246
the system, the required employer retirement contribution rates 247
for each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement 248
System for both retirement plans are as follows: 249
250
Membership Class
Percentage of
Gross
Compensation,
Effective
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July 1, 2024 2023
251
252
Regular Class 7.55% 4.78%
253
Special Risk Class 17.76% 11.95%
254
Special Risk
Administrative
Support Class 32.39% 26.22%
255
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor,
Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys,
Public Defenders 53.84% 50.21%
256
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 33.74% 27.93%
257
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 48.84% 44.23%
258
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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
Senior Management Service Class 26.96% 23.90%
259
DROP 16.57% 10.64%
260
Section 6. Subsection (7) of section 121.72, Florida 261
Statutes, is amended, and subsection (8) is added to that 262
section, to read: 263
121.72 Allocations to investment plan member accounts; 264
percentage amounts.— 265
(7) Effective July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, 266
allocations from the Florida Reti rement System Contributions 267
Clearing Trust Fund to investment plan member accounts are as 268
follows: 269
270
Membership Class Percentage of
Gross
Compensation
271
272
Regular Class 11.30%
273
Special Risk Class 19.00%
274
Special Risk Administrative Support Class 12.95%
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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
275
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor, Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys, Public Defenders 14.38%
276
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 18.23%
277
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 16.34%
278
Senior Management Service Class 12.67%
279
(8) Effective July 1, 2024, allocations from the Florida 280
Retirement System Contributions Clearing Trust Fund to 281
investment plan member accounts are as follows: 282
283
Membership Class Percentage of
Gross
Compensation
284
285
Regular Class 13.30%
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286
Special Risk Class 22.00%
287
Special Risk Administrative Support Class 14.95%
288
Elected Officers' Class —
Legislators, Governor,
Lt. Governor, Cabinet Officers,
State Attorneys, Public Defenders 18.38%
289
Elected Officers' Class —
Justices, Judges 22.23%
290
Elected Officers' Class —
County Elected Officers 20.34%
291
Senior Management Service Class 14.67%
292
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 293
121.591, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 294
121.591 Payment of benefits. —Benefits may not be paid 295
under the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan unless the 296
member has terminated employment as provided in s. 297
121.021(39)(a) or is deceased and a proper application has been 298
filed as prescribed by the sta te board or the department. 299
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Benefits, including employee contributions, are not payable 300
under the investment plan for employee hardships, unforeseeable 301
emergencies, loans, medical expenses, educational expenses, 302
purchase of a principal residence, payments necessary to prevent 303
eviction or foreclosure on an employee's principal residence, or 304
any other reason except a requested distribution for retirement, 305
a mandatory de minimis distribution authorized by the 306
administrator, or a required minimum distribution p rovided 307
pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. The state board or 308
department, as appropriate, may cancel an application for 309
retirement benefits if the member or beneficiary fails to timely 310
provide the information and documents required by this chapter 311
and the rules of the state board and department. In accordance 312
with their respective responsibilities, the state board and the 313
department shall adopt rules establishing procedures for 314
application for retirement benefits and for the cancellation of 315
such application if the required information or documents are 316
not received. The state board and the department, as 317
appropriate, are authorized to cash out a de minimis account of 318
a member who has been terminated from Florida Retirement System 319
covered employment for a minimum of 6 calendar months. A de 320
minimis account is an account containing employer and employee 321
contributions and accumulated earnings of not more than $5,000 322
made under the provisions of this chapter. Such cash -out must be 323
a complete lump-sum liquidation of the account balance, subject 324
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to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, or a lump -sum 325
direct rollover distribution paid directly to the custodian of 326
an eligible retirement plan, as defined by the Internal Revenue 327
Code, on behalf of the member. An y nonvested accumulations and 328
associated service credit, including amounts transferred to the 329
suspense account of the Florida Retirement System Investment 330
Plan Trust Fund authorized under s. 121.4501(6), shall be 331
forfeited upon payment of any vested benefi t to a member or 332
beneficiary, except for de minimis distributions or minimum 333
required distributions as provided under this section. If any 334
financial instrument issued for the payment of retirement 335
benefits under this section is not presented for payment wi thin 336
180 days after the last day of the month in which it was 337
originally issued, the third -party administrator or other duly 338
authorized agent of the state board shall cancel the instrument 339
and credit the amount of the instrument to the suspense account 340
of the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan Trust Fund 341
authorized under s. 121.4501(6). Any amounts transferred to the 342
suspense account are payable upon a proper application, not to 343
include earnings thereon, as provided in this section, within 10 344
years after the last day of the month in which the instrument 345
was originally issued, after which time such amounts and any 346
earnings attributable to employer contributions shall be 347
forfeited. Any forfeited amounts are assets of the trust fund 348
and are not subject t o chapter 717. 349
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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) NORMAL BENEFITS. —Under the investment plan: 350
(a) Benefits in the form of vested accumulations as 351
described in s. 121.4501(6) are payable under this subsection in 352
accordance with the following terms and conditions: 353
1. Benefits are payable only to a member, an alternate 354
payee of a qualified domestic relations order, or a beneficiary. 355
2. Benefits shall be paid by the third -party administrator 356
or designated approved providers in accordance with the law, the 357
contracts, and any applicabl e board rule or policy. 358
3. The member must be terminated from all employment with 359
all Florida Retirement System employers, as provided in s. 360
121.021(39). 361
4. Benefit payments may not be made until the member has 362
been terminated for 3 calendar months, ex cept that the state 363
board may authorize by rule for the distribution of up to 10 364
percent of the member's account after being terminated for 1 365
calendar month if the member has reached the normal retirement 366
date as defined in s. 121.021. 367
5. If a member or former member of the Florida Retirement 368
System receives an invalid distribution, such person must either 369
repay the full amount within 90 days after receipt of final 370
notification by the state board or the third -party administrator 371
that the distribution was invalid, or, in lieu of repayment, the 372
member must terminate employment from all participating 373
employers. If such person fails to repay the full invalid 374
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distribution within 90 days after receipt of final notification, 375
the person may be deemed retired from the investment plan by the 376
state board and is subject to s. 121.122. If such person is 377
deemed retired, any joint and several liability set out in s. 378
121.091(9)(e)2. s. 121.091(9)(d)2. is void, and the state board, 379
the department, or the employing agency is not liable for gains 380
on payroll contributions that have not been deposited to the 381
person's account in the investment plan, pending resolution of 382
the invalid distribution. The member or former member who has 383
been deemed retired or who has been determined b y the state 384
board to have taken an invalid distribution may appeal the 385
agency decision through the complaint process as provided under 386
s. 121.4501(9)(g)3. As used in this subparagraph, the term 387
"invalid distribution" means any distribution from an account in 388
the investment plan which is taken in violation of this section, 389
s. 121.091(9), or s. 121.4501. 390
Section 8. The Legislature finds that a proper and 391
legitimate state purpose is served when employees and retirees 392
of the state and its political subdivis ions, and the dependents, 393
survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees and retirees, are 394
extended the basic protections afforded by governmental 395
retirement systems that provide fair and adequate benefits and 396
that are managed, administered, and funded in an actuarially 397
sound manner as required by s. 14, Art. X of the State 398
Constitution and part VII of chapter 112, Florida Statutes. 399
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Therefore, the Legislature determines and declares that this act 400
fulfills an important state interest. 401
Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 402