New law boosts retirement benefits for Florida's public employees

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For some 780,000 state employees and current retirees, aspects of their retirement will be like 2011 again.

Public employees are getting some of their benefits restored, according to a bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday.

The Senate budget package (SB 7024) DeSantis approved reverts many aspects of the state’s retirement system for some back to pre-2011, when many changes were made in the face of a recession that saw much of the state’s real estate value evaporate.

It includes provisions that restore age and years of service requirements; improve retiree health insurance subsidies; increase the length of time allowable in the Deferred Retirement Optional Program (DROP); and increase employer contributions to investment plans by 2 percentage points for all participants in the Florida Retirement System (FRS).

It will affect nearly 629,000 members of the FRS and 151,913 current retirees.

An analysis of the bill said the new law will increase the state’s employer group contributions to be paid into the FRS Trust Fund over the next year by $350 million, compared to the current budget year. And the amount employer groups must contribute to the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Trust Fund will increase by $139.3 million from the current year.

Florida Professional Firefighters (FPF), a state association representing more than 27,000 firefighters and emergency medical services personnel in Florida, lobbied to get the minimum retirement age requirement dropped from 60 years old, back down to 55 for the Special Risk Class of employees. That class includes law enforcement, firefighters, corrections guards and emergency medical care positions.

The bill signing also increased the retiree health insurance subsidy for all FRS retirees from $5 per month to $7.50 per month.

The legislative passage of the budget package on May 5 drew cheers from Meredith Stanfield, the legislative policy director for FPF.

“What a session,” she tweeted, singling out House Speaker Paul Renner, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, Republican Sens. Doug Broxson, Ed Hooper, and Republican Reps. Demi Busatta Cabrera, Thomas “Tom” Leek and Democratic Rep. Joe Casello for the bill’s passage through both chambers without a nay vote. “Thank you to our amazing bill sponsors for putting firefighters and public employees first in this budget.”

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Florida Politics Publisher Peter Schorsch contributed to this report.

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8 comments

Suze
June 5, 2023 at 8:18 pm

DeathSantis and MAGAs GOP will do anything to get votes after destroying human rights in florida
- Except for the one thing
  June 6, 2023 at 7:52 am
  
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Dont Say FLA
June 6, 2023 at 7:29 am

But aren’t retirees the folks Rhonda refers to as “Woke”? Florida is where Woke goes to die. I assume that means retirees, because retirees, when they start to be cold all the time due to being elderly, they go to Florida where they wait to die. So why is Rhonda giving taxpayer money away to these folks who moved to Florida, having never paid one dime into Florida’s tax base excepting of course all their federal income taxes paid in liberal states which the feds redistribute to Conservative states, the states which are USA’s actual welfare queens.
Ron DeSantis Florida on the dole
June 6, 2023 at 7:59 am

Given how Florida has no state income tax, why is Florida even eligible to receive federal tax dollars? Shouldn’t Florida have to work to receive federal benefits? That is what was just demanded by Kevin McCarthy and his GOP when they held the world economy hostage trying to get some bones to toss to their voter base in hopes of not losing again. So, GOP got their work requirement. Florida needs to get to work collecting some income tax before the US Government gives Florida one red cent.
- Mark
  June 6, 2023 at 10:55 am
  
  What in the world does a state income tax have to do with federal money? Floridians pay federal income taxes. States with state income taxes keep that money in the state’s coffers.
  - Ron DeSantis Florida on the dole
    June 6, 2023 at 1:06 pm
    
    You’ll have to ask Kevin McCarthy and “his” (lol) GOP House Reps about their demand that recipients of federal money prove that they work. Florida, having no state income tax, can’t prove it works, therefore Florida does not get any federal money. It’s all according to Kevin McCarthy and his boss lady Marjorie Taylor Green. Ask them for the specifics! I don’t agree with those two, but they did what they did. Ask them.
ScienceBLVR
June 6, 2023 at 9:00 am

Hmmmmm, just curious. Where’s the money for this vote pandering bill coming from? As a recent public school retiree, I do have a vested interest, but didn’t the legislature just decimate future public school funding? Hard to give out those pricey private school vouchers to everyone and still expect the public trough to continue to fund increased retirement benefits. Show me the money, DeSantis!