The Department of Management Services' Division of Retirement is organized as follows.

The Director's Office, under the leadership of the Director of Retirement, coordinates actuarial services and pension liability reporting in ACFR and schedules, and analyzes legislation. Bureaus reporting to the Deputy Director of Member Services:

• Bureau of Enrollment and Contributions enrolls members and employers and receives employer contributions. In Fiscal Year 2020-21, it processed 99.93% of monthly payrolls from FRS employers within five days, so that individuals' updated retirement information was quickly available. The bureau also administers the State University System Optional Retirement Program and the Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program.
• Bureau of Retirement Calculations computes retirement benefits, processes requests for estimated benefits, and issues annual statements. In Fiscal Year 2020-21, active members requesting a benefit calculation received an answer in an average of 11.32 business days.
• Bureau of Benefit Payments distributes retirement benefits to retirees and survivors and coordinates Deferred Retirement Option Program payouts. In Fiscal Year 2020-21, it processed 100% of retirees' payrolls timely and added 99.88% of service retirees to the next payroll after receipt of all documents.
• Bureau of Local Retirement Systems monitors Florida's local public retirement systems and oversees the local police and firefighter pension program.

Bureaus reporting to the Deputy Director of Technology and Support Services: 

• Bureau of Research, Education, and Training develops FRS publications, promulgates rules, responds to public records requests, publishes the FRS Pension ACFR and GASB 67/68 Pension Liability Allocation Schedules, and trains new and current employees. 
• Contact Center provides customer service to FRS non-retired members, retirees, beneficiaries, employers, and other stakeholders.
• Bureau of Business Support Services coordinates the division's budget and accounting functions, provides general administrative services, and processes incoming and outgoing mail.

The division's primary responsibility is to administer the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan, including the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). It also administers other state-administered retirement programs: the State University System Optional Retirement Program, Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program, and the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Program.

The division also oversees and monitors the actuarial soundness of local government retirement systems that are not part of the Florida Retirement System, as well as pension plans for municipal police and firefighters under Chs. 185 and 175, Florida Statutes. In addition, the division is responsible for approving the distribution of insurance premium tax revenues to qualified municipal police officer and firefighter pension plans.

• Regular Class consists of FRS members who do not qualify for membership in any other class.
• Special Risk Class consists of members who meet the criteria to qualify for membership in this class and are employed as law enforcement officers, firefighters, correctional officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, or community-based correctional probation officers. It also includes specified professional health care positions in the Department of Corrections and Department of Children and Family Services.
• Special Risk Administrative Support Class consists of Special Risk Class members who are moved, reassigned to, or reemployed in an administrative support position with a law enforcement, firefighting, correctional, or emergency medical care agency under the FRS.
• Senior Management Service Class consists of members in senior management level positions within state and local government agencies.
• Elected Officers' Class consists of members who hold specified elective offices in either state or local government. State officers include the following: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet Officer, Legislator, Supreme Court justice, district court of appeal judge, circuit judge, county court judge, state attorney, and public defender. County officers include the following: sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, school board member, school board superintendent, clerk of circuit court, county commissioner, and other elected officials with countywide authority. City or special district officers include the following: elected officials in cities and special districts that have chosen to place their elected officials in this class instead of the Regular Class during the six-month window periods offered in 1997, 2001, 2009, or at the time of joining the FRS on or after Jan. 1, 2010.

• Pension Plan. The Division of Retirement administers this retirement option. The Pension Plan is a defined benefit plan funded by employee contributions (3% of the employee's salary), employer contributions, and investment earnings. The division transfers the contributions to the State Board of Administration, which is responsible for investing FRS assets. The Pension Plan guarantees a certain level of benefit payment and FRS employers bear the risk that investment returns will not support that level of benefits. A member's retirement benefit is based on a formula taking into account factors such as salary level, years of service, compensation, and FRS membership class.
• Investment Plan. The State Board of Administration administers this option. Members are guaranteed a certain level of contributions from their employers and must contribute 3% of their salaries to the program. Members select how to invest these funds from a list of authorized investment accounts. Members bear the risk of poor investment returns, but after meeting certain requirements can take their retirement accounts with them if they no longer work for an employer participating in the FRS. A member's retirement benefit is the amount of money accumulated in the investment account when the member chooses to receive a distribution or roll over to an eligible plan.
• Hybrid Membership. This option allows members to participate in the Investment Plan for all future contributions and keep vested accrued Pension Plan benefits frozen in that plan. Retirement benefits are paid separately from either the Pension Plan or the Investment Plan.

The 2022 Legislature enacted Chapter 2022-159, Laws of Florida, which authorizes new blended rates for FRS employers and increases the employer contribution to Investment Plan members' accounts by 3% for each membership class effective July 1, 2022. The law also modifies DROP participation for eligible law enforcement officers whose positions are covered by the Special Risk Class.

Other Reports
The FRS provides plan information and trustee reports on its website.

2021 Florida Local Government Retirement Systems Annual Report, Department of Management Services, 2021.   

Florida Retirement System Pension Plan Actuarial Valuation as of July 1, 2021, Milliman, December 1, 2021  

Florida Retirement System Pension Plan and Other State Administered Systems Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021, Department of Management Services, 2021.  

Florida Retirement System Pension Plan and Other State Administered Systems Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2020, Department of Management Services, 2020. 
 
2019 Wilshire Report on State Retirement Systems:  Funding Levels and Asset Allocation, Wilshire Consulting, March 2019.  

Websites of Interest
National Association of State Retirement Administrators
National Institute of Pension Administrators
Pensions and Investments Online
State and Local Government Benefits Association
Employee Benefits Research Institute

Performance Information

Division of Retirement, 850-907-6500

Website