Florida Retirement System (FRS) - Pension Plan
| Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Plan | |
|---|---|
| Type of Plan | A defined benefit plan. |
| Eligibility | Full-time and regular part-time employees. |
| Vesting | If you are initially enrolled in the FRS before July 1, 2011, you will be vested in the Pension Plan after six years of service unless your covered employment ended before July 1, 2001. If you are initially enrolled in the FRS on or after July 1, 2011, you will be vested in the Pension Plan after eight years of creditable service, regardless of your membership class. |
| Employee Contributions | Effective July 1, 2011, Florida law requires you to make pretax retirement contribution of 3 percent of your gross salary to your retirement plan. |
| Employer Contributions | The amount contributed by the College toward your retirement plan (called the "blended contribution rate") is the same whether you participate in the investment plan or the pension plan and is a percentage of your gross monthly salary, based on your employment class (e.g., regular class, senior management service class, special risk class, etc.) |
| Benefit | The monthly retirement benefit is based upon a formula, which considers your years of creditable service, age at retirement, average final compensation, and the membership class (Seminole State is in the regular class) percentage factor. The retirement benefit is also affected by the benefit option you select. |
| Creditable service | You earn a full month of creditable service for each month your salary payment is reported to the division. When you work the required number of months in work year during the plan year, you receive a full year of service credit. You cannot earn more than one year of creditable service in a plan year. |
| Normal Retirement | Your normal retirement date is the time you are first eligible to receive an unreduced retirement benefit based on your age or years of service (see Vesting requirement). |
| Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) | Once you qualify for normal retirement, you may elect to participate in the DROP. If you elect the DROP, the Division of Retirement will invest your monthly FRS pension benefit into a DROP interest-earning account, while you continue to work for the college for a period not to exceed five years. Upon your termination from employment, which must occur by the end of the five-year DROP period, your monthly FRS pension benefit will be paid to you and your accumulated DROP balance will be made available to you. |
| Other Plan Features | This retirement plan has provisions for disability retirement, survivor benefits, and a retiree health insurance subsidy. It also has an early retirement feature; however, there is a 5 percent per year penalty for early retirement. |