Retiree & Cobra Info

The Florida Retirement System
 
Alachua County participates in the Florida Retirement System.  New employees must choose between two different FRS plans, the FRS pension plan and the FRS investment plan.  The contributions for both plans are paid by Alachua County.  A new employee will receive a new hire kit from the Florida Retirement System with information on the two plan options and instructions on how to make make an election.
 
The FRS Pension Plan is a defined benefit plan, in which you are promised a benefit at retirement if you meet certain criteria. The amount of your future benefit is determined by a formula, based on your earnings, length of service, and membership class, and is adjusted by a 3% cost-of-living each July after retirement. Your benefit is pre-funded by contributions paid by your employer. The Florida Retirement System must ensure that sufficient funds are available when your benefits are due and bears the market risk and investment decisions.
 
The Pension plan membership classes and requirements for retirement are listed below:
 
Types of Membership Classes
 
Regular Class consists of members in the FRS who do not qualify for membership in Special Risk or Elected State Officers Class.
Special Risk Class consists of members in the FRS who are employed as Correctional Officers or Firefighters.
Senior Management Service Class, or Elected State Officers Class consists of members in the FRS who are elected County officials.
 
Requirements for Normal Retirement
Members of the Regular Class, Elected Officers' Class and Senior Management Service Class must either be vested and be 62 years of age or have credit for 30 years of service (which may include any optional service credit you purchase, such as military service), regardless of age.
 
Members of the Special Risk Class must be vested and be age 55, or have 25 years of special risk service (which may include military service) and be age 52, or have 25 years of special risk service, regardless of age, or have 30 years of any creditable service, regardless of age.  
 
For members of the Special Risk Administrative Support Class who do not have 6 years of special risk service, all service in the Special Risk Administrative Support Class will count the same as Regular Class service and your normal retirement date will be the same as for Regular Class members. If you have 6 or more years of special risk service, all service in the Special Risk Administrative Support Class will still have the same percentage value as Regular Class service, but your normal retirement date will be the Special Risk Class normal retirement date
 
Senior Management Service Class must have 6 or more years of service and age 62, or 30 years of service, regardless of age.
 
Elected State Officer's Class must have 6 or more years of elected state officers' class service and age 62, or 6 or more years of service and age 62, or 30 years of service regardless of age.
 The FRS Investment Plan is a defined contribution plan, in which employer contributions are defined by law, but your ultimate benefit depends in part on the performance of your investment funds.
 
The FRS Investment Plan is funded by employer contributions that are based on your salary and your FRS membership class (Regular Class, Special Risk Class, etc.). The Investment Plan directs contributions to individual member accounts, and you allocate your contributions and account balance among various investment funds. (Participant contributions are not allowed.)
 
Your Investment Plan retirement benefit is the value of your account at termination. Unlike the Pension Plan, there is no fixed benefit level at retirement. However, a guaranteed lifetime payment option (based on the benefit to be distributed) can be purchased and is available with annual 3% benefit increases, like the Pension Plan.
 
Summary of FRS Deferred Retirement Option Program
 
The Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), implemented on July 1, 1998, is a program that allows you to retire without terminating your employment for up to 5 years (8 years for teachers under certain circumstances) while your retirement benefits accumulate and earn interest compounded monthly at an effective annual rate of 6.5%. This program is available to eligible members of the Florida Retirement System who are in the FRS Pension Plan; it is also available to eligible members of the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) and the State and County Officers and Employees' Retirement System (SCOERS) - defined benefit plans that were closed to new members when the FRS was created in December 1970. To be eligible to participate, you must be an active member of one of these plans. (FRS renewed members and members of the various optional retirement programs available under the FRS are not eligible to participate in DROP.) .
 
Your participation in DROP does not change your conditions of employment. When your DROP period ends, you must terminate employment (special provisions apply to elected officers). At that time, you will receive your accumulated DROP benefits and begin receiving your monthly retirement benefit (as calculated when you retired and entered DROP, plus any applicable cost-of-living increases).
 
Eligibility - As an eligible member of the FRS Pension Plan, TRS, or SCOERS, you may participate in DROP when you are vested and have reached your normal retirement date. Your "normal retirement date" is the earliest date at which you become eligible for full, unreduced benefits based upon your age and/or service. In most cases, you reach your normal retirement date when you are vested and reach age 62, or when you complete 30 years of service, regardless of your age (age 55 or 25 years of service for special risk members).
 
 
Election - If you wish to participate in DROP, you may make your election up to 6 months before the date you plan to begin participation, but the Division of Retirement must receive your election no later than the month you wish to begin DROP. You must make your election within a 12-month election window that begins when you first reach your normal retirement date unless you are eligible to defer your election as described below. If you do not apply within your prescribed election window, you will lose your eligibility to participate.
 
Deferred Election - You may defer your DROP election under the following circumstances:
 
            If you complete 30 years of service before you reach age 57, you may defer your DROP election and may elect to begin DROP participation at anytime between completing 30 years of service and reaching age 57 (FRS special risk members who complete 25 years of Special Risk Class service before age 52 may defer DROP to age 52).
 
            If you are an elected officer participating in the FRS Elected Officers' Class (EOC), you may defer DROP until your next succeeding term of office after first reaching your normal retirement date and may participate for the lesser of 5 years or the length of that term.
 
            If you have covered employment in the FRS Special Risk Class as well as other employment covered by a different FRS membership class or plan, you may elect to participate in DROP when you reach your normal retirement date for either class.
 
This is just summary information...please contact the Florida Retirement System or reference your member guide book for more information.
             
Florida Retirement System

Retirees who continue their health insurance coverage with Alachua County are responsible for 100% of the premium.

 Ceridian Benefits is the administrator for Cobra Continuation coverage.  When on Cobra an employee or dependent pays 102% of the total premium.

Ceridian Website - COBRA Information