Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2024 Discount Rate The discount rate used to measure the total pension liability was 3.93% for the HIS Plan. In general, the discount rate for calculating the total pension liability is equal to the single rate equivalent to discounting at the long-term expected rate of return for benefit payments prior to the projected depletion date. Because the HIS benefit is essentially funded on a pay-as-you-go basis, the depletion date is considered to be immediate, and the single equivalent discount rate is equal to the municipal bond rate selected by the HIS Plan sponsor. The Bond Buyer General Obligation 20-Bond Municipal Bond Index was adopted as the applicable municipal bond index. Liability Sensitivity The following presents the County’s proportionate share of the net pension liability for the HIS Plan, calculated using the discount rate disclosed in the preceding paragraph, as well as what the County’s proportionate share of the net pension liability would be if it were calculated using a discount rate one percentage point lower or one percentage point higher than the current discount rate: Defined Contribution Plan The Florida State Board of Administration (SBA) administers the defined contribution plan officially titled the FRS Investment Plan (Investment Plan). The Investment Plan is reported in the SBA’s annual financial statements and in the State of Florida Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. As provided in Section 121.4501, Florida Statutes, eligible FRS members may elect to participate in the Investment Plan in lieu of the FRS defined benefit plan. County employees participating in DROP are not eligible to participate in the Investment Plan. Employer and employee contributions, including amounts contributed to individual member’s accounts, are defined by law, but the ultimate benefit depends in part on the performance of investment funds. Benefit terms, including contribution requirements, for the Investment Plan are established and may be amended by the Florida Legislature. The Investment Plan is funded with the same employer and employee contribution rates that are based on salary and membership class (Regular Class, Elected County Officers, etc.), as the FRS defined benefit plan. Contributions are directed to individual member accounts, and the individual members allocate contributions and account balances among various approved investment choices. Costs of administering plan, including the FRS Financial Guidance Program, are funded through an employer contribution of 0.06% of payroll and by forfeited benefits of plan members. Allocations to the investment member’s accounts during the 2023-24 fiscal year, as established by Section 121.72, Florida Statutes, are based on a percentage of gross compensation, by class, as follows: Regular Class 11.30%, Special Risk Administrative Support Class 12.95%, Special Risk Class 19.00%, Senior Management Service Class 12.67% and County Elected Officers Class 16.34%. The allocations include a required employee contribution of 3% of gross compensation for each member class. For all membership classes, employees are immediately vested in their own contributions and are vested after 1 year of service for employer contributions and investment earnings. If an accumulated benefit obligation for service credit originally earned under the FRS Pension Plan is transferred to the Investment Plan, the member must have the years of service required for FRS Pension Plan vesting (including the service credit represented by the transferred funds) to be vested for these funds and the earnings on the funds. Non-vested employer contributions are placed in a suspense account for up to 5 years. If the employee returns to FRS-covered employment within the 5-year period, the employee will regain control over their account. If the employee does not return within the 5-year period, the employee will forfeit the accumulated account balance. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, the information for the amount of forfeitures was unavailable from the SBA; however, management believes that these amounts, if any, would be immaterial to the County. Description 1% Decrease in discount rate Current discount rate 1% Increase in discount rate HIS Plan Discount Rate 2.93% 3.93% 4.93% County's Proportionate Share of HIS Plan Net Pension Liability 114,725,426 $ $ 100,780,307 89,203,603 $ 150
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