Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2021 Essentially all regular employees of the County are eligible to enroll as members of the State-administered FRS. Provisions relating to the FRS are established by Chapters 121 and 122, Florida Statutes; Chapter 112, Part IV, Florida Statutes; Chapter 238, Florida Statutes; and FRS Rules, Chapter 60S, Florida Administrative Code; wherein eligibility, contributions, and benefits are defined and described in detail. Such provisions may be amended at any time by further action from the Florida Legislature. The FRS is a single retirement system administered by the Florida Department of Management Services, Division of Retirement, and consists of the two cost sharing, multiple employer defined benefit plans and other nonintegrated programs. The annual comprehensive financial report of the FRS, which includes its financial statements, required supplementary information, actuarial report, and other relevant information, is available from the Florida Department of Management Services’ Web site (www.dms.myflorida.com). The impact to the County’s pension expense (credit) totaled $1,000,706 for the FRS Pension Plan, the HIS Plan and the City of Sarasota’s Firefighters pension plan for the year ended September 30, 2021. Florida Retirement System Pension Plan Plan Description The Florida Retirement System Pension Plan (the FRS Plan) is a cost-sharing multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan, with a Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) for eligible employees. The general classes of membership are as follows: Regular Class – Members of the FRS who do not qualify for membership in the other classes. Elected County Officers Class – Members who hold specified elective offices in local government. Senior Management Service Class (SMSC) – Members in senior management level positions. Special Risk Class – Members who are special risk employees, such as law enforcement officers, meet the criteria to qualify for this class. Employees enrolled in the FRS Plan prior to July 1, 2011, vest at 6 years of creditable service and employees enrolled in the FRS Plan on or after July 1, 2011, vest at 8 years of creditable service. All vested members, enrolled prior to July 1, 2011, are eligible for normal retirement benefits at age 62 or at any age after 30 years of service, except for members classified as special risk who are eligible for normal retirement benefits at age 55 or at any age after 25 years of service. All members enrolled in the FRS Plan on or after July 1, 2011, once vested, are eligible for normal retirement benefits at age 65 or any time after 33 years of creditable service, except for members classified as special risk who are eligible for normal retirement benefits at age 60 or at any age after 30 years of service. Employees enrolled in the FRS Plan may include up to 4 years of credit for military service toward creditable service. The FRS Plan also includes an early retirement provision; however, there is a benefit reduction for each year a member retires before his or her normal retirement date. The FRS Plan provides retirement, disability, death benefits, and annual cost-of-living adjustments to eligible participants. DROP, subject to provisions of Section 121.091, Florida Statutes, permits employees eligible for normal retirement under the FRS Plan to defer receipt of monthly benefit payments while continuing employment with an FRS participating employer. An employee may participate in DROP for a period not to exceed 60 months after electing to participate, except that certain instructional personnel may participate for up to 96 months. During the period of DROP participation, deferred monthly benefits are held in the FRS Trust Fund and accrue interest. The net pension liability does not include amounts for DROP participants, as these members are considered retired and are not accruing additional pension benefits. 133
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