Florida FRS: Pension Plan or Investment Plan?

Choosing, and the default

New employees have until 4 p.m. ET on the last business day of the eighth month after the month of hire to choose (hired April 5: until the last business day in December). A Regular Class employee who makes no choice is enrolled in the Investment Plan, retroactive to the date of hire. Before Jan. 1, 2018 the window was five months and the default was the Pension Plan. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 15, Enrollment Choice Period and notes 2-3; Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 3

Switching: the 2nd Election and the Hybrid Option

You get one 2nd Election to switch plans while actively employed and earning salary and service credit. Moving from the Investment Plan to the Pension Plan requires a buy-in amount; moving from the Pension Plan to the Investment Plan transfers the present value of your pension benefit. Investment Plan SPD (2026), pp. 34-36, 2nd Election; p. 17, Previous Pension Plan Service

A Pension Plan member with at least five years (enrolled before July 1, 2011) or eight years (on or after) may elect the Investment Plan Hybrid Option: freeze the Pension Plan benefit and direct future contributions to the Investment Plan. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 15, Investment Plan Hybrid Option

What goes in

For a Regular Class member, 11.30% of pay goes into the account: 3.00% from you and 8.30% from your employer. On $50,000 of pay, that's $1,500 from you and $4,150 from your employer: $5,650 a year (our example, before investment returns). Investment Plan SPD (2026), pp. 18-19, Contributions

You are always vested in your own contributions and their earnings. After one year of service you are vested in all employer contributions and earnings. Pension Plan service transferred in vests under the Pension Plan's six- or eight-year rule. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 21, Right to a Benefit; p. 22, Transfers of Previous Pension Plan Service

Taking money out

After three full calendar months off all FRS payrolls you may take a distribution at any age: lump sum, rollover, split, periodic or installment payments, or a lifetime income annuity bought from an insurer. Having met normal retirement, you may take a one-time 10% distribution after one calendar month. Any distribution makes you a retiree. No hardship withdrawals or loans. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 39, Distributions from the Investment Plan; p. 41, Distribution Options

FRS's example: leave on January 15, 2026, and the full balance is available May 1, 2026; with normal retirement met, 10% is available March 1, 2026. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 39, Distributions from the Investment Plan

Normal retirement in the Investment Plan is the later of Pension Plan normal retirement and Investment Plan vesting: Regular Class hired before July 1, 2011, age 62 with one year of service or 30 years at any age; hired after, age 65 with one year or 33 years. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 25, Normal Retirement

Investment Plan retirees get the same HIS ($7.50 per year, $45 to $225) once retired and meeting the Pension Plan's vesting and normal retirement requirements. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 48, Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) Benefit

An Investment Plan retiree may not work for an FRS employer until retired for six full calendar months after the month of the first distribution. Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 49, Reemployment After Retirement

The facts

• The Pension Plan pays a lifetime monthly benefit from a formula, run by the Division of Retirement. The Investment Plan is an account run by the State Board of Administration; its value at retirement is your benefit.Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 2
• New employees have until the last business day of the eighth month after the month of hire to choose. A Regular Class employee who does not choose goes into the Investment Plan.Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 15, Enrollment Choice Period
• Before Jan. 1, 2018 the choice window was five months and the default was the Pension Plan.Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 15, note 2
• You get one 2nd Election to switch plans while you are working. Moving into the Pension Plan costs a buy-in amount from your account.Investment Plan SPD (2026), pp. 34-36, 2nd Election
• Both plans take 3% of your pay. In the Investment Plan, 11.30% of a Regular Class member's pay goes into the account: your 3.00% and the employer's 8.30%.Investment Plan SPD (2026), pp. 18-19, Contributions
• Vesting: Pension Plan 6 or 8 years. Investment Plan: your own money always; employer money after 1 year of service.Handbook (2026), p. 26; Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 21
• Only the Pension Plan has DROP and a COLA. Investment Plan service credit cannot be bought.Handbook (2026), p. 42; Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 22
• Investment Plan money can be taken after three full calendar months off all FRS payrolls, at any age, as a lump sum, rollover, installments, or a lifetime annuity bought from an insurer.Investment Plan SPD (2026), p. 39, p. 41
• The MyFRS Financial Guidance Line, 866-446-9377, gives free plan-choice help.Seminar slides (Sept. 24, 2025), slide 4

This site estimates Pension Plan benefits only. In the calculator, pick "Investment Plan" to see these rules. Questions about your account go to the MyFRS line, 866-446-9377.

Questions