NEW HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE AMENDMENT CONTAINS MAJOR RETIREMENT BENEFITS ENHANCEMENTS FOR ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT BACKED BY THE PBA!

Commenting on the new House Amendment to the Special Risk Members Age and Years of Service Restoration legislation, Florida PBA President John Kazanjian said, “The provisions in this amendment will have a monumental impact on our members for years to come. We have been lobbying the legislature for years to restore both the COLA calculations for our retirees and to restore the retirement age and years of service for Special Risk members like our members. Concerning the legislature’s budget proposals, both the House and the Senate’s proposals contain wage increases for all state employees and millions of dollars ear marked for recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers. While these proposals still have to be reconciled before the full legislature, rest assured the PBA will be at the Capitol each and every day for the remainder of the legislative session, ensuring your voices are heard and our collective goals reach the finish line.”

The House Appropriations Committee has proposed an amendment to HB 239 which is the Special Risk age and years of service restoration legislation. The amendment does the following:

• Prospectively restores the 3% COLA on July 1, 2023, to each retiree and annuitant. The language does not remove the previously reduced COLA calculations. In other words, if you were receiving a 2% COLA in retirement prior to July 1, 2023, those previous calculations will not be increased. However, going forward the July 1st COLA increase will return to 3%.
• Restores the age and years of service for Special Risk members to age 55 after vesting or age 52 after 25 years of special risk service.
• Effective July 1, 2023, the employer contribution to the Special Risk investment plan participants is increased to 18%
• Prospectively, all employees on or after July 1, 2023, can participate in the 96 months of DROP and there is no longer a 12-month window period to choose to enter DROP.
• The annual DROP interest rate will increase from 1.3% to 4% effective July 1, 2023.

From the Budget:

The Senate Budget includes a 3% state employee pay increase
$26 million for LEO recruitment and bonuses

The House Budget includes a 6% state employee pay increase
$30 million for LEO recruitment and bonuses