Senate Bill 2236

    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2236

    By Senator Diaz-Balart





    37-1291-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to school district employees'

  3         retirement; amending s. 231.495, F.S.;

  4         providing for the payment of a lump sum in lieu

  5         of purchasing an annuity in certain

  6         circumstances; providing an effective date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  Section 231.495, Florida Statutes, is

11  amended to read:

12         231.495  Retirement annuities authorized.--

13         (1)  District school boards are authorized to purchase

14  annuities for all school personnel with 25 or more years of

15  creditable service who have reached age 50 and have applied

16  for retirement under the Florida Retirement System or who have

17  reached age 55 and have applied for retirement under plan E of

18  the Teachers' Retirement System.  No such annuity shall

19  provide for more than the total difference in retirement

20  income between the retirement benefit based on average monthly

21  compensation and creditable service as of the member's early

22  retirement date and the early retirement benefit.  District

23  school boards may also purchase annuities for members of the

24  Florida Retirement System who have out-of-state teaching

25  service in another state or country which is documented as

26  valid by the appropriate school board. Such annuities may be

27  based on no more than 5 years of out-of-state teaching service

28  and may equal, but not exceed, the benefits that would be

29  payable under the Florida Retirement System if credit for

30  out-of-state teaching was authorized under that system.

31  District school boards are authorized to invest funds,

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2236
    37-1291-99




  1  purchase annuities, or provide local supplemental retirement

  2  programs for purposes of providing annuities for school

  3  personnel. All retirement annuities shall comply with s. 14,

  4  Art. X of the State Constitution.

  5         (2)  If at any time the present value of the remaining

  6  nonforfeitable retirement benefit payable to any person under

  7  subsection (1) does not exceed $5,000, the board may in its

  8  discretion pay to such person or his or her beneficiary a lump

  9  sum amount equal to the present value of those benefits in

10  lieu of purchasing an annuity. For the purposes of this

11  subsection, the present value of any benefit shall be

12  calculated by using the applicable mortality table and

13  applicable interest rate prescribed by s. 417(e)(3) of the

14  Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any successor to that

15  section.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

17  law.

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20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Authorizes a district school board to pay a lump sum to,
      in lieu of purchasing an annuity for, personnel who have
22    applied for retirement, or their beneficiaries, when the
      cash value of that lump sum is $5,000 or less.
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