| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Florida Retirement System; amending |
| 3 | s. 121.0515, F.S.; increasing the percentage of the |
| 4 | Special Risk Class accrual value at which certain |
| 5 | employees may purchase additional retirement credit for |
| 6 | past service; authorizing certain employees to purchase |
| 7 | additional retirement credit to upgrade prior service to |
| 8 | Special Risk Class service; providing for the calculation |
| 9 | of contributions for such service upgrade; authorizing the |
| 10 | employer to purchase such additional credit for the |
| 11 | employee; providing for contribution rate increases to |
| 12 | fund benefits provided in s. 121.0515, F.S., as amended; |
| 13 | directing the Division of Statutory Revision to adjust |
| 14 | contribution rates set forth in s. 121.71, F.S.; providing |
| 15 | a statement of important state interest; providing an |
| 16 | effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 121.0515, Florida |
| 21 | Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (c) is added to subsection |
| 22 | (9) of that section, to read: |
| 23 | 121.0515 Special risk membership.-- |
| 24 | (5) CREDIT FOR PAST SERVICE.--A special risk member may |
| 25 | purchase retirement credit in the Special Risk Class based upon |
| 26 | past service, and may upgrade retirement credit for such past |
| 27 | service, to the extent of 3 2 percent of the member's average |
| 28 | monthly compensation as specified in s. 121.091(1)(a) for such |
| 29 | service as follows: |
| 30 | (a) The member may purchase special risk credit for past |
| 31 | service with a city or special district which has elected to |
| 32 | join the Florida Retirement System, or with a participating |
| 33 | agency to which a member's governmental unit was transferred, |
| 34 | merged, or consolidated as provided in s. 121.081(1)(f), if the |
| 35 | member was employed with the city or special district at the |
| 36 | time it commenced participating in the Florida Retirement System |
| 37 | or with the governmental unit at the time of its transfer, |
| 38 | merger, or consolidation with the participating agency. The |
| 39 | service must satisfy the criteria set forth in subsection (2) |
| 40 | for special risk membership as a law enforcement officer, |
| 41 | firefighter, or correctional officer or an emergency medical |
| 42 | technician or a paramedic whose employer was a licensed Advance |
| 43 | Life Support (ALS) or Basic Life Support (BLS) provider; |
| 44 | however, no certificate or waiver of certificate of compliance |
| 45 | with s. 943.1395 or s. 633.35 shall be required for such |
| 46 | service. |
| 47 | (b) Contributions for upgrading the additional special |
| 48 | risk credit pursuant to this subsection shall be equal to the |
| 49 | difference in the contributions paid and the special risk |
| 50 | percentage rate of gross salary in effect at the time of |
| 51 | purchase for the period being claimed, plus interest thereon at |
| 52 | the rate of 4 percent a year compounded annually from the date |
| 53 | of such service until July 1, 1975, and 6.5 percent a year |
| 54 | thereafter until the date of payment. This past service may be |
| 55 | purchased by the member or by the employer on behalf of the |
| 56 | member. |
| 57 | (9) CREDIT FOR UPGRADED SERVICE.-- |
| 58 | (c) Any member of the Special Risk Class who has earned |
| 59 | creditable service in the Regular Class of the Florida |
| 60 | Retirement System between July 1, 1978, and June 30, 1984, while |
| 61 | attending a certified training academy or other certified |
| 62 | training facility approved by the employer for certification as |
| 63 | a law enforcement officer or correctional officer, which service |
| 64 | is within the purview of the Special Risk Class, may purchase |
| 65 | such service to upgrade to Special Risk Class service, to the |
| 66 | extent of the percentages of the member's average final |
| 67 | compensation as provided in s. 121.091(1)(a)2. Contributions for |
| 68 | upgrading such service to Special Risk Class credit under this |
| 69 | paragraph shall be equal to the difference in the contributions |
| 70 | paid and the Special Risk Class contribution rate as a |
| 71 | percentage of gross salary in effect for the period being |
| 72 | claimed, plus interest thereon at the rate of 6.5 percent per |
| 73 | year, compounded annually until the date of payment. This |
| 74 | service credit may be purchased by the employer on behalf of the |
| 75 | member. |
| 76 | Section 2. Effective July 1, 2006, in order to fund the |
| 77 | benefit improvements provided in s. 121.0515, Florida Statutes, |
| 78 | as amended by this act, the contribution rate that applies to |
| 79 | the Special Risk Class of the defined benefit program of the |
| 80 | Florida Retirement System shall be increased by 0.07 percentage |
| 81 | points. This increase shall be in addition to all other changes |
| 82 | to such contribution rates which may be enacted into law to take |
| 83 | effect on that date. The Division of Statutory Revision is |
| 84 | directed to adjust accordingly the contribution rates set forth |
| 85 | in s. 121.71, Florida Statutes. |
| 86 | Section 3. The Legislature finds that a proper and |
| 87 | legitimate state purpose is served when employees and retirees |
| 88 | of the state and its political subdivisions, and the dependents, |
| 89 | survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees and retirees, are |
| 90 | extended the basic protections afforded by governmental |
| 91 | retirement systems. These persons must be provided benefits that |
| 92 | are fair and adequate and that are managed, administered, and |
| 93 | funded in an actuarially sound manner, as required by s. 14, |
| 94 | Art. X of the State Constitution, and part VII of chapter 112, |
| 95 | Florida Statutes. Therefore, the Legislature determines and |
| 96 | declares that this act fulfills an important state interest. |
| 97 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |