Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1416
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       40-01301B-24                                          20241416__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Special Risk Class of the
    3         Florida Retirement System; amending s. 121.4501, F.S.;
    4         authorizing employees enrolled in the Special Risk
    5         Class to make an election to move from the investment
    6         plan to the pension plan within a certain timeframe,
    7         subject to certain conditions; providing a declaration
    8         of important state interest; providing an effective
    9         date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section
   14  121.4501, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   15         121.4501 Florida Retirement System Investment Plan.—
   16         (4) PARTICIPATION; ENROLLMENT.—
   17         (f) After the period during which an eligible employee had
   18  the choice to elect the pension plan or the investment plan, or
   19  the month following the receipt of the eligible employee’s plan
   20  election, if sooner, the employee shall have one opportunity, at
   21  the employee’s discretion, to choose to move from the pension
   22  plan to the investment plan or from the investment plan to the
   23  pension plan. Eligible employees may elect to move between plans
   24  only if they are earning service credit in an employer-employee
   25  relationship consistent with s. 121.021(17)(b), excluding leaves
   26  of absence without pay. Effective July 1, 2005, such elections
   27  are effective on the first day of the month following the
   28  receipt of the election by the third-party administrator and are
   29  not subject to the requirements regarding an employer-employee
   30  relationship or receipt of contributions for the eligible
   31  employee in the effective month, except when the election is
   32  received by the third-party administrator. This paragraph is
   33  contingent upon approval by the Internal Revenue Service.
   34         1. If the employee chooses to move to the investment plan,
   35  the provisions of subsection (3) govern the transfer.
   36         2. If the employee chooses to move to the pension plan, the
   37  employee must transfer from his or her investment plan account,
   38  and from other employee moneys as necessary, a sum representing
   39  the present value of that employee’s accumulated benefit
   40  obligation immediately following the time of such movement,
   41  determined assuming that attained service equals the sum of
   42  service in the pension plan and service in the investment plan.
   43  Benefit commencement occurs on the first date the employee is
   44  eligible for unreduced benefits, using the discount rate and
   45  other relevant actuarial assumptions that were used to value the
   46  pension plan liabilities in the most recent actuarial valuation.
   47  For any employee who, at the time of the second election,
   48  already maintains an accrued benefit amount in the pension plan,
   49  the then-present value of the accrued benefit is deemed part of
   50  the required transfer amount. The division must ensure that the
   51  transfer sum is prepared using a formula and methodology
   52  certified by an enrolled actuary. A refund of any employee
   53  contributions or additional member payments made which exceed
   54  the employee contributions that would have accrued had the
   55  member remained in the pension plan and not transferred to the
   56  investment plan is not permitted.
   57         3. Notwithstanding subparagraph 2., an employee who chooses
   58  to move to the pension plan and who became eligible to
   59  participate in the investment plan by reason of employment in a
   60  regularly established position with a state employer after June
   61  1, 2002; a district school board employer after September 1,
   62  2002; or a local employer after December 1, 2002, must transfer
   63  from his or her investment plan account, and from other employee
   64  moneys as necessary, a sum representing the employee’s actuarial
   65  accrued liability. A refund of any employee contributions or
   66  additional member payments made which exceed the employee
   67  contributions that would have accrued had the member remained in
   68  the pension plan and not transferred to the investment plan is
   69  not permitted.
   70         4. An employee’s ability to transfer from the pension plan
   71  to the investment plan pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b), and
   72  the ability of a current employee to have an option to later
   73  transfer back into the pension plan under subparagraph 2., shall
   74  be deemed a significant system amendment. Pursuant to s.
   75  121.031(4), any resulting unfunded liability arising from actual
   76  original transfers from the pension plan to the investment plan
   77  must be amortized within 30 plan years as a separate unfunded
   78  actuarial base independent of the reserve stabilization
   79  mechanism defined in s. 121.031(3)(f). For the first 25 years, a
   80  direct amortization payment may not be calculated for this base.
   81  During this 25-year period, the separate base shall be used to
   82  offset the impact of employees exercising their second program
   83  election under this paragraph. The actuarial funded status of
   84  the pension plan will not be affected by such second program
   85  elections in any significant manner, after due recognition of
   86  the separate unfunded actuarial base. Following the initial 25
   87  year period, any remaining balance of the original separate base
   88  shall be amortized over the remaining 5 years of the required
   89  30-year amortization period.
   90         5. If the employee chooses to transfer from the investment
   91  plan to the pension plan and retains an excess account balance
   92  in the investment plan after satisfying the buy-in requirements
   93  under this paragraph, the excess may not be distributed until
   94  the member retires from the pension plan. The excess account
   95  balance may be rolled over to the pension plan and used to
   96  purchase service credit or upgrade creditable service in the
   97  pension plan.
   98         6.An employee enrolled in the Special Risk Class who
   99  previously made an election to move from the pension plan to the
  100  investment plan may make an election, beginning July 1, 2024,
  101  through September 30, 2024, to move back to the pension plan by
  102  surrendering the current value of their investment plan.
  103         Section 2. The Legislature finds that a proper and
  104  legitimate state purpose is served when employees, officers, and
  105  retirees of the state and its political subdivisions, and the
  106  dependents, survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees,
  107  officers, and retirees, are extended the basic protections
  108  afforded by governmental retirement systems. These persons must
  109  be provided benefits that are fair and adequate and that are
  110  managed, administered, and funded in an actuarially sound manner
  111  as required by s. 14, Article X of the State Constitution and
  112  part VII of chapter 112, Florida Statutes. Therefore, the
  113  Legislature determines and declares that this act fulfills an
  114  important state interest.
  115         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.