Senator Offers Reasonable Approach to State Retirement Changes

[30ashopper]

IIRC, the DBP isn't that obtuse. From what I remember a few years ago, it is 1.6% times the average of your six highest grossing years times the number of years you worked in the FRS system. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Like BM said, you also have to be vested by serving at least 6 years.

FF2 helped me to understand this, and I did a rough calculation in the protest thread:

Have a little bit more understanding about Floridas system, so let me give you a little insight as I understand it. First Teacher recieve a 1.6 percent per year of work and is based on the annual final compensation of the highest 5 of last ten years. As for insurance workers in the Florida Retirement System are given a $5 per year of work to go towards insurance. If you don't have health insurance you do not recieve this supplement. So a Teacher who is able to retire at 55 at the average salary of $55000 per year, based of 27 years that this Teacher got their job directly out of college, will recieved if my math is correct $23760 and because they are able to afford insurance they will recieve $135 per month that offsets their cost. I would venture to guess many teachers do not retire at 55 and many will work much longer. This is closer to what they are paying the average starting teacher.

Lets assume they work for thirty three years (22 -> 55) and live to 82. Their top base salary when they leave (in 2010 dollars) would be 61K. So...


1.6% * 33 = 53% * 61K = 33K + (($5 * 33 = $165) * 12) = 35K


Retirement years would be about 28, so 28 * 35K = $980,000.00.


Take that and devide it by the number of years worked: $980,000.00 / 33 = 30K.


So their actul salary is whatever they make annually plus $30,000.00 in future benefits.


So a Walton County teacher with a BA really makes 65K to start, and at retirement, they'll be making about 100K.

This didn't take into account things like survivor benefits, or DROP participation, or overtime pay in those last five years.. the number is probably higher, my numbers were a base assuming no funny business.

The problem (obviously) is that unions and their participants like to concentrate on the base salary. But really that's just one chunk of what these folks make. Which is why I'd like to see more transparency on the issue, so taxpayers know what they (and future generations) are actually paying these folks for the work they do.

That to me seems like a reasonable request.