Jumpline magazine January 2024 - Flipbook - Page 13
1403 Of昀椀cers
Continued
Bene昀椀ts
Of昀椀cer
Claudine Buzzo
Claudine Buzzo
Bene昀椀ts Of昀椀cer
13
This solemn event is one of the most emotional things I have
experienced as Bene昀椀ts Of昀椀cer, and one of the most rewarding.
I cannot explain just how moving this ceremony is but hopefully
you will see that in the pictures we post. On Friday night we
went downtown where pipes and drums came from all over the
United States and Canada to march and pay homage to our
fallen brothers and sisters. The streets were closed and all you
could see and hear for miles were pipes and drums and the
sounds of 昀椀re昀椀ghters from near and far paying their respects. It
was so amazing to see people coming together with no hate, no
malice, no opinions, no 昀椀ghting. Just everyone coming together for one sole purpose…to remember the ultimate sacri昀椀ce of
those who gave their lives in the line of duty.
The streets were closed and all you could see
and hear for miles were pipes and drums
and the sounds of firefighters from near and
far paying their respects.
Financials
Gary Gonzalez, Ret.
As I’m sure you are already aware, a lot of good things
happened in Tallahassee for 昀椀re昀椀ghters this year. We
didn’t get everything we wanted, but things have been kind of
ugly for us for several years. It’s
nice to see the political pendulum
swing back in our favor.
In this article, I’ll recap the changes
and what they might mean for your
retirement.
The 昀椀rst big change bene昀椀ts our
younger 昀椀re昀椀ghters, those hired after
July 1, 2011. Fire and rescue work
can take a signi昀椀cant toll on us, both physically and emotionally.
These negative effects can become magni昀椀ed as we
enter the later years of our careers. I see the restoration of the special risk retirement eligibility criteria
back to 25 years or age 55 and vested, regardless of
hire date as a huge bene昀椀t for your quality of life in
retirement, as well as for your bodies and brains.
a huge impact on the size of your DROP account when you retire. For example, a 昀椀re昀椀ghter with a monthly pension bene昀椀t of
$8,000 who entered the DROP before this new change would
end up with $495,666 after 60 months of DROP (assuming no
COLA applied to the pension bene昀椀t). Under the new law, that
same 昀椀re昀椀ghter would retire with $530,392 in their DROP after
60 months, and over $900,000 at the end of 96 months. Who
wants to be a millionaire? With a $9,000 per month pension bene昀椀t, after 8 years of DROP participation, that would be you!
A not so big, but still signi昀椀cant bene昀椀cial change for you, is
the increase in the health insurance subsidy. Previously, you
were able to earn a maximum subsidy of $150 per month for
25 years of service or more, with a bene昀椀t of $5 per month per
year of service. This bene昀椀t has increased to $7.50 per month
per year of service for a maximum monthly subsidy
of $225.
Change
For the
Better
The next big change is the DROP eligibility window.
Whereas before this legislative session, there were
very strict rules dictating your eligibility window to enter DROP,
including being ineligible to participate at all if you missed your
window, you could now enter DROP at any time after you meet
FRS full retirement guidelines, either 25 years of special risk service, or age 55 and vested in special risk service. So many of
you have expressed that you felt pressured to enter DROP before you were truly ready. This change eliminates that pressure
and puts you in full control of that decision.
The third big bene昀椀t increase is the extension of DROP participation from 5 years to 8 years, along with an increase in the
annual rate of interest earned from 1.3% to 4%. This can have
Finally, for those of you in the investment plan,
FRS has increased the contributions they make on
your behalf from 14% of your salary to 16%. That
may not seem like a lot, but compounded over time,
this change could potentially add a couple hundred
thousand dollars or more to your 昀椀nal payout.
One of the bene昀椀ts hoped for in this legislative session was
the restoration of the 3% cost of living increase. Although that
didn’t happen, what was passed this year could have a huge
positive impact on your retirement success. Who knows what
will emerge from future legislative sessions, but what emerged
from this last session has been a breath of fresh air.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to call me at
Northstar Financial Planners, Inc., 954-693-0030, or on my cell
phone, 954-804-5539.
Until next time, be safe out there.
January 2024 | JUMPLINE Magazine