Current Agenda
Pension News
State Constitutional Protections for Public Pension Benefits
States provide protections for public pension benefits through layers of regulatory, statutory, and state constitutional means. Of these three, state constitutions are unique because—like their federal counterpart—they are harder to amend and thus serve as a kind of foundational layer of protection. Additionally, these state constitutions matter because state, not federal, law governs public pensions. Read More
Florida state investments reached record highs in fiscal 2025
Florida officials say the state's investments, which support its pension funds and local governments, hit a record high on its asset values in the recently-concluded fiscal year. The board reported $277 billion assets under management for fiscal 2024-25 ending June 30. That's a $20 billion improvement over last year's figure. This comes a year after the Florida Retirement System's pension and investment plans did not meet their one-year benchmarks. Read More
Unintended Condequences: How Scaling Back Public Pensions Puts Government Revenues at Risk
New research from NCPERS provides a data-driven analysis of how public pensions support state and local economies through both investment of pension fund assets and retiree spending. In 2023, public pensions contributed $2.9 trillion to the U.S. economy: $1.9 trillion from the investment of pension fund assets and $980.7 billion from retiree spending of pension checks. Public pensions generated $661.9 billion in state and local tax revenues—$445.2 billion more than the $216.7 billion contributed by taxpayers. Read More
Quick Facts
PLAN
The City of Fort Lauderdale is the sponsor of the Fort Lauderdale Police and Firefighters’ Retirement System. All Fort Lauderdale sworn police officers and firefighters are eligible to participate in the plan. A seven-member Board of Trustees, who are either elected by the employees or appointed by the Mayor, administer the pension plan. The plan is a defined benefit plan that promises to pay a guaranteed benefit at retirement.
MEMBERS
- 792 – Active members
- 1,311 – Retired members and beneficiaries
- 2,103 – TOTAL PLAN PARTICIPANTS
FUNDING Public safety officers contribute 10% of earnings into the pension plan. Members also pay 7.65% of earnings into Social Security and Medicare. Additional revenue to the pension plan comes from the State of Florida insurance premium tax, the City of Fort Lauderdale, and earnings generated on the invested assets. The plan’s investment returns provide 82% of the plan’s funding. Over the past 34 years, the plan had an average total return of 8.45% with positive returns during 28 years.
BENEFITS Retirement benefits are based on (1) average final earnings, (2) years of service, and (3) a benefit formula. Public safety officers can retire after 20 years of creditable service (or after 10 years at age 55). Overtime and unused leave do not increase retirement benefits. After 20 years of service, public safety officers are eligible to receive a retirement benefit equaling 60% of their monthly earnings. Retirement benefits are not automatically adjusted annually for cost – of – living changes. Retirees have not received a COLA since 2001.
DISABILITY Service-related disability benefits provided by the plan cannot exceed 65% of current monthly earnings. Non-service benefits cannot exceed 50% of monthly earnings, with reductions for Social Security benefits, Workers Compensation, or other earned income. The Fort Lauderdale Police and Firefighters’ Retirement System was established by City Ordinance and became effective January 3, 1973. As of 9-30-2024, the pension fund assets totaled $1.2 billion.
For more information, see the Annual Report Newsletter